Natural Resources Team Lead

About the opportunity

The Natural Resources Team Lead is responsible for providing business leadership within the New Mexico-Four Corners (NM4C) subregion’s (Albuquerque and Carlsbad, NM or Durango, CO) Natural Resources Program by managing staff, projects, and clients.  The successful candidate will possess a proven track record of developing new business, managing large-scale projects, meeting financial goals, and mentoring others to do the same.

The Natural Resources Team Lead reports to the NM4C Natural Resources Director and will work closely with other office leadership staff, team leads and the NM4C Vice President. The NM4C subregion offers a unique work environment and specializes in natural and cultural resources management, environmental planning, permitting, and compliance. The successful candidate will have a depth of experience and familiarity with the business environment of New Mexico and the surrounding states.

To be considered for the position, qualified candidates must submit a Letter of Interest along with a current resume.

SWCA Environmental Consultants is a growing, 1,400 staff, employee-owned firm, providing a full-spectrum of environmental services.  Our Vision (the North Star) is to make SWCA the best workplace and industry leader in sustainability, bringing sound science and creative solutions to global environmental challenges while maintaining a dedication to employee-ownership. We live our core values: we collaborate as #OneSWCA; we are #AlwaysLearning, we #NeverSettle, and we #GiveBack.

What you will accomplish

The Natural Resources Team Lead will manage current opportunities while participating in and co-creating a forward-looking plan for their team. This will include working with the Natural Resources Director and professional staff within the subregion and throughout the company to further employee development and mentoring, track financial performance and forecasting, provide senior level technical leadership, and develop strategic program goals by contributing to the following:

• Organizational leadership

  • Provide highly effective, dynamic management and leadership to SWCA’s natural resources program and staff
  • Supervise and mentor natural resources project managers, technical staff, and field personnel, while promoting a culture of teamwork, engagement, quality service, and customer satisfaction.
  • Facilitate communication between the natural resources staff and the Director, other teams, and corporate departments.
  • Advise the Director on staff hires, advancement, and course correction, as needed.
  • Take on increasing levels of responsibility and monitoring metrics for the financial performance of your Natural Resources Team. Metrics to monitor monthly will include project profitability, individual staff billing rates, productivity goals, labor projections, financial forecasting, and annual business planning.
  • Audit and oversee projects for the PMs in your Team quarterly, identify and mitigate project challenges to avoid overruns and ensure profitability.
  • Promote culture of feedback, accountability, growth, professional development, budget and cost control, value creation and return on investment, and profit optimization.
  • Provide general support to the team relating to safety, equipment, subject matter resources, training opportunities, regulatory and research updates.
  • This position will require highly developed critical thinking skills to recognize and solve problems proactively. Identify and mitigate risks and impediments through persistence, creative thinking, and a focus on client satisfaction.

• Technical leadership

• Provide senior level quality assurance/quality control reviews of deliverables prepared by other team members.

• Ensure the delivery of high-quality technical work throughout the natural resources program, including data management and analysis, and reporting.

• Encourage innovation in the program, mentor critical thinking for new internal process improvements, technical approaches, and create a plan for their implementation.

• Think beyond the standard permit-based consulting to develop new project niches and extend project life-cycle, including for mitigation, engineering design, restoration, monitoring, and new regulatory permitting drivers specific to our client’s changing needs.

• Client leadership

• Develop strong relationships with existing clients while executing strategic analysis, marketing and sales for new clients

• Manage the performance of individual projects and effectively coordinate with clients and agencies to produce technically excellent work that is on time and on budget.

• Identify and evaluate changing market conditions and strategic sales opportunities at a regional and sub-regional level (new clients and geographies).

• Lead proposal efforts and internal business development groups, take lead role in the go/no go decisions in concert with the Director.

• Develop deep and productive relationships within industry organizations and with agency staff to expand the regional client base in line with the region’s strategic goals

Experience and qualifications for success

Required

• A minimum of a Bachelor’s (B.A. or B.S.) degree in Biology, or related field.
• A minimum of eight (8) years of progressively responsible experience in Natural resources consulting.
• A minimum of three (3) years of natural resources (or related) project management experience, including developing and implementing budgets, schedules, and scopes of work from pre-field tasks to final report preparation.
• Previous experience with federal, state, and local environmental laws and regulations (particularly NEPA, ESA, CWA, CAA) in the New Mexico-Four Corners region.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, growth mindset, and strategic outlook.
• Ability to pass a motor vehicle screening

Preferred

• Master's degree in a related field
• Demonstrated experience in supervising, mentoring, and providing leadership for other professionals.
• Demonstrated business development success and consulting acumen, including established credibility with federal and state agencies and clients, as well as success in proposal writing.

SWCA Environmental Consultants is a growing employee-owned firm, providing a full spectrum of environmental services. 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.

If you would like to contact SWCA regarding the accessibility of our website or need assistance completing the on-line application process due to a disability, please email accommodations@swca.com or call 480-5811-5378. This contact information is for disability accommodation requests only. All other inquiries will not receive a response.

In accordance with the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act (EPEWA), we are disclosing a good faith estimate of the compensation range for roles that will be, or could be, performed in Colorado.

In Colorado, an employee in this position can expect a rate between $85,000/year and $105,000/year, depending on experience, geographic locations, client requirements where applicable, and other factors permitted by law.

Employees in this position are eligible for consideration for SWCA’s annual bonus program, which provides awards based on individual and organizational performance. To review additional benefits associated with this position, click here: https://www.swca.com/careers/totalrewards/benefits

EOE - women, minorities, individuals with disabilities and veterans are encouraged to apply.

Seniority Level

Mid-Senior level

Not ready to apply? Connect with us for general consideration.