Environmental Project Director (Upstream)

About the role

GHD is seeking an Environmental Project Director to provide delivery leadership, governance, and assurance across complex environmental programs supporting upstream oil and gas projects. This role is ideal for a senior professional with a strong track record of compliant, defensible, and repeatable project delivery for clients.

Responsibilities

• Approve project planning and ensure fit-for-purpose execution plans (scope, schedule, resourcing, risk, and stakeholder communication).
• Lead monthly project health checks to confirm regulatory status, schedule adherence, technical progress, risks, and subcontractor performance; assign corrective actions and document closeout.
• Maintain documentation and traceability: ensure outputs are tracked, issued/received transmittals are recorded, and an audit trail is maintained for key deliverables (plans, analytical packages, reports, submittals, meeting notes, corrective actions).
• Ensure communications, reporting plans, and deadline control are defined during initiation/planning and actively tracked to meet reporting obligations on time.
• Oversee vendor and subcontractor governance, including use of prequalified vendors, review of work plans/procedures, and verification pathways consistent with deliverable requirements.
• Enforce output verification and quality requirements prior to external use; ensure competent check/review and director approval are completed and evidenced in the project workspace.
• Cook up with the Program Manager on escalations, decision rights, and alignment to program-level governance and performance measures.
• Drive a culture of safety, compliance, and continuous improvement—controls embedded in workflows, not added later.

Requirements

• Demonstrated leadership of complex or high-risk projects within regulated environments.
• Strong grasp of project governance, assurance/verification, and documentation controls.
• Experience managing multi-disciplinary teams, vendors, and subcontractors.
• Strong planning, reporting, and stakeholder communication capabilities.
• Experience using PMBOK-aligned tools such as communication/reporting plan templates, WBS-based planning, and structured health checks.
• Experience with integrated data pipelines and dashboards that support compliance and performance visibility.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Engineering, Geology, Environmental Science or related field.
• PE or PG will be highly regarded.
• 10+ years of upstream oil & gas environmental consulting experience including environmental remediation and site assessments, report writing, data management & interpretation, project coordination, and managing clients.
• Solid understanding and working knowledge of California and Colorado regulatory environment.
• OSHA 40-hour HAZWOPER certification a plus.
• Ability and willingness to travel client meetings is required.
• Experience with repeatable, high-volume programs where standardization and automation are used to improve efficiency.
• Familiarity with analytics dashboards and data management practices that support compliance tracking and decision-making.

Benefits

• 401K - Eligible to participate on the first day of the month following 3 months of service.
• Paid time off – PTO starts at 16 days per year and increases with years of service.
• Holiday Pay - Holiday pay is provided for eligible employees.
• GHD observes 9 holidays per year.
• Holiday pay will be based on the regular set schedule for the employee.
• Wellness Benefit - Regular full-term employees are eligible to participate in the wellness reimbursement program. GHD will reimburse 50% of the cost of the following to maximum of $250.00 reimbursement annually for such items as: Health club membership fees, Home exercise equipment purchases, Bicycles, Race, run & marathon entrance fees, Smoking cessation programs, Weight loss programs (i.e.—Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig), Fitbits and Fitness Tracking devices.

Pay

$117,750 - $174,180 based on experience and location.

Schedule

Flexible, with occasional travel required.