Senior Consultant, Environmental Planning (Transportation Infrastructure)

WSP is one of the world’s leading professional services firms, uniting its engineering, advisory and science-based expertise to shape communities to advance humanity. From local beginnings to a globe-spanning presence today, WSP operates in over 50 countries and employs approximately 73,000 professionals, known as Visioneers. Together we pioneer solutions and deliver innovative projects across sectors: Transportation & Infrastructure, Property & Buildings, Earth & Environment, Water, Power & Energy and Mining & Metals.

This Opportunity

WSP Planning and Advisory Services team has an exciting opportunity for an experienced Senior Environmental or Transport Planner to join our WSP Utah or Colorado offices.

This position will play a key leadership role in delivering existing environmental programs and shaping and growing the environmental planning practice across the region. Experience with FHWA NEPA regulations and a proven track record with transportation infrastructure projects, as well as working relationships with UDOT and/or CDOT NEPA procedures, is required.

Duties include providing technical transportation and environmental planning assistance to minimize the environmental impacts of transportation and/or development projects. Tasks may include providing support and guidance for developing alternative analyses for corridor studies, assessing the environmental impacts of proposed transportation actions, public involvement, stakeholder coordination, and ensuring regulatory compliance.

The role also involves serving as a key coordinator with subject matter experts, local, state, and federal agencies, and private entities. You will substantiate documentation to advise on project areas by applying and integrating urban and regional planning with a focus on sustainability. Additionally, you will assist project leadership and/or lead environmental reviews following standard NEPA procedures, including the coordination and preparation of categorical exclusions, environmental assessments, or environmental impact assessments. You will support corrective/mitigation strategy development, permitting, and/or mitigation activities, ensuring that responsibilities are delivered with a level of quality that meets or exceeds industry standards.

The role also supports and/or leads business development activities, including identifying, pursuing, and securing project work. You will need to demonstrate relevant qualifications, best practices, project management expertise, and a strong familiarity with stakeholder coordination needs.

Your Impact

• Lead the development of NEPA documentation for transportation projects.
• Assist with business development and proposal activities across the Southwest.
• Assist with overseeing and working with cross-functional teams in executing project work.
• Interact with regulatory agencies, subcontractors, and clients in a confident and professional manner.
• Provide environmental risk identification and impact assessment, offering input with moderate to high-level threat mitigation and permitting activities projects to minimize impacts to the health of the environment and the population.
• Determine well-defined data collection methods for identifying and compiling observational, spatial, operations, and environmental data from multiple sources for projects, investigations, and surveys. 
• Comply with regulatory requirements pertaining to the data integrity, documentation, procedures, training, monitoring systems, reporting, and record compliance and retention.
• Use GIS, topographic maps, aerial photographs, GPS data, and other visualization tools to determine and map exact locations of project areas, site impact, and associated resource sensitivities.
• Prepare data and visualizations such as tables, charts, accurate reports, and illustrations for the interpretation or presentation of data, findings, or analyses Prepare and assist with completing environmental survey reports, data entry, impact assessment, and permitting activities for assigned projects (e.g. Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act permitting, NEPA, etc.). 
• Prepare technical reports and presentations that explain research, findings, and recommendations to address, prevent, control, or restore environmental impacts.
• Perform professional environmental planning work and conduct investigations, inspections, and environmental studies and surveys to gain further information on a particular environmental problem or issue, verify site characteristics, and/or to plan for future environmental needs.
• Assist with scoping, strategic planning, and developing permitting execution strategy for clients on projects.
• Support and/or lead proposal development activities, including research, writing, staff