Project Management Technical Director-FERC

About the opportunity

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is a federal agency whose regulations and processes affect many of SWCA’s natural gas clients, and guiding projects through the FERC permitting process is a major service offering of SWCA. Continued growth associated with SWCA’s FERC natural gas strategy and permitting practice requires the addition of a visionary technical leader who partners with peers across the organization to share insights and information, working together to build business and shape the direction of SWCA.  In the position of Project Management Technical Director – FERC, this candidate will bring proven technical leadership related to execution and management of SWCA’s FERC-regulated natural gas clients and projects.

The Director will have enterprise-level accountability for the quality of service within the FERC practice across SWCA and will collaborate with other leaders to ensure that SWCA has leading expertise in the discipline and is employing state-of-the-art strategies, processes, methodologies, and tools.  The Director will lead complex projects or tasks specific to the FERC practice; develop standard methodologies and tools; establish measures of quality; mentor other FERC practitioners; lead or contribute to business development pursuits and management of strategic clients; and coordinate with other Directors, technical leads, and project managers to implement SWCA’s FERC practice.

The selected individual will be an experienced leader with recognized expertise managing the FERC natural gas project permitting process, as well as interfacing with project managers and leaders within the FERC agency and other interested parties such as state and local regulatory agencies.

This position is available for distributed work in the continental US, or hybrid or office based work at any of our 39 offices nationwide.

A letter of interest and resume are required for this application.

What you will accomplish

• Be an enterprise-level practice leader who is accountable for the quality of service within the FERC practice across the company, ensuring that SWCA has leading expertise and state of the art strategies/processes/methodologies/tools.

• Work with the VPs of Scientific and Technical Services and other Technical Directors to identify and implement strategic technical initiatives and drive consistency across offices and regions.

• Oversee large and complex FERC projects as a project, client, or contract manager, including a goal of 60% productivity.

• Focus on the development of technical competencies/standards and technical leadership/mentoring within the FERC practice with approximately 20% of your time dedicated to these efforts.

• Help to drive growth and differentiation by tracking, understanding, and leveraging changes in FERC policies, orders, and guidance documents.

• Be recognized as a technical authority and role model responsible for setting a standard of excellence within the FERC practice.

• Develop relevant quality standards and ensure company and practice area QA/QC program is effectively implemented.

• Provide technical leadership, mentoring, and coaching within SWCA’s FERC practice.

• Coordinate with SWCA’s leading FERC practitioners to develop and implement strategic technical initiatives.

• Lead FERC Practice Group(s) within SWCA.

• Build and retain a pipeline of technical talent with FERC expertise.

• Identify gaps in relevant expertise, identify and attract top talent to SWCA, and advocate for strategic hires when needed.

• Serve as a technical mentor and role model for FERC practitioners at SWCA, establishing systems to ensure that new regulatory developments, technical approaches, and strategic initiatives are continually disseminated within the practice.

• Position the FERC practice to accelerate and support SWCA's growth with approximately 20% of your time dedicated to strategic business development and client management initiatives.

• Recognize and capitalize on market trends that impact the business (e.g., new regulations, technological developments, etc.), develop new business opportunities, and lead proposal efforts.

• Serve as Technical Client Manager for key clients or business lines and foster a client-focused environment.

• Lead go/no-go and Conflict of Interest conversations and provide guidance on large pursuits in your area of expertise.

• Represent SWCA as a FERC strategic thought leader and subject matter expert at client and agency meetings, FERC technical conferences and monthly commission meetings, professional association meetings, external networking events, etc.

• Broadcast timely communications (such as E-Blasts) to clients, alerting them to changes to FERC policy and/or guidance that may affect their projects.

• Work with and through colleagues across SWCA to ensure the quality and integrity of relevant deliverables.

• Execute on the responsibilities identified in SWCA Career Landscape for Director-level employees in Technical Leadership.

• Demonstrate leadership, expertise, and Director-level behaviors in SWCA’s seven core competencies (Action-Oriented, Client Focus, Collaborate, Decision Quality, Ensures Accountability, Instills Trust, Situational Adaptability) and three Technical Leadership Focus Area Competencies (Communicates Effectively, Manages Complexity, and Nimble Learning).

• Work collaboratively across offices and regions at all levels of the organization.

• Influence the delivery of results, even in areas without direct authority.

Experience and qualifications for success

• Master’s degree or above in a field related to the environmental services that SWCA generally provides. Bachelor’s degree and demonstrated equivalent experience will be considered.
• Minimum of 15 years’ experience providing environmental consulting services, with a specific emphasis on FERC-regulated natural gas projects with increasing project management and technical responsibility, including leadership of others and management-level accountability for project or program performance.
• Prior experience completing complex or strategic FERC permitting projects across multiple business lines, client types, and geographies.
• Proven track record of recognizing and capitalizing on market trends that impact the business (e.g., new regulations, technological developments, etc.), develop new business opportunities, and lead proposal efforts.
• Possesses broad understanding of relevant environmental regulatory requirements and permitting pathways.
• Possesses strong client-facing skills (e.g., communication, relationship building, problem solving).
• Prior experience building positive relationships with agencies at the local, regional, and national levels.
• Experience directing high-quality, complex, interdisciplinary technical and project work.

Additional Information:

• A letter of interest and resume are required for this application.
• Ability to travel up to 20% nationwide.

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 online application process due to a disability, please email accommodations@swca.com or call 480-581-5378. This contact information is for disability accommodation requests only. All other inquiries will not receive a response.

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

Seniority Level

Director

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