Senior Technical Advisor - FERC

SWCA Environmental Consultants is seeking a Senior Technical Advisor
- FERC (HR Title = Planning Technical Advisor) reporting into our Portland, Maine office. This is an On-Demand/On-Call, hourly, temporary (without benefits) position. On-Call positions average working at most 19 hours per week. The qualified applicant could either be a remote (= distributed) employee or work out of the Portland office in a hybrid fashion.

The successful candidate will have technical expertise in managing large tasks and large teams for projects associated with the Natural Gas Act (NGA) under the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Additional experience managing natural gas projects associated with the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), and the Clean Water Act (CWA) is also required.

Key skills include the ability to provide quality assurance/quality control oversight, and strong interpersonal and technical writing skills. The position will support or manage a variety of project tasks, but will greatly focus on driving FERC-related tasks and mentoring authors. Auxiliary tasks may include performing and overseeing multi-disciplinary project planning, environmental assessment, impact analyses, permitting, and similar tasks.

The Senior Technical Advisor will be expected to have a proven track record of mentoring and teaching junior, mid, and senior-level staff members in the following areas: managing, preparing, and reviewing reports, technical documents, applications, information requests, proposals and other written deliverables for construction projects related to various permitting/planning and compliance activities.

Final date to receive applications:
Applications for this role will be due on August 19, 2026 COB.

As a Senior Technical Advisor
- FERC
, you will:

• Serve as a technical expert in FERC-related tasks and regional permitting.
• Be recognized as a subject matter expert (SME) and technical resource to provide advice and expertise to SWCA staff, projects, and clients.
• Work closely with various team members throughout the planning and execution of project tasks.
• Prepare, review, and provide QA/QC for technical documents as part of permitting processes.
• Provide training and oversight to develop depth and competency among staff planners and biologists
• Collaborate with clients, SWCA staff, and resource and regulatory agency staff to ensure project success

• Minimum of a bachelor's degree in ecology, forestry, environmental science, or other related field.
• Minimum of ten (10) years combined experience in project management, environmental consulting; natural gas pipeline projects.
• Working knowledge of federal and state laws (e.g., Natural Gas Act, NEPA, ESA, NHPA, CWA, Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act) as it relates to natural gas pipeline facility projects.
• Demonstrated experience in the development of environmental permit applications and documents pertaining to the authorization of interstate natural gas facilities regulated by the FERC or other agencies, including Environmental Reports, Environmental Assessments/Environmental Impact Statements, and other relevant environmental plans and documents.
• Experience with agencies such as: FERC, DOE, USACE, and/or similar state agencies, primarily in New England.
• Effectively engaged in resource agency consultations, received stakeholder/agency input and provide informed responses.
• Proficiency with Outlook, Word, Excel, and Acrobat

• Minimum of fifteen (15) years combined experience in project management, environmental consulting; natural gas pipeline projects.
• Established credibility with reviewing agencies and clients.
• Experience with staff and project team supervision helpful.
• Experience and ability to serve as a technical Subject Matter Expert on multiple project tasks with changing requirements.
• Experience working in a fast-paced work environment and desire to work in a highly collaborative team atmosphere.

SWCA Environmental Consultants is a growing employee-owned firm, providing a full-spectrum…