Water Resources Technical Director

About the opportunity

Technical services associated with water resources are expected to experience significant growth across the U.S.  SWCA’s growth in this area requires the addition of a visionary technical leader who partners with peers across the organization to continue to shape the direction of water resources technical services.  This candidate will bring unique technical leadership related to execution, innovation, and management of SWCA’s water resources technical practice.

The Water Resources Technical Director will have enterprise-level accountability for developing a strategic vision to expand water resources technical services across SWCA and will collaborate with other leaders to ensure that the vision supports SWCA’s offices, clients, business lines, and other technical disciplines.  The Director will be responsible for the quality of service across water resource practice areas and will ensure that SWCA has leading water resources expertise and is employing state-of-the-art processes, methodologies, and tools.

The Water Resources Technical Director will lead complex projects or tasks specific to the water resources practice; develop standard methodologies and tools; establish measures of quality; mentor other water resources 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 water resources strategy.

The selected individual will be an experienced leader with recognized water resources expertise.  The Director will report to one of SWCA’s Vice Presidents of Scientific and Technical Services.

This is a full time, regular status position, eligible to work in any of our offices, or 100% distributed in the domestic US.

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

What you will accomplish

As the Technical Director, you will:

• Be an enterprise-level practice leader who is accountable for the quality of service across water resource practice areas, ensuring that SWCA has leading expertise and state of the art 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 water resources projects as a project, client, or contract manager, including a goal of 50-60% productivity.

• Work with other water resource leaders to develop and implement SWCA’s strategic vision for water resources technical services and focus on the development of technical competencies and standards within the water resources practice. Approximately 10-15% of your time will be dedicated to implementing strategic initiatives.

  • Develop a strategic plan to support development and expansion of technical water resources services in response to market trends to support SWCA’s clients and business lines.
  • Help to drive growth and differentiation by developing, understanding, and leveraging emerging trends in the water resources practice.
  • Be recognized as a technical authority and role model responsible for setting a standard of excellence within the water resources practice.
  • Lead and participate in professional/scientific networks that provide SWCA with unique insights and a competitive advantage in the marketplace.
  • Develop water resources quality standards and ensure company and practice area QA/QC program is effectively implemented.

• Position the water resources practice to accelerate and support SWCA's growth with approximately 10-15% 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 conversations and provide guidance on large pursuits in your area of expertise.
  • Represent SWCA as a water resources thought leader and subject matter expert at client and agency meeting, conferences, professional association meetings, external networking events, etc.
  • Coordinate closely with Client Services Directors and other water resources business development leaders to grow SWCA’s water resources practice.

• Provide technical leadership, mentoring, and coaching within SWCA’s water resources practice with approximately 10-15% of your time dedicated to these efforts.

  • Coordinate with SWCA’s leading office and/or regional water resources practitioners, wetland specialists, and technical experts to develop and implement strategic technical initiatives.
  • Lead Water Resources Practice Group(s) (Practice groups/teams/monthly calls/resource hub).
  • Build and retain a pipeline of technical talent within the water resources technical discipline.
  • Identify gaps in water resources expertise, identify and attract top talent to SWCA, and advocate for strategic hires when needed.
  • Serve as a technical mentor and role model for water resources practitioners at SWCA, establishing systems to ensure that new regulatory developments, technical approaches, and strategic initiatives are continually disseminated within the water resources practice.
  • Identify and foster the technical disciplines and standards necessary to support the growth of the water resources practice at SWCA

• Work with and through colleagues across SWCA to ensure the quality and integrity of deliverables in the water resources practice.

• Promote and support SWCA’s Science Leadership Program and coordinate with water resource practitioners and other resource specialists who are members of the program.

• 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).

Experience and qualifications for success

• Master’s degree or above in hydrology, water resources engineering or science, water resources policy and management, ecology, environmental science, or other field related to the environmental services that SWCA generally provides.  Bachelor’s degree and demonstrated equivalent experience will be considered.
• Minimum of 10 years’ experience providing environmental consulting services, with a specific emphasis on diverse water resources issues with increasing project management and technical responsibility, including leadership of others and management-level accountability for project or program performance.
• Demonstrated experience addressing complex water resource issues across multiple agencies, business lines, client types, and geographies.  Diverse experience with projects related to Clean Water Act compliance is required.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively across offices and regions at all levels of the organization.
• Demonstrated ability to 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.​
• Possesses broad understanding of relevant water resources regulatory requirements, technical disciplines, and emerging technologies.​
• Possesses strong client-facing skills (e.g., communication, relationship building, problem solving).​
• Demonstrated ability to develop positive relationships with agencies at the local, regional, and national levels.​
• Consistent track record of communicating highly technical concepts to a variety of stakeholder groups.​
• Possesses a strong understanding of financial metrics, with the proven ability to manage complex projects or tasks.​
• Demonstrated ability to direct high-quality, complex, interdisciplinary technical and project work.​
• Proven track record of influencing the delivery of results, even in areas without direct authority.​
• Recognized mentor of others in the organization and in the practice area to support the SWCA's broader succession efforts.

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 1-480-581-5378. 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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