Junior Project Director (Upstream - California)

About the role

GHD is seeking a Junior 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 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.
• 5-8 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's 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

$97,500 - $121,875 based on experience and location.

Schedule

Flexible schedule to accommodate client needs.