Preconstruction Entitlements Manager

Republic Services•Phoenix, AZ

About The Position

The Preconstruction Entitlements Manager is responsible for leading and managing all entitlement, permitting, and regulatory approval activities for industrial solid waste, recycling, and environmental solutions capital projects across the portfolio. The incumbent drives entitlement strategy from site feasibility through final approval, ensuring projects secure all necessary zoning, environmental, operational, and utility approvals to enable timely capital deployment. The Preconstruction Entitlements Manager serves as the primary liaison between the company and regulatory agencies, consultants, and local jurisdictions to mitigate entitlement risk and maintain schedule certainty. The incumbent plays a critical role in enabling business growth by reducing regulatory uncertainty and accelerating project approvals for complex industrial facilities.

Requirements

Proven track record managing complex, multi‑jurisdictional permitting processes
Strong understanding of land use law, zoning ordinances, conditional/special use permitting, and development review processes.
Excellent negotiation, communication, and stakeholder‑management skills.
Strong analytical and problem‑solving capabilities, particularly in identifying regulatory risks and mitigation strategies.
Highly organized with strong project management skills and the ability to manage multiple concurrent permitting tracks.
Willingness to travel as needed (20–30% typical depending on portfolio).
4-7 years of experience with industrial entitlement, environmental permitting, land development, or regulated infrastructure projects.

Responsibilities

Lead entitlement and permitting strategy for new and existing facilities across solid waste, hauling, recycling, wastewater, TSDF, deep well injection, soil solidification, aerosol, and nuclear waste operations.
Identify zoning, land use, environmental, utility, and operational approvals early in the project lifecycle and develop comprehensive entitlement roadmaps, schedules, and approval timelines aligned with capital project milestones.
Conduct regulatory due diligence during site acquisition and feasibility, evaluating zoning compatibility, conditional or special use requirements, environmental constraints, offsite improvement needs, and community or political risks.
Coordinate and oversee required environmental and technical studies, including wetlands, stormwater, traffic, noise, air, groundwater, and related assessments.
Develop regulatory risk assessments and mitigation strategies to support investment decisions, feasibility budgeting, compliance forecasting, and capital planning.
Serve as the primary liaison with federal, state, and local agencies, leading negotiations with planning commissions, environmental regulators, public works, and utility authorities, and representing the company at public hearings and community engagements.
Partner closely with Legal, Government Affairs, Development, Operations, Construction, Environmental Compliance, and Real Estate to manage politically sensitive approvals and ensure entitlement deliverables support downstream design and construction execution.
Direct and manage external consultants, including civil engineers, planners, environmental firms, geotechnical engineers, hydrogeologists, and specialty permitting experts, review scopes, studies, and submittals for quality and alignment with project objectives.
Establish and maintain standardized entitlement tools, including permitting playbooks, approval matrices, documentation standards, and a regulatory database; track progress and proactively manage critical‑path regulatory items.
Performs other job-related duties as assigned or apparent