Assistant Staff Environmental Scientist

SWCA Environmental Consultants is seeking an Assistant Staff Environmental Scientist to be based out of our Denver or Fort Collins, Colorado offices. The selected candidate will support projects in the Rocky Mountain and Northern Great Plains regions.

The Assistant Staff Environmental Scientist position requires an educational and experiential background in biology, natural resource management, botany, water resources, wildlife management, or a related field. This exciting and fast-paced position will have a fieldwork focus, but involve a mix of field and office work, depending on project type and season.

This position will require regular time spent in outdoor environment, often remote, where the climate, weather and terrain can be demanding. The position may involve an irregular schedule and some extended hours. It is anticipated that moderate travel, including occasional overnight stays, will be required. A key element of your job will be to independently supervise environmental survey crews in the field. Field work will be primarily in the Rocky Mountain region but may include travel to states in other ecoregions. Project reporting and other office tasks will require working on a computer for extended periods. To start, the workload is typically split into 75% field work and 25% office work dependent on need, with the option to move into more office work contingent on the incumbent's progression and interest.

Please submit a cover letter and a writing sample with your application.

Application deadline: Our team will begin reviewing applications immediately, and interviews will be scheduled with qualified candidates on a rolling basis. The application process will remain open until we have received a robust pool of qualified candidates. Once we have identified suitable individuals, we may close the application process without prior notice. We appreciate the time and effort invested by all applicants and will carefully consider each submission.

• Conduct a variety of natural resources field studies and monitoring including vegetation and habitat surveys, construction environmental compliance monitoring and reporting, threatened/endangered species assessments, wetland assessments and formal delineations, and general avian/wildlife surveys.
• Conduct detailed fieldwork, organize and save field data in digital formats, write technical reports and permit applications for approvals under the Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, National Environmental Policy Act, and other resource planning/permitting, and/or natural resource disciplines.
• Assist in the writing and development of written deliverables for project work and assist project managers in budgeting, scheduling, and tracking.
• Adhere to the safety program and look out for the safety of others, promptly communicating and mitigating safety hazards.
• Supervise a small crew while conducting environmental fieldwork. This includes:
  • Independently assigning and directing the activities of others on behalf of SWCA, often in remote areas without immediate guidance from senior managers, to ensure quality and on-time delivery
  • Ensuring that employees understand their responsibilities and delegated tasks and being held accountable if crew members under your supervision are not performing their activities correctly, productively, and safely
  • Serving as a conduit of communication between employees and senior managers, including communicating issues to relevant senior managers
  • Receiving and resolving complaints from employees in the field
  • Monitoring team productivity and offering timely performance guidance, including determining when correction action is needed and delivering appropriate feedback

Required

• Minimum of a Bachelor's degree in Biology, Ecology, Water Resources, Botany, Environmental Science, Fish and Wildlife Science, Natural Resource Management, related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• Candidates will have at least one (1) year of natural resources experience in the public or private sector, including experience leading or conducting natural resources field work focused on natural resources assessments; preferred experience in wetland delineations but not necessary.
• Ability to travel to a location, walk and conduct fieldwork for long hours, sometimes in inclement weather, rugged terrain, often at high altitudes, and ability to carry equipment and supplies weighing up to 40 pounds.
• Valid driver's license and the ability safely drive a 4WD vehicle on backcountry roads.

Preferred

• Desire to provide excellent client service in a fast-paced work environment
• Knowledge of wetland and other aquatic botanical species taxonomy and ability to identify species in the field.
• Additional experience with reporting and fieldwork for stormwater inspections, environmental compliance, wildlife surveys, and/or avian surveys strongly preferred.
• Experience conducting desktop research for preliminary wetlands evaluations and compiling field data into aquatic resource inventory reports strongly preferred.
• Familiarity with GPS devices and digital data collection, and/or mapping software such as ArcGIS preferred.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal skills, and high attention to detail.
• Be a highly-organized self-starter, with a strong entrepreneurial initiative.
• The ability and willingness to learn new survey and monitoring techniques and protocols.
• Willingness to work closely on a team

Why Work at SWCA:

SWCA Environmental Consultants is a growing employee-owned firm, providing a full-spectrum of environmental services. Our Vision (the North Star) is to make SWCA the best workplace and industry leader in sustainability, bringing sound science and creative solutions to global environmental challenges while maintaining a dedication to employee-ownership. We live our core values: we collaborate as #OneSWCA; we are #AlwaysLearning, we #NeverSettle, and we #GiveBack.

We are 100% employee-owned, and we build our success together. With offices across the United States, SWCA is one of the largest environmental compliance firms and ranks among Engineering News-Record's Top 200 Environmental Firms. We offer a supportive, team-oriented work environment and competitive wages and benefits, including an 100% employee stock ownership plan (retirement).

At SWCA, we support our team members in developing their careers to make them leaders in their industry. Our Career Landscape initiative is a process and guide designed to help develop chart rewarding career paths for employees at SWCA. We encourage professional conference attendance, internal and external professional development and training programs, education reimbursement, a Science and Leadership Program, and bonuses for publications meeting certain criteria. All regular status employees are eligible to participate in SWCA medical, dental, vision, employee assistance, wellness, life and disability plans, and are eligible to participate in the SWCA 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan and Trust.

If you need assistance accessing SWCA's website, completing the online application, or require accommodations at any point during the hiring process due to a disability, please contact us at accommodations@swca.com or call 1-480-581-5378. We're committed to providing an inclusive and supportive experience for all candidates. This contact information is specifically for accommodation requests; other inquiries will not receive a response.

EOE - women, minorities, individuals with disabilities and veterans are encouraged to apply. At SWCA Environmental Consultants, we celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive work environment. We strongly encourage candidates from all backgrounds, including those with diverse experiences and veterans, to apply. We believe that a diverse and inclusive workforce enhances creativity, innovation, and overall organizational success.

SWCA is committed to salary equity and salary transparency for all its employees. In alignment with this commitment, SWCA posts good faith pay ranges in all its advertised job postings to promote pay equity and transparency. An employee in this Colorado-based position can expect the following hourly rate: Assistant Staff Environmental Scientist- $22.39/hr. - $28.94/hr

Actual pay within this range may depend on experience, qualifications, geographic location, client requirements where applicable, and other factors permitted by law. Regular-status employees are also eligible for performance bonuses. Candidates are also encouraged to consider SWCA's Total Rewards package, which includes a competitive Benefits package, forward-thinking workplace flexibility, outstanding corporate culture, award-winning career development, and more.

SWCA continues to invest deeply in career development programs, delivering our award-winning Career Landscape support resources to accelerate the growth of our staff. We recognize the valuable skills and experiences our internal team members bring to SWCA's continued success. Qualified internal candidates are encouraged to apply and will be seriously considered for this position. We believe in promoting from within, where possible, providing our existing employees with compelling opportunities to advance their careers.

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