Lead Project Manager - Utility Permitting

SWCA Environmental Consultants seeks a qualified Lead Project Manager – Utility Permitting with strong interpersonal skills and experience in utility project permitting and project management to join our team and primarily support oil and natural gas infrastructure projects in Chicago, Illinois. This individual will provide strategic and technical leadership across all project phases, from early planning and permitting through construction, consulting with clients and internal teams to guide complex utility permitting efforts.

About the role

This role will report to one of our Chicago, IL office locations and is a regular, salaried, full-time position that is hybrid eligible. The Lead Project Manager will strategically consult on and lead multidisciplinary project teams to navigate complex permitting challenges, aligning technical approaches with client objectives and regulatory requirements.

Responsibilities

• Manage projects that include compliance, biological resource assessments and constraints analyses, state and federal Endangered Species Act consultations, Clean Water Act Section 404 and Section 401 permitting, state-level permits, and local level permits.
• Lead and be accountable for high-complexity projects or program components, coordinating teams and resources, overseeing technical approach and QA/QC, and ensuring delivery on regulatory compliance, scope, schedule, and budget.
• Demonstrate strong skills in project planning, internal communication, and human relations, ensuring effective collaboration within the team.
• Develop project plans that communicate status, schedules, task delegation, scope changes, budget allocation, and other project details (including goals, purpose, and reasoning).
• Continuously guide complex projects, proactively identifying and resolving risks to project success, safety, quality, and performance through informed judgment, creative problem-solving, and strategic adjustments.
• Revise or recommend revisions to project scopes, schedules, budgets, and technical strategies as project conditions evolve to ensure successful outcomes.
• Take initiative and anticipate/resolve issues to assure client needs are met effectively.
• Lead and advise on all aspects of project implementation, including the development of permitting strategies, provide QA/QC of work processes and deliverables, and lead or support teams completing technical studies that support permitting efforts.
• Engage with SWCA’s Technical Director team to support quality initiatives and development of policies & procedures in your areas of expertise.
• Engage with professional organizations, including attendance at conferences, trainings, and client-led events on behalf of SWCA.
• Supervise, mentor, and provide project technical support to junior staff.
• Drive compliance of safety policies and reporting requirements to ensure overall team safety.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in biology, botany, wildlife management, or a closely related field.
• Six (6) years of natural resources consulting experience on a variety of project types, sizes, and regions that include: energy facility siting and constraints studies, federal, state, and local permitting, and agency interactions at all levels.
• Three (3) years of experience managing projects, including developing and implementing budgets, schedules, and scopes of work.
• Experience in Illinois and the Midwest Region.
• Demonstrated experience with state and local agencies such as IEPA, IDNR, MWRD, DuPage, Cook, Lake, and McHenry Counties.
• Demonstrated experience with applicable environmental federal, state, and county regulations.
• Demonstrated experience with federal agencies such as USFWS, EPA, and USACE.
• Prior primary report authorship and finalization for clients and agencies in a natural resource consulting context for a variety of project types and sizes, regions, and agencies.
• Valid driver’s license and ability to meet SWCA’s driver requirements.

Preferred Qualifications

• PMP Certification.
• Eight (8) years of natural resources consulting experience on a variety of project types, sizes, and regions that include: federal, state, and local permitting, compliance, and agency interactions at all levels.
• Four (4) years of experience managing projects, including developing and implementing budgets, schedules, and scopes of work.
• Demonstrated success managing multiple utility projects through permitting, construction, and closeout.
• Experience in more than one of the Midwest states.

Benefits

• 100% employee-owned firm with an employee stock ownership plan (retirement).
• Supportive, team-oriented work environment with competitive wages and benefits, including medical, dental, vision, employee assistance, wellness, life, and disability plans.
• Eligibility to participate in the SWCA 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan and Trust.
• Career development programs, including professional conference attendance, internal and external training, education reimbursement, Science and Leadership Program, and bonuses for publications meeting certain criteria.
• Performance bonuses for regular-status employees.

Pay

An employee in this Chicago, IL-based position can expect an annual salary of $87,141.60 - $114,660.00. Actual pay within this range may depend on experience, qualifications, geographic location, client requirements where applicable, and other factors permitted by law.