Project Manager/Regulatory Permitting Specialist

We are seeking an experienced Project Manager with particular experience in environmental regulatory permitting to support a variety of projects in California coastal and estuarine environments including restoration, transportation, and public access projects. Our ideal candidate has experience with regulatory permitting, particularly in tidal systems, client coordination, project and budget management, and biological report writing. This position will be based in the San Francisco Bay Area out of WRA's San Rafael or Emeryville offices and would report to Liz Allen, Sr. Permitting Specialist/Marine Biologist. In this role, you will:

• Work with team leaders, project managers, and technical staff to deliver high quality written work products to support a variety of restoration, transportation, public access, and development projects in California, particularly within the San Francisco Bay Area;
• Use technical expertise to guide and advise clients through environmental regulatory processes;
• Prepare permit applications for environmental regulatory agencies including the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), the Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), the California Coastal Commission (CCC) and the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC);
• Prepare biological reports to support consultations with State and federal wildlife agencies (e.g. CDFW, the National Marine Fisheries Service [NMFS], and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [USFWS]);
• Manage medium and large projects, including internal staff and budget management and external client management;
• Delegate tasks to WRA technical experts and lower-level staff;
• Oversee and mentor early career professionals on permitting, preparation of technical studies, project management, and professional development; 
• Share insights at internal practice group meetings;
• Prepare project proposals (scopes and fees); and
• Other duties as assigned.

Requirements:

• At least 3 years demonstrated project management experience, including timeline and budget management.
• Experience developing and submitting permit applications to environmental regulatory agencies.
• Experience interpreting civil engineering drawings to determine potential effects to sensitive resources.
• Familiarity with CEQA processes.
• Familiarity with GIS software.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to communicate technical information effectively. 
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to collaborate within interdisciplinary teams. 
• Valid driver's license, reliable transportation, and willingness to travel occasionally to field sites and in-person meetings.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite programs (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and Google Workspace programs (Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Drive, Calendar, etc.) 
• The ability to work independently, as well as part of a team.
• Attention to detail, and willingness to proactively ask for guidance when needed.
• Eagerness to learn about new topics, and to improve skills based on feedback.

Desired, but not required:

• Experience with environmental permitting and compliance in tidal ecosystems.
• Experience working with public clients (e.g. cities, counties, park districts, transportation agencies).
• Experience working with regulators in the San Francisco Bay Area.
• Experience with competitive proposal processes.
• Experience conducting land cover and/or vegetation mapping.
• Experience conducting wetland delineations or similar mapping of aquatic resources.

WRA has an established internal leveling system for our staff that maps salary bands and is informed by market data. Our leveling system is dependent on years of relevant industry experience, education, and the level of responsibility and autonomy at which you're expected to operate.
*The salary range for this position is $95,000-$122,500 which represents 2 job levels that WRA is open to considering for this role. In your first conversation with our recruiter, we will discuss leveling and compensation with you to make sure that expectations are aligned.
Who are we? WRA's an employee-owned environmental consultancy. We are a tenacious team of planners, engineers, and scientists, and we aim to leave the lands we love better than we found them. 
Our clients and partners hire us because we're skilled at navigating through challenging projects involving wildlands, parks, community spaces, and infrastructure. We bring more than four decades of expertise, long-standing relationships, and connections to our local communities to make sure that projects are pursued in responsible ways where both people and the environment thrive. 
As an organization, we believe that independence and interdependence are not mutually exclusive. We invest in systems, processes, and employee programs to support our staff's collective engagement and success. At the same time, we encourage our employees to operate with an ownership mindset, taking responsibility for outcomes and being true to our commitments. 
WRA's company vision is to cultivate a sustainable future where people and the environment thrive, and that effort starts first with our staff. We are committed to building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive work environment, and we have developed flexible policies, internal practices, and are investing in programs that prioritize learning and sustainability. We aim to create conditions that allow employees to prioritize their families, lead healthy and balanced lives, and to bring their authentic selves to work every day. We believe that by creating an exceptional workplace, our employees will be able to do their best work and be able to meaningfully contribute to the sustainability of the environment and the communities in which we live.
WRA is an equal opportunity employer, and we are committed to creating a diverse environment. We recruit, employ, train, compensate and promote regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, veteran status, and other protected status as required by applicable law. We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.

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