Senior Scientist/Project Manager

Environmental Science Associates (ESA) is seeking a highly motivated Senior Scientist/Project Manager with 20+ years' experience who is a technical leader and has proven initiative to help drive the growth of our dynamic team of environmental consultants in South Florida. This is a senior-level opportunity in our Biological Resources and Land Management team of professionals who provide expertise for a variety of clients including the South Florida Water Management District, Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Florida Department of Transportation, as well as many local municipalities. The position will be focused on marketing our existing contracts and strengthening client connections while providing leadership and guidance to our junior technical staff. The position will collaborate with our Southeast Business Group Director, Program Managers, and technical leaders. This opportunity is focused on collaboration, ensuring outstanding client service, managing projects and overseeing work, ensuring the production of quality work products, and being part of a team with a passion to do great work and have fun together.  

What You Will Do for ESA

• Supervise a team of environmental professionals that vary in experience and technical expertise. You will use your judgment and management skills to select, apply, and adapt supervisory and managerial techniques, methods, and procedures for staff’s career growth and guidance. Provide mentorship and support for junior staff, including reviewing their work for accuracy and clarity and providing constructive feedback and career development guidance while working on projects together. Consistently demonstrate your attentive listening skills and clear writing skills while leading staff performance evaluations. You will foster an inclusive team environment where all employee-owners are valued, respected, and enabled to work at their highest level. 
• Serve as a Project Manager or Deputy Project Manager. Demonstrate a clear understanding of project management principles and practices and be able to develop your staff’s skill in the preparation of environmental compliance and planning documents in accordance with applicable guidelines and requirements. Balance the workloads of yourself and the staff and assure that client expectations, quality, budget, and schedules are met. You may participate in or manage projects in your area of expertise. You work collaboratively with clients and interdisciplinary teams to deliver your projects on time and within budget and have developed and tracked scope, schedules, and budgets.
• You are known for preparing documents that are clear, concise, well-written, and supported, and for your ability to present information understandably and speak persuasively about complex topics to colleagues, clients, agency staff, teaming partners, other project stakeholders, and the general public.
• You may lead the preparation of proposals for contract and project pursuits including providing technical input, contributing to proposal writing, identifying opportunities, and engaging with proposal/interview teams. These efforts will include having the responsibility for preparing scopes of work and budgets and reviewing scopes and budgets prepared by your staff. You may also lead and direct marketing and business development pursuits including developing capture strategies. You possess excellent oral and presentation skills. You have an interest in business development and have experience acquiring work through your existing network.
• As a part of ESA’s Biologist Resources and Land Management Group, you will apply critical thinking and problem-solving to select and apply standard techniques, methods, and procedures for a wide range of biological studies. You may collect, interpret, and analyze field survey data and may serve as a technical/resource specialist. You will perform biological field studies that may vary from habitat and species surveys, habitat inventories and assessments, wetland and stream delineations, compliance monitoring, and habitat restoration. You will serve as a lead author or a contributing author of environmental documents potentially including technical memoranda, biological assessments/evaluations, scientific discipline reports, resource-related permit applications and/or other documents. You will prepare technical draft documents that are clear, concise, well-written, and supported.
• You enjoy fieldwork and can walk long distances carrying a backpack; and are able to lift at least 40 pounds. You are confident working outside, in remote and rural settings, as well as in urban environments. Physical outdoor work may include, but may not be limited to, work in all types of weather, traversing uneven ground in a variety of environments, along stream banks, and in coastal/intertidal areas. You may be exposed to inclement weather and uncomfortable working conditions. Some night and/or weekend work may be required.

Who You Are

• Have a bachelor’s or master’s degree with major coursework in biology, ecology, environmental science, chemistry, natural resources management, water quality/limnology, climatology, and/or similar natural resource-related disciplines from an accredited institution.
• Minimum of 20+ years of experience in leading or directing projects and the development of high-quality environmental analyses.
• Demonstrated leadership and supervisory skills.
• Experience working on any of the project types, such as: water supply and water quality; Everglades Restoration; electric utility and/or renewable energy; transportation; airports; public infrastructure; recreation and parks; adaptation/resiliency; and climate change.
• Strong understanding of regulatory permitting and the ability to lead the preparation of complex environmental permit applications and manage environmental compliance work.
• Experienced project manager and some business development.
• Experience developing and managing scopes of work, project budgets, and schedules.
• Experience with contributing to proposal writing and preparation of proposal budgets.
• Thrive in a fast-paced, exciting, and challenging environment and be able to manage multiple responsibilities and deadlines while working on a team or independently.

What’s Special About ESA

Joining ESA means becoming part of a close-knit team of environmental professionals who contribute to outstanding projects, improve environmental stewardship, and advance a more sustainable and resilient future for our communities and wild places.

At ESA, we provide benefits such as medical, dental, and vision insurance (paid at 70% for you and your family); annual allocations of company shares through our ESOP; a 401(k) plan with company match; and paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays.

We also offer specific programs to support you when 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 through tuition reimbursement, professional development bonuses, and attendance at conferences.

What’s Special About Our Biological Resources Team in the Southeast

Our Team includes biologists, restoration ecologists, permitting specialists, conservation biologists, and environmental scientists that provide expertise for many municipalities throughout Florida and the Southeast Region. Our work matters because it helps communities shape a positive future for their citizens in balance with conserving our state’s sensitive natural resources. We value creative thinking, teamwork, and multi-disciplinary and cross-disciplinary engagement and integration.  

Who We Are 

We are a 100% employee-owned environmental consulting firm who values diversity and inclusion and celebrate the differences that make each of us unique. Our culture is built on mutual respect, recognizing that our variety of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives leads to better solutions, which fosters our continued success for our employee-owners and clients. 

In accordance with ESA’s duty and responsibility to provide and maintain a safe workplace that is free of known hazards and to minimize the exposure to potential hazards, any employee who works from an ESA office or conducts any other in-person ESA work-related activity is required to submit their proof of vaccination status or have received an approved exemption and accommodation in states which this applies. 

ESA is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to a diverse and inclusive work environment. (EOE M/V/F/D)