Environmental Associate (Contractor)

About the role

The Environmental Associate is a long-term contractor position focused on supporting environmental compliance, impact assessments, permitting, and sustainability initiatives for TERUSA's onshore renewables portfolio in North America. This role works closely with the Director of Environmental Permitting and other TERUSA team members to ensure successful project execution and regulatory compliance.

Responsibilities

• Comply with all applicable TotalEnergies and U.S. Health, Safety, Environment, and Quality (HSE&Q) requirements and supporting standards, including:
  • Demonstrating adherence to the TotalEnergies HSE MAESTRO Management System.
  • Taking responsibility for personal safety and the safety of others.
  • Reporting anomalies, near misses, incidents, and unsafe conditions.
  • Actively participating in HSE meetings, sustainability moments, training sessions, and emergency drills.
  • Promoting a strong safety culture and environmental stewardship.
  • Acting in accordance with TotalEnergies policies, ethics, and compliance values.
• Support TotalEnergies’ environmental standards and take ownership of environmental compliance during the construction phase across multiple projects.
• Lead construction-site environmental compliance audits and site-specific impact assessments based on Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs).
• Manage consultants throughout the construction phase, including RFP development, scope definition, scheduling, and site access coordination. Engage consultants to perform oversight inspections for regulatory compliance and permit commitments, including SPCC, SWPPP, MBTA, Section 404, state-level NEPA permitting, isolated waters permitting, conditional use permitting, and protected species permitting.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for construction-related environmental questions from internal and external stakeholders.
• Communicate impact assessment findings and site audit results to construction teams.
• Support site teams in implementing corrective actions and track environmental compliance progress across multiple construction projects within the Salesforce project management system.
• Review project constraints and EPC bid packages to identify environmental permitting concerns and ensure compliance with company policies and impact assessment assumptions.
• Participate in regular internal and external project team meetings.
• Communicate environmental and permitting-related project updates and progress to cross-functional teams.
• Maintain project files and deliverables on the file server.
• Provide weekly updates to project schedules and progress reports.
• Support TotalEnergies’ environmental standards through ongoing coordination with internal and external stakeholders.
• Travel to project construction sites approximately once every three months to conduct onsite inspections and coordinate with site teams.
• Maintain records of environmental inspections, spills, cleanups, permit violations, and non-compliance.
• Track corporate environmental KPIs for construction.
• Review project layouts and construction designs for environmental risks and compliance with environmental requirements and standards.
• Track site restoration to regulatory, contract, and company standards.

Requirements

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Environmental Science, Biology, Natural Resources, Environmental Engineering, or a related field.
• 7+ years of relevant experience, including:
  • Managing environmental aspects of renewable energy or large infrastructure construction projects, including evaluating impacts and risks, recommending mitigation measures, and tracking mitigation effectiveness.
  • Leading environmental inspections and developing and implementing Environmental Management Plans (EMPs) for construction projects.
  • Managing sensitive environmental compliance discussions with external contractors, including navigating challenging or high-pressure situations while maintaining professionalism and regulatory compliance.
  • Managing multiple projects concurrently, including oversight of budgets, schedules, and scopes.
• Knowledge of federal, state, and local environmental regulations applicable to renewable energy projects, including:
  • Clean Water Act (CWA)
  • Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPPs)
  • National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
  • Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) requirements
  • Protected-species regulations
• Preferred experience in one or more of the following areas:
  • Stormwater management best practices and permitting
  • Protected-species management during construction
  • Sustainability initiatives
  • Biodiversity conservation
  • Site restoration
  • Contract administration
  • Environmental construction management
• Strong verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Ability to quickly learn new responsibilities, adapt to a dynamic work environment, and collaborate effectively with multidisciplinary project teams.