About the opportunity
SWCA Environmental Consultants is expanding and looking for dynamic individuals to support the growing Water Resources ("Water") technical team. The SWCA New Mexico-Four Corners team is seeking a lead-level technical staff member who is motivated to work in a team environment, serve as a technical expert locally (in New Mexico and Southwest Colorado) and nationally (throughout SWCA), manage challenging projects, pursue business development opportunities, and use their expertise to pursue a rewarding professional career.
As a Lead Water Resources Scientist and project manager, you act as a technical expert would support and manage projects locally and throughout SWCA. The successful candidate will work collaboratively to identify and evaluate opportunities in the market, and will pursue, capture, manage, and execute water resources projects in coordination with the New Mexico-Four Corner’s (NM4C) Water Resources Team. In this role you would have opportunities to expand the technical and project management capabilities, in addition to the project and client portfolios, of the Team. The position also includes opportunities for staff management, including staff development, supervision, and training. We are seeking applications from multi-disciplinary water resources specialists that are eager to participate in our watershed management approach to creative project solutions across various water resources disciplines.
What you will accomplish
- Lead and support multidisciplinary scope of work/proposal development in collaboration with the NM4C Team, including Subject Matter Experts.
- Partner with Client Managers in contract management for watershed management, including WOTUS, CWA Sections 401, 402 (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System; stormwater) and 404, and Floodplain Management (Executive Order 11988).
- Manage and lead complicated and large projects, especially projects related to watershed science, including CWA Sections 401, 402, 404 and floodplain management includes working with a team of natural and cultural resources specialists to fulfill a variety of environmental planning, and permitting needs for different projects. Responsible for budget and scope tracking and building client relationships.
- Perform senior technical deliverable review of aquatic resources reports and CWA Section 401, 402, 404 and floodplain permit documents.
- Lead and support agency and client coordination regarding WOTUS CWA Section 401, 402, and 404 permit programs and building trusted relationships.
- Lead and support WOTUS and CWA scope of work and budget development for a variety of projects ranging in complexity, including oil and gas, generation, transmission, and other project activities in New Mexico.
- Provide senior technical oversight and quality assurance to SWCA project managers and water resources leads on projects involving surface water resources planning, WOTUS, and CWA Sections 401, 402, 404 and floodplain permitting activities in coordination with the NM4C Water Resources Team Lead.
- Educate and collaborating with SWCA staff and external clients on WOTUS and CWA Section 404/401 in New Mexico.
- Coordinate, collaborate with, and mentor other SWCA water resources specialists, including delineation specialists, ecologists, stormwater specialists, restoration specialists, hydrologists, floodplain specialists, etc. for quality assurance for scope of work and project approach development. Drives sound science solutions.
- Mentor, coach and potentially supervise water resources staff across the NM4C subregion in collaboration with the NM4C Water Resources Team Lead.
- Provide CWA Section 404 Permit Program senior oversight in coordination with the NM4C Water Resources Team Lead and Natural Resources Director, as well as other Water Resources Leadership within SWCA.
Experience and qualifications for success
REQUIRED
- Minimum of a bachelor’s degree in Hydrology, Water Resources, Biology, Environmental Sciences, Ecology, or related field
- Minimum of eight (8) years of experience in the water resources field in addition to university or graduate work
- Excellent organizational and verbal/written communication skills
- Ability to solve complex problems using sound professional judgment, creativity, and innovation.
- Ability to participate and collaborate in a project team setting and also to engage in independent creative and critical thought
- Familiarity with mapping software such as ArcGIS and GPS devices
- Ability to travel to a location, walk and conduct fieldwork for long hours, sometimes in inclement weather, rugged terrain, often at high altitudes, and ability to carry equipment and supplies weighing up to 40 pounds
PREFERRED
Please note that an absence of one or more of these skills is not critical as long as you demonstrate a willingness to learn new skills.
- Graduate degree in in Environmental Science, Hydrology, Water Resource Management, or a related degree.
- Previous experience in environmental consulting highly preferred
- Previous experience with water quality, hydrology, and/or water resource-related skills
- Project management, client management, and business development experience
- Experience with water quality management.
- Experience working with and/or for government agencies such as the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer, New Mexico Surface Water Quality Bureau, Colorado Division of Water Resources, Colorado Water Quality Control Division , Bureau of Reclamation, US Army Corp of Engineers, and/or other municipal water agencies and managers.
- Technical experience with stormwater inspections and management as a registered stormwater inspector (RSI) with a widely recognized certification (CISEC, CESSWI, or other)
- Technical experience in natural channel design/stream restoration, wetland restoration, and ecologically-enhanced drainage and flood control channel stabilization
- Experience reviewing and managing engineering design construction plans of the above listed project types
- National Environmental Policy Act experience for watershed science
- Watershed science and framework experience, including understanding the dynamic of environmental management to address complex watershed issues within a hydrologically defined geographic area (watershed and basins), while taking both ground and surface water flow, as well as ecological interactions (biotic and abiotic conditions) into consideration.
- Demonstrates advanced technical and regulatory knowledge of Waters of the U.S. and Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 404 (Dredge and Fill) and Section 401 (Water Quality Certification) permitting programs at the Federal level. Understand how these regulations and permitting programs are implemented/interpreted in New Mexico and/or the Western U.S.
- Demonstrates an understanding of the surface water resources/WOTUS project-level planning step wise process, and supports process improvement, for surface water resources (desktop and field data), CWA 404/401 consultation, and CWA 404/401 permitting tasks for strategy development in fluctuating CWA regulatory climate. Implementing the watershed, including surface water resources/WOTUS stepwise process at a program level within NM4C.
SWCA is a 100% employee-owned, and we build our success together. With offices across the United States, SWCA is one of the largest environmental compliance firms and ranks among Engineering News-Record’s Top 200 Environmental Firms. We offer a supportive, team-oriented work environment and competitive wages and benefits, including an 100% employee stock ownership plan (retirement). If you are seeking an opportunity to work in a culture of exceptionally skilled and diverse professionals who embrace sound science and creative solutions, then SWCA will be a great fit for you!
If you would like to contact SWCA regarding the accessibility of our website or need assistance completing the application process, please email accomodations@swca.com or call 1-480-581-5378. This contact information is for accommodation requests only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications.
SWCA is committed to salary equity and salary transparency for all its employees. In alignment with this commitment, SWCA posts good faith pay ranges in all its advertised job postings to promote pay equity and transparency.
An employee in this Albuquerque-based position can expect a salary of $78,000–101,920/year. Actual pay within this range may depend on experience, qualifications, geographic location, client requirements where applicable, and other factors permitted by law. Regular-status employees are also eligible for performance bonuses. Candidates are also encouraged to consider SWCA’s Total Rewards package, which includes a competitive Benefits package, forward-thinking workplace flexibility, outstanding corporate culture, award-winning career development, and more.
SWCA is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages women, minorities, individuals with disabilities and veterans to apply.
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