Senior Planning Team Lead

About the opportunity

SWCA seeks a Senior Planning Team Lead for Arizona to play a key leadership role within SWCA's Planning Program, helping to shape and grow our presence across the state. This position combines strategic business development with hands on project leadership, client partnership, and team mentorship. The role supports office and regional goals by pursuing new opportunities, leading and delivering complex planning and permitting projects, and building strong, trusted relationships with clients and partners.

The ideal candidate brings experience with Arizona's regulatory environment and planning landscape, along with the technical expertise to guide permitting strategies and the leadership skills to develop and inspire staff. This role offers the opportunity to influence program direction, support the growth of the planning practice, and contribute meaningfully to SWCA's continued success supporting Arizona Certificate of Environmental Compatibility (CEC) projects, federal, state & local permits for renewable energy, transmission, mining and oil/gas projects.

This is a full time, regular status, salaried position reporting to the Arizona Planning Director. This position will work closely with leaders across Arizona, and potentially Nevada, New Mexico and beyond, to accomplish goals.

SWCA is proud to offer flexible work location arrangements. Work can be based in the office, in a hybrid work arrangement or distributed (= remote), for those located in the region.

To be considered, please submit a resume and cover letter describing your interest in the role and how you meet the required qualifications listed below.

Final date to receive applications:
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.

The Senior Planning Team Lead for Arizona will develop business opportunities within the Arizona market and adjacent areas while growing and managing a locally based and distributed planning team. This will include working with the Arizona Planning Director, Senior Directors, and professional staff throughout the West region to further our team and regional goals by contributing to the following:

• Client leadership – Manage client relationships and conduct business development with new and existing clients.
• Client leadership – Identify and evaluate sales opportunities (prospects and proposals) and make recommendations to the team and leadership; lead proposal efforts.
• Client leadership – Support business line growth objectives and lead the development of planning and permitting documents including Federal, State, and local permitting for business lines that may include land use planning, generation, transmission, mining, and others.
• Client leadership – Network within industry organizations to expand the regional client base in line with the region's strategic goals.
• Client leadership – Develop and foster teaming relationships that lead to business development.
• Client leadership – Take a leading role in the effort to diversify sales in the Arizona market, specifically by developing business in the planning discipline, also contributing to cross-specialty business in cultural and natural resources, restoration, and multi-region and multidisciplinary pursuits.
• Client leadership – Participate in and lead strategic client capture efforts, in collaboration with Client Services Resources team and local/regional leadership.
• Client leadership – Manage the performance of individual projects and effectively coordinate with clients and agencies to produce technically excellent work that is on time and on budget.
• Client leadership – Identify and mitigate project challenges to avoid overruns and ensure profitability.

• People Leadership – Demonstrate excellent leadership behavior and…