Level Management
Job Location Los Angeles Office
– Los Angeles, CA
Position Type Full-Time
ESA seeks a highly motivated CEQA Project Manager/Deputy Project Manager to join us in Los Angeles.
We are looking for a team member with at least 5 to 7 years of experience who has the intellectual curiosity and proactivity to continue the advancement of our established team of environmental consultants.
This is a mid-level opportunity in our ever-growing team of Community Development professionals.
The position will primarily support CEQA projects in the Southern California region.
This opportunity is focused on collaboration, delivery, and client service.
Who We Are
ESA is a 100% employee-owned environmental consulting firm delivering work that matters.
We plan, design, permit, mitigate, and restore—for projects across our communities, infrastructure systems, open spaces, and wildlands.
Our scientists, planners, historians, archaeologists, engineers, designers, and technical specialists provide critical thinking, in-depth analyses, and committed follow-through to guide successful policy development and project planning and deliver enduring multi-objective solutions.
At ESA, we believe every employee has a unique combination of knowledge, skills, and experience that contributes to our success.
We value diversity and inclusion and celebrate the differences that make each of us unique.
Our culture is built on mutual respect, recognizing that the collective sum of our individual differences and life experiences fosters our continued success and achievement for our employee-owners and our clients.
Collaborating with colleagues from a variety of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives leads to better solutions and opportunities for everyone.
We celebrate the differences—age, color, physical ability, ethnicity, family or marital status, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, language, national origin, race, religion, veteran status, and other characteristics—that make each of us unique.
Who You Are
You are mid-level professional with a strong desire to grow and advance your career and to develop your project management skills.
You hold a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree with major course work in environmental planning, policy, and science, or a related interdisciplinary field.
You have a minimum of 5 years of professional experience, at least some of which working in a consulting environment, with responsibilities including conducting research, analyzing impacts, and writing sections of reports.
Familiarity with the California Environmental Quality Act, similar state/federal regulations, or resource-related permit applications is required.
You have exposure working as a deputy project manager or project manager on some projects, and work collaboratively with clients and interdisciplinary teams to deliver your projects on time and within budget and have tracked scopes, schedules and budgets.
You are known for preparing sections and documents that are clear, concise, well-written and supported and for your ability to present information understandably and speak persuasively about complex topics to colleagues, clients, agency staff, teaming partners, other project stakeholders and the general public.
You are an effective team member and communicator who contributes constructively and cooperatively to solve project or team issues while working collaboratively in a multi-disciplinary environment.
You work collaboratively with clients and interdisciplinary teams to deliver your projects on time and within budget and have developed and tracked scope, schedules, and budgets.
You ideally have experience preparing analyses and evaluations related to the environmental review of development and planning projects in California.
What You Will Do for ESA
You will serve as project manager, deputy project manager, task manager, and/or contributing author for CEQA and NEPA documents for development and planning-related projects in urban, suburban, and rural settings.
You will be responsible for coordinating task or project delivery schedules, handling project logistics, disseminating and maintaining related information and resources, assisting with budget tracking and invoicing, meeting with team members to gauge progress toward task completion, serve as the point person for team member or client questions, and deliver project assignments on time and within budget.
You will also consistently demonstrate your solid writing and attentive listening skills contributing to complex environmental reports.
Participate in and/or lead client meetings, and present information understandably and speak persuasively about complex topics to clients, agency staff, teaming partners, other project stakeholders and the general public.
You will lead or assist marketing and business development for selected tasks and/or projects of moderate complexity.
These efforts will include having the responsibility for preparing scopes of work and budgets for proposals or contract negotiations, providing technical input, and participating in interviews.
Provide mentorship and support for more junior staff, including reviewing their work for accuracy and clarity and providing constructive feedback and career development guidance while working on projects together.
You will thrive in a fast-paced, challenging environment and be able to manage multiple responsibilities and deadlines, while working on a team or independently.
What ESA Will Do for You
Joining ESA means becoming part of a close-knit team of environmental professionals who contribute to outstanding projects, improve environmental stewardship, and advance a more sustainable and resilient future for our communities and wild places.
At ESA, we spend our days helping to keep the environment in balance, and we want to help keep your life in balance too—by providing benefits such as medical, dental, and vision insurance (paid at 70% for you AND your family), a 401(k) plan with company match, an employee stock ownership program, and paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays, to name a few.
No matter what stage you are at in your career, we provide opportunities for continued growth, development, and recognition.
Whether you want to further your technical expertise, sharpen your business acumen, or help lead the next generation of employee-owners, we want to support you in reaching your career goals, and we believe these efforts will not only benefit you, but will also benefit all ESA colleagues and clients.
Specific programs we offer include tuition reimbursement, professional development bonuses, and attendance at conferences.
What’s Special About Our Community Development Team in the Los Angeles Office
Our Community Development team has built a legacy of success providing environmental compliance, clearance, and advancement.
We combine our firm’s technical depth in natural resources science and environmental planning with deep knowledge of local regulatory practices and procedures, including the most current legislation and case law, to create value-added, cost-effective, and legally defensible solutions for our clients.
ESA is unique in that we have a deep scientific, technical, and regulatory expertise, which we apply to our planning and environmental review projects.
We keep project approval and implementation at the forefront, balancing long-term planning, community attributes, stakeholder objectives, and cost.
Our focus is on comprehensiveness and clarity, and the result is that our CEQA, NEPA, and planning documents are frequently recognized by professional organizations with awards for creative approach and quality.
ESA’s Los Angeles office includes planners, environmental scientists, biologists, natural resource land managers, archeologists, historians, air and noise specialists, and environmental hydrologists and engineers.
While the office is made up of employees of a variety of backgrounds and career paths, the office shares a fun and caring office culture, complete with potlucks, lunch outings, and annual events, including camping trips.
The downtown office is conveniently located within two blocks of the Metro 7th Street/Metro Center, which has access to the Red, Purple, Blue, and Expo Metro lines.
ESA is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to a diverse and inclusive work environment.
(EOE M/V/F/D)