At Stantec, we believe a healthy environment is fundamental to our communities, natural habitat, and the planet - our work is instrumental in responsible development, ecological/habitat restoration, resiliency, and environmental sustainability. Our clients look to us for environmental advising and technical assistance so both communities and natural systems thrive. Stantec's Environmental Services team is grounded in safety, quality, and ethics; and our experts lead their fields and guide our work with rigor, a creative spirit, and vision for growth. We draw from more than 20 technical specialties around the globe and are committed to fostering an inclusive community of diverse talents, backgrounds, and expertise. We are a place to apply your passion and collaborate with top environmental talents on work that is critical to our clients and the communities they support. Join a team that has the environment down to a science. At Stantec, we always design with community in mind.

Your Opportunity

Stantec's Northern California Region (serving Northern California and parts of Nevada) is seeking a Senior Ecosystem Restoration Specialist with at least 15 years of experience leading and preparing environmental permits for State and Federal agencies within California. The position is to be based out of either our San Francisco, Walnut Creek, Petaluma, or San Jose office; geographic alignment with other Stantec offices will be considered based on experience. Stantec provides for a flexible working arrangement include a hybrid model (i.e., a combination of office and remote working) and robust benefits package.

As a Senior Ecosystem Restoration Specialist, you will provide preparation, negotiation, and oversight of natural resources across a variety of projects for a diverse range of industries and clients, including federal, state, and local projects. This could include assistance with the preparation of technical studies and environmental documents under U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 404 wetland permitting, California Department of Fish and Wildlife 1600 Agreements and CESA permitting, RWQCB 401 certifications, review of baseline reporting, incidental and/or disturbance take permits, Federal Endangered Species Act permitting, preparation of mitigation plans, and other work. Our regulatory permitting work is involves: renewables projects (photovoltaic solar, battery energy storage, transmission, and terrestrial wind projects), transportation, utility, community development and other sectors. Some projects trigger NEPA analysis when they cross public lands (e.g., Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service). You will possess knowledge of restoration functions, activities and projects. Includes resource management overseeing contractors and consultants engaged in restoration, and/or inspecting completed work and work in progress. A background in restoration ecology, landscape architecture, botany, or a related field, and a thorough understanding of soils, hydrology, and other physical and biological processes related to restoring upland, aquatic resource, and riparian habitats is expected. Based on your interest, you will be afforded the opportunity to participate on other projects ranging from private redevelopment initiatives to long-range policy plans - we allow our team to pursue their individual passion. We have deep staff resources to assist you with your work. Successful candidates will be comfortable handling project development, management, and technical responsibility of environmental compliance and natural resources projects.

The Senior Ecosystem Restoration Specialist will be providing support for the enhancement, restoration/revegetation of upland and aquatic resource projects, and working in a team setting, collaborating with botanists, wildlife biologists, soil scientists, geomorphologists, landscape architects, hydrologists, engineers, and planners. The Senior Ecosystem Restoration Specialist will provide technical support for habitat restoration projects including feasibility assessments, conceptual and detailed design, construction oversight, and maintenance and performance monitoring. The Senior Restoration Ecologist will also lead and support business development efforts including client outreach and lead generation, and proposal preparation. You will also have a strong understanding of California and federal waters permitting as the focus - including impact determinations and demonstrated ability to lead preparation of documents under these environmental regulatory processes. Primary duties will focus on managing technical staff and QA/QC review of analytical sections of environmental documents and technical reports and surveys.

Your Key Responsibilities

• Conduct completeness reviews of technical documentation and prepare impact analyses across a variety of natural resources and work to ensure the team and project efficiency and success.
• Lead, author and assemble technical reports including writing narratives, providing code/policy conducting analysis, achieving analytical findings, producing exhibits, and providing potential recommendations. Assignments/projects are advanced in nature and require the application of experience and strategy.
• Interact and interface with environmental regulators and clients; proactively assess and resolve concerns.
• Demonstrated preparation, oversight, and negotiation of high-level permit applications with resources agencies including the USACE, CDFW, Regional Water Quality Control Boards, and California Coastal Commission.
• Demonstrated high level experience with the California and Federal Endangered Species Act consultation processes. Demonstrated knowledge of CEQA and NEPA analysis.
• Responsible for independently planning, strategizing, implementing, and orchestrating the team to deliver complicated projects related to natural resources, wetlands, biophysical impact assessments, environmental assessments, and regulatory approvals.
• Manage tasks and projects according to approved scopes of work and deliver quality reports on schedule and within budget.
• Provide senior technical reviews relating to natural resource science and biology on multidisciplinary projects.
• Apply technical and business knowledge and methods to develop creative, effective, and economical solutions to address current and potential project issues.
• Assist in analyzing current and emerging technical issues, and implementing actions to proactively address market, business, regulatory, and/or economic issues.
• Champion Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) Policies, Procedures, Standards and Guidelines in the execution of all work.
• Provide supervision, training, technical direction and mentoring to more junior staff.
• Contribute to and lead business development activities, including proposals, pre-qualifications, and relationship building with clients and prospective clients and industry colleagues.

Your Capabilities and Credentials

• At least 15 years of experience successfully executing technical aspects of complex projects related to federal and state resources impact analysis and regulatory permitting in California.
• Skilled in communications and technical information exchange with clients, engineers and scientists, government regulators and agencies, and academia, as well as non-technical communication to the public.
• Team oriented with strong capability to motivate others.
• Excellent verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills (i.e., strong writer)
• Demonstrated experience with leading planning projects and ability to motivate self and others to overcome obstacles and achieve goals.
• Demonstrated ability to work well under pressure and to prioritize and balance sometimes heavy workloads to achieve goals while keeping up with a highly mobile and changing environment.
• Experience and ability in collaborative problem solving, with teammates, stakeholders, and clients.
• Must be proficient in Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
• Ability to work independently and successfully lead development of specialized resource documents.
• Experience with highly complex projects focusing on ecosystem restoration with California federal permitting regulatory entities.
• Excellent ability to facilitate decision making and issue resolution processes.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in environmental science, environmental policy, environmental planning, or related field, and at least 15+ years of related experience.
• 15+ years of experience, preferably in environmental consulting, or working for a federal/state environmental agency. Experience with additional regulatory requirements and state resource permit processes a plus.
• Demonstrated experience with various environmental regulatory policies.
• Experience with project leadership, team leadership and mentorship.
• Experience writing, leading, and quality review of technical reports.
• Understanding of State and Federal environmental laws, rules, and review procedures.

This description is not a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that may be required of the employee and other duties, responsibilities and activities may be assigned or may be changed at any time with or without notice.

Stantec is a place where the best and brightest come to build on each other's talents, do exciting work, and make an impact on the world around us. Join us and redefine your personal best.