Environmental Project Manager

The County of Riverside's Transportation and Land Management Agency (TLMA) has an excellent career opportunity for an Environmental Project Manager (EPM) to join the Transportation's Capital Project Development Division located in Riverside.

The Environmental Project Manager will play a key role in overseeing environmental compliance and documentation for transportation projects. This position will be responsible for supervising professional and technical staff, preparing and managing Requests for Proposals (RFPs) and contracts, and ensuring NEPA and CEQA environmental deliverables meet project timelines and regulatory standards.

The ideal candidate will possess comprehensive knowledge of the Caltrans environmental process for NEPA, and have demonstrated experience coordinating with regulatory agencies such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Regional Water Quality Control Board, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The selected candidate will have strong project management experience, the ability to manage multiple concurrent projects, and expertise in environmental permitting and mitigation.

Additionally, the Environmental Project Manager will be responsible for managing and overseeing the work of environmental consultants, ensuring quality control and adherence to scope, budget, and schedule requirements. This role requires excellent communication, analytical, and organizational skills, as well as the ability to lead and mentor staff in a collaborative team environment.

Meet the Team!

The Transportation Department is responsible for planning, designing, funding, building, operating, and maintaining all roads, bridges, and transportation facilities within the unincorporated County territory.

• Provide project management support on an array of technically complex projects related to transportation, drainage, biology, cultural resources, water ways, chemical management, geology, archaeology, air quality, stormwater quality, hazardous waste, spill prevention, hydrologic data collection, paleontology, and storm and wastewater.
• Plan, organize, direct, review, and evaluate the work of professional department staff and external consultants involved in the oversight of the environmental process for either land use planning or TIP, and other urban infrastructure projects or studies; engage and direct staff while coordinating with department project managers, planners, or development applicants during project planning, design and construction phases, or development land use review phases to ensure compliance with environmental laws and regulations, and adherence to the County's General Plan and applicable ordinances.
• Direct and review the selection and design of techniques for the collection, coordination and development of methodologies for data applications and research in stormwater quality and conservation planning, studies of land use, environmental resources and stormwater / flood facilities, or patterns of environmental changes and community development in order to identify both existing and future stormwater quality and conservation issues.
• Directly manage the environmental process for specific, high priority projects; prepare and review the scope of work; review and comment on environmental work products; coordinate project tasks and delivery with project managers, planners, and outside approving agencies.
• Direct or participate in consultant selection and proposal evaluation of Service Agreements; prepare Form 11s for consideration and approval by the Board of Supervisors; prepare and review the environmental project scope, budget, and schedule with consultant firms and on call consultants.
• Prepare, manage and monitor project budgets and schedules; review consultants' monthly progress reports to ensure compliance with project scope and agreement provisions, and approve consultants' invoices for payment processing.
• Review and comment on proposed land use TIP or drainage project plans and legislation that affect the Agency's environmental compliance process; review current Department practices for environmental compliance and prepare or revise existing Department environmental policies and practices to ensure continual environmental compliance.
• Represent the Department before other County departments, governmental agencies, environmental regulatory and permitting agencies, stakeholders, and the public.
• Develop and manage environmental compliance through policy and regulatory development.
• Provide a basis for public confidence in the safety of hazardous installations, construction projects, and / or the preservation of the environment through adherence to county, state and federally mandated regulations.
• Perform research, analyze, prepare, and / or manage complex environmental documents including Environmental Impact Reports (EIRs); provide technical expertise in comprehensive land use drainage or TIP planning activities; evaluate and / or review field checking project entitlement plans, grading plans, water quality improvement plans for TIP, drainage projects, or land use developments.
• Provide project management support on an array of technically complex projects related to hydrologic data collection of storm water. This includes the hardware and software associated with the data collection, maintenance and monitoring of storm events.
• May testify in court proceedings or other administrative hearings as an expert witness in areas within assigned purview.Education : Graduation from an accredited college or university with a bachelor's degree, preferably in engineering, physical, chemical, environmental, or biological science, planning, public administration, urban or physical geography, geology, architecture, or closely related field to the assignment. An advanced degree in a scientific field of study is highly desired.

Experience : Four years of professional transportation land use or water resource planning experience, which included two years of experience with responsibility for project oversight in a lead, supervisory, administrative, or managerial capacity.

Knowledge of : The principles and practices of project management especially as they apply to public works and / or development activities; the principles and practices of land use and transportation planning; environmental monitoring; state and federal standards concerning public works and / or land use design and construction; techniques of project management, personnel management, and project funding and budgeting; the laws and regulations affecting environmental permitting and permit clearance including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), Clean Water Act, and California Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act.

Ability to : Plan, organize, and direct the work of an environmental or water resources planning unit; lay out and supervise the work of professional or water resources environmental personnel; perform difficult technical research, analyze situations accurately, and adopt effective courses of action; review, evaluate, and comment on proposed environmental plans or legislation that affect the Department's environmental process; review current department practices, prepare policies or revise existing policies to ensure environmental compliance; establish and maintain cooperative working relationships with others.This recruitment is open to all applicants.

For questions regarding this recruitment contact Ebelyn Skinner at eskinner@rivco.org.