Senior Environmental Project Director (Upstream - California)

Join us as we strive to ensure a sustainable future for our communities and the world we live in.  

Become part of our global network of skilled engineers, scientists, auditors, planners and environmental specialists, all working together to leave this world better than we found it. 

GHD is seeking an experienced Senior Environmental Project Director to provide delivery leadership, governance, and assurance across complex environmental programs supporting upstream oil and gas projects. This role is ideal for a senior professional who brings a strong track record of compliant, defensible, and repeatable project delivery for their clients. The role enforces a structured project delivery framework that embeds QA/QC, regulatory compliance, documentation, and verifiable output approval into day-to-day execution.

As a Senior Project Director, you are a trusted advisor to clients, comfortable operating at the intersection of technical delivery, regulatory compliance, and program governance. You bring deep familiarity with state and federal environmental regulations, consent orders, and cleanup criteria, and you know how to embed QA/QC, verification, and documentation controls into day-to-day execution, so compliance is achieved by design, not inspection.

Success in this role requires lateral thinking, decisiveness, and the ability to lead multi-disciplinary teams through ambiguity while maintaining schedule, quality, and regulatory certainty.

• Approve project planning and ensure fit-for-purpose execution plans (scope, schedule, resourcing, risk, and stakeholder communication). 
• Lead monthly project health checks to confirm regulatory status, schedule adherence, technical progress, risks, and subcontractor performance; assign corrective actions and document closeout. 
• Maintain documentation and traceability: ensure outputs are tracked, issued/received transmittals are recorded, and an audit trail is maintained for key deliverables (plans, analytical packages, reports, submittals, meeting notes, corrective actions). 
• Ensure communications, reporting plans, and deadline control are defined during initiation/planning and actively tracked to meet reporting obligations on time. 
• Oversee vendor and subcontractor governance, including use of prequalified vendors, review of work plans/procedures, and verification pathways consistent with deliverable requirements. 
• Enforce output verification and quality requirements prior to external use; ensure competent check/review and director approval are completed and evidenced in the project workspace. 
• Coordinate with the Program Manager on escalations, decision rights, and alignment to program-level governance and performance measures. 
• Drive a culture of safety, compliance, and continuous improvement—controls embedded in workflows, not added later. 

• →Demonstrated leadership of complex or high-risk projects within regulated environments. 
• →Strong grasp of project governance, assurance/verification, and documentation controls. 
• →Experience managing multi-disciplinary teams, vendors, and subcontractors. 
• →Strong planning, reporting, and stakeholder communication capabilities. 
• →Experience using PMBOK-aligned tools such as communication/reporting plan templates, WBS-based planning, and structured health checks. 
• →Experience with integrated data pipelines and dashboards that support compliance and performance visibility. 

• Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Engineering, Geology, Environmental Science or related field 
• PE or PG will be highly regarded 
• 10+ upstream oil & gas environmental consulting experience including environmental remediation and site assessments, report writing, data management & interpretation, project coordination, and managing clients 
• Solid understanding and working knowledge of California's regulatory environment   
• OSHA 40-hour HAZWOPER certification a plus 
• Ability and willingness to travel client meetings is required 
• Experience with repeatable, high-volume programs where standardization and automation are used to improve efficiency. 
• Familiarity with analytics dashboards and data management practices that support compliance tracking and decision-making. 

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Benefits: 

• 401K - Employees are eligible to participate on the first day of the month following 3 months of service 
• Paid time off – Our PTO benefit is designed to provide eligible employees with a period of rest and relaxation, sick, and personal time throughout the year. PTO starts at 16 days per year and increases with years of service 
• Holiday Pay - Holiday pay is provided for eligible employees. GHD observes 9 holidays per year. Holiday pay will be based on the regular set schedule for the employee 
• Wellness Benefit- Regular full-term employees are eligible to participate in the wellness reimbursement  program. GHD will reimburse 50% of the cost of the following to maximum of $250.00 reimbursement annually for such items as: Health club membership fees, Home exercise equipment purchases, Bicycles, Race, run & marathon entrance fees, Smoking cessation programs, Weight loss programs (i.e.—Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig), Fitbits and Fitness Tracking devices 

Salary Range: $117,750 - $147,100 based on experience and location. 

As a multicultural organization, we encourage individual achievement and recognize the strength of a diverse workforce. GHD is an equal opportunity employer. We provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, genetic information, national origin, sex (including same sex), sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, age, disability or handicap, citizenship status, service member status, or any other category protected by federal, state, or local law.