Senior Director, Environmental Management & Permitting
Job Title: Senior Director, Environmental Management & Permitting
Location: New York, New York
Salary: 175,000-210,000
Position Overview:
Seeking a Senior Director, Environmental Management & Permitting to lead all environmental workstreams associated with a growing portfolio of large-scale energy and infrastructure development projects. This role serves as the functional leader for environmental strategy, permitting, due diligence, and regulatory compliance from project origination through construction. The position will oversee environmental permitting staff, manage consultant teams, coordinate with project leadership, and provide executive-level guidance on environmental risks, permitting pathways, and regulatory strategy for complex utility-scale development projects.
Key Responsibilities:
- Lead the development and execution of environmental permitting strategies across a portfolio of energy and infrastructure projects.
- Direct federal, state, and local environmental permitting efforts, including Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, NEPA, and state environmental review processes.
- Oversee environmental due diligence programs, including Phase I/II Environmental Site Assessments, wetland delineations, threatened and endangered species surveys, and cultural resource investigations.
- Manage environmental permitting activities throughout the project lifecycle, ensuring alignment with project schedules and development milestones.
- Serve as the senior representative during regulatory agency negotiations, permitting hearings, and interagency consultations.
- Evaluate environmental risks and due diligence findings, translating technical information into actionable business recommendations.
- Lead, mentor, and develop a team of environmental permitting professionals while coordinating staffing needs across multiple projects.
- Manage external environmental consultants and technical specialists, including procurement, contract management, scope development, and quality control.
- Coordinate closely with engineering, construction, legal, regulatory affairs, government affairs, and project development teams.
- Establish permitting standards, document control procedures, records management protocols, and compliance tracking systems.
- Prepare executive-level updates on permitting status, environmental risks, and mitigation strategies.
- Monitor evolving federal and state environmental regulations and assess impacts to development and permitting strategies.
Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in Environmental Science, Environmental Engineering, Environmental Policy, Environmental Planning, or a related discipline.
- 15+ years of progressive experience in environmental permitting, siting, and energy infrastructure development.
- Demonstrated experience leading environmental permitting programs for complex utility-scale energy or industrial development projects.
- Extensive knowledge of federal and state environmental regulations, including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, NEPA, ESA, NHPA, and state siting requirements.
- Experience managing PSD/NSR air permits, environmental authorizations, and state permitting approvals for major infrastructure projects.
- Strong understanding of environmental due diligence, ecological surveys, cultural resources investigations, and site development processes.
- Experience coordinating with agencies such as USACE, USFWS, SHPO, and state environmental regulatory bodies.
- Strong leadership, organizational, project management, and stakeholder engagement skills.
- Ability to communicate complex environmental and regulatory issues to executive leadership and project teams.
Preferred Experience/Skills:
- Significant experience supporting combined-cycle power generation, renewable energy, transmission, or other utility-scale infrastructure projects.
- Experience managing complex or contested permitting matters involving multiple stakeholders and regulatory agencies.
- Proven success building and leading high-performing environmental permitting teams.
- Experience managing third-party environmental consultants and multidisciplinary technical teams.
- Strong environmental risk assessment and mitigation planning experience.
- Ability to establish and scale permitting processes across a large development portfolio.
- Executive-level presentation and decision-support experience.
- Strong background in environmental strategy, regulatory negotiations, and agency engagement.
- Experience supporting projects from site selection through construction and operational readiness.
- Knowledge of environmental compliance requirements associated with energy generation and major infrastructure development.
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