APA Los Angeles provides this job bank as a free service. Add a job posting. Submissions are subject to review for relevance to the planning community and will be published upon approval.
After you submit your job posting through the above form, consider browsing the APA Los Angeles resume book for potential hires. The resume book allows job-seeking planners to showcase their work histories and professional skills to prospective employers. If you would like to request access to the resume book, please contact young-emerging@apalosangeles.org.
Senior Principal Air Quality and Climate Consultant
Environmental Science Associates / Southern California (LA, Pasadena, Irvine or San Diego)
Posted on: February 12, 2020
Application Deadline: Open until Filled
Job Description
ESA seeks a highly motivated Senior Principal Air Quality and Climate Consultant to join us in Southern California. We are looking for a team member who has the intellectual curiosity and proactivity to continue the advancement of our established group of air quality and climate consultants. This is a leadership opportunity focused on collaboration, delivery, mentorship, and the continued market expansion and growth of our team.
Who We Are
ESA is a 100% employee-owned environmental consulting firm delivering work that matters.
We plan, design, permit, mitigate, and restore—for projects across our communities, infrastructure systems, open spaces, and wildlands.
Our scientists, planners, historians, archaeologists, engineers, designers, and technical specialists provide critical thinking, in-depth analyses, and committed follow-through to guide successful policy development and project planning, culminating in delivery of enduring multi-objective solutions.
At ESA, we believe every employee has a unique combination of knowledge, skills, and experience that contributes to our success.
We value diversity and inclusion and celebrate the differences that make each of us unique. Our culture is built on mutual respect, recognizing that the collective sum of our individual differences and life experiences fosters our continued success and achievement for our employee-owners and our clients.
Collaborating with colleagues from a variety of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives leads to better solutions and opportunities for everyone. We celebrate the differences—age, color, physical ability, ethnicity, family or marital status, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, language, national origin, race, religion, veteran status, and other characteristics—that make each of us unique.
Who You Are
You are an experienced Senior Consultant within the Air Quality and Climate field with a minimum of seventeen years of progressive experience supporting and leading the development of multifaceted environmental, air quality, and climate change projects throughout California. You enjoy leading, mentoring, and growing your team. You have the knowledge and demonstrated ability to serve as primary author of specialized or highly complex environmental documents, but you also thrive in collaborative environments.
You have intellectual curiosity. Your experiences are varied enough to be creative and nimble in solving some of the most complex environmental clearance and permitting challenges for both public agency and private development clients. You are excited and motivated by the prospect of continuing to advance an established team of expert air quality and climate professionals. You have comprehensive knowledge of CEQA and NEPA, air pollutant permitting, greenhouse gas and climate change issues, and the application of the science and engineering behind this work necessary to support and partner with our clients. You have led the development of innovative and current applications of this work within the California context, including Climate Action Plans, air quality studies for development and infrastructure projects, and health risk analyses in support of the most recent CEQA case law.
You have significant experience managing the overall project life cycle, from developing project proposals to overseeing day-to-day project assignments and tracking financial performance. You possess excellent communication skills and have the ability to speak persuasively about complex topics to individuals and groups. You know how to get things done—you demonstrate a high degree of creativity, judgment, and foresight in planning and organizing activities and programs.
You have experience supervising staff and you proactively identify and contribute constructively to address broad project or team issues to foster teamwork.
You have regular client interaction and you routinely cultivate clients through your work and through business development and marketing activities. You are a Thought Leader, both externally and internally, recognized for continually advancing solutions to the issues of greatest important and urgency for public and private stakeholders.
You hold a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in atmospheric science, meteorology, chemistry, acoustics, environmental, civil, mechanical, chemical engineering, or a related field.
What You Will Do for ESA
As a Senior Principal Air Quality and Climate Consultant you will lead large, complex projects and tasks as well as serve as a technical specialist, leveraging your expertise to develop technical approaches and strategies to address project issues for a wide range of complex air quality and noise studies or interdisciplinary projects. You will demonstrate a clear understanding of project and client management principles and practices and be responsible for the development of environmental compliance and planning documents in accordance with applicable guidelines and requirements, while delivering assignments within budget and schedule.
You will provide mentorship and support for junior and mid-level staff, including providing career development guidance while working on projects together and providing constructive feedback when reviewing reports for accuracy and clarity. You will participate in regional leadership and decision-making relating to the successful operation and growth of the firm. Where necessary, to meet client expectations and technical needs of our more advanced work, you will serve as the primary author of specialized or complex, and often controversial, environmental documents. The work products you will be involved with include technical memoranda, greenhouse gas/climate and air quality impact assessments, Climate Action Plans, audits, scientific discipline reports, and sections of CEQA and NEPA reports.
You will represent and be a spokesperson and representative of ESA in the marketplace—you will participate in and lead client meetings, and present at community workshops and public hearings, effectively presenting complex technical information clearly and concisely.
You will also lead marketing and business development pursuits, including identifying opportunities through client research, interaction, and development. Identified client and project opportunities will be developed through follow-through efforts, including preparing proposals, providing technical input, and collaborating with pursuit and interview teams.
What ESA Will Do for You
Joining ESA means becoming part of a close-knit team of committed environmental professionals, and thereby knowing that you have contributed to outstanding projects, improved environmental stewardship, and advanced a more sustainable and resilient future for our communities and wild places.
At ESA, we help to keep the environment in balance, and we want to help keep your life in balance, too, by providing medical, dental & vision insurance (paid at 70% for you AND your family), a 401(k) plan with company match, and paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays, to name a few.
No matter what stage you are at in your career, we provide opportunities for continued growth, development, and recognition. Whether you want to further your technical expertise, sharpen your business acumen, or help lead the next generation of employee-owners, we want to support you in reaching your career goals, and we believe these efforts will not only benefit you, but also all of ESA’s colleagues and clients. Specific programs we offer include Tuition Reimbursement, Professional Development Bonuses, and attendance at Conferences.
What’s Special About Our Air Quality and Acoustics Group
We develop economically feasible and technically practical solutions that address air pollutants, air toxics, human health risks, and climate challenges. We are known for our scientific rigor and ability to effectively communicate complex analyses to the public in support of our clients’ goals. As a highly integrated team, we value creative thinking, teamwork, and multi-disciplinary and cross-disciplinary engagement.
Our scientists and engineers use leading-edge methods to measure, model, and analyze air pollution. We have had a proven track record of supporting clients in the completion of reports, plans, permits, assessments, policy analyses, compliance measures, resource management, and public involvement activities. Our staff assesses and verifies carbon footprints and gives strategic guidance on minimizing and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Spanning markets and projects, our knowledge of current greenhouse gas policies and protocols coupled with a legacy of providing air quality solutions is a powerful combination for assisting clients in navigating the rapidly changing business and regulatory environments.
To read about the services ESA provides in the air quality and climate realms, check out these links: Air Quality, Climate Change & Resilience, and Climate Action Plans. In addition, here is an article on one of our exciting projects in Los Angeles County, the Gateway Cities Climate Action Plan Framework, where ESA is working with the Gateway Cities Council of Governments (COG) to address climate justice concerns head on.
ESA is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to a diverse and inclusive work environment. (EOE M/V/F/D)
Required Experience / Skills / Education
Application Instructions
How to Apply
If you are interested in applying to become an employee-owner at ESA, please visit the ESA Careers page at www.esassoc.com or see the job posting on ESA’s site here.