Sr Permitting Specialist- Central US

BayWa r.e. Americas Projects & Services

Senior Permitting Specialist

United States Central Region – ​Remote​

Job Type: Full-time, Salary

Reports to: Sr. Permitting Manager

About Us:

We are BayWa r.e. Americas Projects & Services, a leading developer of utility-scale renewable energy. We are also an in-house and third-party operations and services provider, offering 24/7/365 monitoring from our headquarters in Irvine, CA. Our team consists of 300 highly motivated experts across the United States and Mexico. Since first entering the North American market in 2014, we have brought over 1.5 GW online and are currently managing 2 GW of assets. Our development pipeline is currently 15GW in North America alone and continues to grow at an impressive pace.

Our mission is to deliver reliable and affordable energy across the Americas. We value long-term partnerships and actively collaborate with local communities and organizations to fund workforce development, support disaster relief efforts, and incorporate sustainability and biodiversity into our projects.

BayWa r.e. Americas Projects & Services is a subsidiary of BayWa r.e., a major player in renewable energy. BayWa r.e. has a global team of 5,400 members, operations in 34 countries, a development pipeline exceeding 30 GW, and over 10 GW in assets under management.

Our shareholders are BayWa AG, a $28.5 billion international group known for its diversified operations in agriculture, energy, and construction; and Energy Infrastructure Partners, a renowned leader in energy infrastructure investment managing over $7.5 billion from global investors.

Purpose:

BayWa r.e. Americas is seeking a ​Senior Permitting Specialist ​ to join our ​Development​ team.

Scope: Candidate will be required to drive the permitting process for BayWa r.e.’s utility-scale renewable energy projects across the United States; however, this role will primarily involve projects within the central region of the United States. Successful candidates will have a strong technical background in siting, permitting, and evaluating environmental impacts of utility-scale energy projects.

Responsibilities we will trust you with:

Success in this role involves:

Permitting Due Diligence (30%)

• ​Creating standardized scopes of work for early stage permitting diligence activities necessary to ensure federal, state, and local regulatory compliance.
• ​Assisting the Project Development team with permitting and environmental due diligence including review of Critical Issues Analyses, initial AHJ outreach, and desktop research, management of consultants, and review of all environmental studies.
• ​Supporting the Permitting Manager in conducting due diligence on later stage M&A projects as needed, including review of existing environmental reports that come from project sellers.
• ​Supporting Project Finance team on project financial closings and sales as an internal Subject Matter Expert on permitting and environmental issues.

Permitting Execution (40%)

• ​Coordinating with the Permitting Manager in order to plan and oversee advancement of local, state, and federal permitting processes (must be willing to travel up to 25% of time) across the United States.
• ​Managing and overseeing external project environmental and permitting related consultants from scope of work creation, request for proposal issuance, request for proposal review and assessment, bid selection, purchase order creation, and completion of scopes.
• ​Example of deliverables this role will include managing procurement and QA/QC, but are not limited to, wetland delineations, threatened and endangered species studies, cultural resource studies, acoustic studies, FAA glare studies, traffic studies, visual simulations, and environmental mitigation plans.
• ​Managing the drafting, reviewing and commenting process, and finalization of permitting collateral. This includes internally generated BayWa materials, as well as externally generated studies and reports geared towards addressing permitting concerns.
• ​Working collaboratively with Development, Real Estate, Interconnection, Engineering, and Commercial teams to enhance their understanding of complex permitting processes to better inform company strategy.
• ​Developing and communicating project permitting schedules and budgets to Developers and Project Managers.
• ​Assisting Developers in representing BayWa r.e. at permitting related governmental and community meetings.
• ​Leading the strategy, application compilation, application submittal of any environmental construction permits such as wetland impact permits from the US Army Corps of Engineers.
• ​Permitting Compliance (25%)
• ​Working with Construction and Project Management teams to ensure adequate permitting compliance.
• ​Creating a permitting compliance matrix for each project and managing the closeout of permitting conditions.
• ​Assisting in EPC Scope of Work creation to ensure adequate permitting compliance.

General (5%)

• ​Travel to BayWa r.e.’s main office in Irvine, CA, or other locations as applicable, to meet with broader development team 2-4 times a year.
• ​Attending pertinent industry conferences and tradeshows when appropriate.
• ​Various assigned departmental tasks as needed.

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Your areas of knowledge and expertise:

The ideal candidate demonstrates:

​​ Education/Experience –​

• Bachelor’s degree and/or Master’s degree, preferably in Natural Resources, Planning, Environmental Sciences, Environmental Policy, or a related field;
• Minimum 3-6+ years of experience in environmental/regulatory compliance, local, state, and federal permitting, required.
• Minimum of 2+ years of experience in utility scale renewable permitting, required.
• Demonstrated experience with public meetings and testifying as a subject matter expert.
• Experience with environmental due diligence on early and late-stage projects, including applied knowledge of biological, physical and cultural resources.
• Experience working with environmental, regulatory and land use agencies, such as: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), U.S. Forest Service (USFS), and/or state agencies, and local county and city planning departments.
• Knowledge of federal permitting required, NEPA experience also strongly preferred.
• Experience in a renewable-energy or related energy organization/association is a plus.
• Experience hiring and managing external consultants.

Skills/Knowledge/Abilities –

• Microsoft Office and Teams.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Strong project management and interpersonal skills.
• Public speaking skills–comfortable discussing complex topics in front of large audiences.
• Vendor and contract management experience, including scope of work preparation, bid solicitation, and bid comparison analysis.
• Able to demonstrate strong work habits, and successfully collaboration with peers, management, and unaffiliated third parties.
• Able to work independently within a team-oriented environment.

What we are ready to offer you:

• Total compensation package dependent upon a number of factors, including candidate’s professional experience, candidate’s skills, position’s seniority level, department’s hiring budget, and position’s location.
• The base pay range for this role is around $90,000 to $115,000.
• Competitive annual bonus target based on individual and company performance.
• Health and welfare benefits, including medical, dental, vision, life, pet insurance, short-term and long-term disability insurance plans.
• 401(k) retirement plan with 5% employer matching.
• Flexible work hours and remote first culture.
• Unlimited Paid Time Off policy for all Salaried, Full-time employees in the US
• 8 weeks paid family leave
• Health and wellness benefit; up to $500 annually.
• Free language lessons.
• Virtual yoga, breathwork and stretching sessions with colleagues via intranet.
• Educational reimbursement.
• For Irvine, CA LE’s only: Gym access and snacks for Irvine, CA employees.
• Relocation assistance, as applicable.
• A diverse and inclusive global team with a strong culture focusing on employee health and wellbeing.
• The possibility to make a positive contribution to our planet and use your world class marketing knowledge to set new standards in Renewable Energy.

Are our values your values?

Are you ambitious enough to make a big impact in our business and beyond? Do you create meaningful solutions?

Do you believe that we succeed as a team? We collaborate honestly, friendly, and respectfully. We have fun and celebrate our successes. How about you?

Are you reliable? We create trust by taking on responsibility.

Do you inspire others with an open mind, courage, and innovation? We challenge the status quo.

Our values define our unique way of working together and give us direction in our daily actions.

At BayWa r.e. we are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and teammates. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, non-disqualifying physical or mental disability, national origin, pregnancy, veteran status or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business need.