Regulatory Specialist II
RES is currently accepting applications for Regulatory Specialists with at least 5 years of experience in wetland and species regulatory permitting based out of either our Nashville, TN offices.
The mission: RES is growing exponentially in the Southeast, and so is the regulatory team. You will be supporting the Regulatory Manager and larger Project Management team in conducting field work and preparing various environmental documents and regulatory permit packages to support our growing list of medium to large scale restoration projects. Work will primarily focus on technical writing, with some field work, with the potential to grow into a Project Management position.
Data analysis and preparation of associated reports, mitigation bank documents, and regulatory permits required in order to build restoration projects will comprise the main portion of the work. Our regulatory specialists are supported by senior ecologists and project managers and other resource experts across the country.
To be successful in this position and be able to grow you should be an independent thinker who enjoys solving complex problems and navigating the regulatory requirements within the Southeast region.
What your day-to-day might look like?
40% of your time will be spent on Permitting and project implementation activities. You will prepare regulatory documentation for submission to regulatory agencies or to Clients ensuring all regulatory requirements are met, including those mandated by Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, National Environmental Policy Act, National Historic Preservation Act, and various other state and federal regulations. You will also obtain regulatory agency approvals for RES projects; coordinate with operations staff on construction permit compliance and management; manage monitoring and performance criteria reporting, and support project close-out with agencies and RES project management. You will manage the implementation of various design projects, including invoicing, forecasting, and vendor management. You will also manage/coordinate agency field site visits.
An additional 30% will be spent on Regulatory advising. You will stay updated on changes to existing and new regulations and advise clients and RES Regulatory Director and Government Affairs on Federal and regional policy and regulatory issues and initiatives. You will also provide feedback on federal policy, such as species habitat mitigation, renewable energy, interagency coordinated agreements on mitigation, and regional interpretation of guidance/memoranda such as USACE RGLs and support information submittal to Congressional and/or agency headquarters staff as necessary. Advanced competency in scientific writing and document preparation is essential!
When needed, you will also give consultations to the land team and landowners on the buying and selling of properties, explaining the nuances of owning/maintaining a mitigation site per the approved permit(s).
15% of your time will be focused on document management, where you will manage/schedule field monitoring events and review staff work products and reports and establish and maintain a system for documents submitted to agencies or partners and all revisions to submitted documents.
The remaining 15% of your time you will be expanding your skills by training with RES’s experienced and expert staff at both the regional and national level on data analysis techniques, restoration design principles/approaches, interpretation of design plans and maps, and reporting.
Qualifications
We would love to talk to you if you have many of the following:
- BA/BS in Biology, Natural Resources, Botany or Wildlife Biology, Environmental Science, or similar.
- At least 5-years experience with relevant environmental regulations and permits/approvals (e.g. CWA 404/401/402, NWP/IP, NPDES, ESA).
- A broad knowledge of Southeast USA environmental resources (i.e., aquatic, plant, and wildlife).
- Understanding of restoration design principles, approaches and supporting technical information such as engineering design plans, functional calculations, and ecological data and strong ability to communicate this information through written project deliverables with support from the project team.
- Demonstrated field experience, although not a main aspect of the role, is desired.
- Experience reading and interpreting project maps and design plans and extracting information from these documents to support permitting/regulatory deliverables.
- Demonstrated experience with technical writing and drafting of technical documents and regulatory permit packages.
- Familiarity with GIS capabilities and functions.