Senior Ecologist

AECOM is actively seeking an experienced Senior Ecologist to join our southern California Natural Resources Group as a senior level leader and mentor with expertise in business development and project management. This role will have a focus on growth and sales and the preparation of high-quality proposals for new projects and clients in Natural Resources. This opportunity is an exciting opportunity to manage and support industry leading projects and programs in the utility, energy, municipal, federal, and transportation sectors; and opportunities to lead and specialize in meaningful technical work such as complex permitting projects and large-scale environmental compliance projects.   

This hybrid role can be based in our San Diego, Orange, Los Angeles, or San Luis Obispo, CA offices. 

This position will support numerous natural resource projects in the southern and central California regions, expanding as far as northern California and west covering states such as Nevada, Arizona etc including such as wildlife movement studies, Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs), and large-scale environmental constraints analyses. Primary duties include growing portfolios of large-scale cutting-edge environmental projects, managing projects involving impact assessments, mitigation planning, regulatory compliance and permitting efforts including CEQA/NEPA, 404/401, CESA, and ESA, and preparing environmental documents and management plans. Candidate will coordinate with resource agency staff, lead complex environmental, waters, and/or species-related permitting projects and participate in public review processes.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Effectively responds to RFPs and develops winning proposals, including assembling proposal materials and participating in client interviews.
• Manages a team to prepare large, complex natural resources documents such as Biological Technical Reports, Biological Assessments, 2081 Permit Applications, Habitat Conservation Plans, Eagle Conservation Plans, and/or Delineation Reports, Aquatic Resources Permit Applications or other Federal and State Permit Applications. Operates as primary author or senior reviewer as appropriate.
• Become an AECOM Certified Project Manager. Manage projects/tasks that include all aspects of environmental analysis (e.g., biological, cultural, air quality, traffic, etc.).
• Manages projects with large-scale field efforts and intensive schedules.
• Manages large-scale compliance projects requiring adherence to permit conditions.
• Performs project management duties such as forecasting, tracking, accounting updates, invoicing, progress reports, and scheduling.
• Reviews contracts for understanding of scope, fee, schedule, and deliverables, and all other contractual obligations
• Develops work breakdown structure for control and integrity of work to be performed as and defined by the contract.
• Monitors and analyzes project costs, commitments, accruals, and changes, and takes corrective action where necessary.
• Identifies trends and deviations in financial performance to project team with recommended courses of action.
• Operates as primary point of contact for clients and resource agencies on projects.
• Performs client management duties such as recurring status meetings, milestone check-ins, and day-to-day interfacing.
• Focus on supporting career development of junior staff in the practice.
• Participates in interviews with large or small teams for a variety of clients.
• Candidate will contribute to growth of department through marketing pursuits including proposal preparation, interviews, and business development.

About AECOM’s Environment Business Line
Join AECOM to be part of an expert global team who is connected through a well-developed, worldwide, internal technical practice network through which you can learn from and brainstorm with the best in the world. AECOM is an industry-leading, world class environmental firm, and we want you to succeed within it.  We respect and encourage your own pathway to excellence via our Freedom to Grow initiative.

AECOM is known for our award-winning technical excellence, leading-edge science and innovative project delivery. We provide sustainable solutions for some of the world’s most challenging issues. Our global clients and their projects span a variety of market sectors and geographies and require innovative technical solutions to solve wide-ranging environmental problems.