Principal Project Management Team Lead

SWCA Environmental Consultants • Charlotte, NC

21d • $110,292 - $145,236 • Hybrid

About The Position

SWCA is seeking a Principal Project Management Team Lead for one of our national energy client programs, with the purpose of expanding our primarily western program into the central and eastern United States. The successful candidates will keep the team healthy and engaged, provide outstanding service to clients, manage projects, develop new business, and mentor others to do the same.
The Principal Project Management Team Lead will work seamlessly across offices and projects, and report to a Program Management Delivery Director. Our team is highly collaborative and multidisciplinary, working out of multiple SWCA offices. This is a full-time, regular (with benefits), salaried position. The position can be hybrid or distributed and is expected to be based in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Application Deadline: The application is due at 5:00 PM EST on January 19, 2026.
SWCA Environmental Consultants is a growing, 1,850 staff, employee-owned firm, providing a full-spectrum of environmental services. Our Vision (the North Star) is to make SWCA the best workplace and industry leader in sustainability, bringing sound science and creative solutions to global environmental challenges while maintaining a dedication to employee-ownership. We live our core values: we collaborate as #OneSWCA; we are #AlwaysLearning, we #NeverSettle, and we #GiveBack.

Requirements

• A minimum of a Bachelor’s (B.A. or B.S.) degree in Environmental Science, Ecology, Biology, archaeology, or related field.
• A minimum of ten (10) years of progressively responsible experience in environmental consulting.
• A minimum of five (5) years of generation (solar or wind) and/or transmission project management experience, including developing and implementing budgets, schedules, and scopes of work.
• Previous experience with federal, state, and local environmental laws and regulations in West/Rocky Mountain/Midwest projects.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to foster a friendly, positive, and productive working relationship with team members
• Minimal travel, as needed for client, project, and team development needs.

Nice To Haves

• A minimum of twelve (12) years of progressively responsible experience in environmental consulting.
• A minimum of seven (7) years of generation (solar or wind) and/or transmission project management experience, including developing and implementing budgets, schedules, and scopes of work.
• Demonstrated experience in supervising, mentoring, and providing leadership for other professionals.
• Demonstrated consulting acumen, including established credibility with federal and state agencies.
• Proposal writing experience

Responsibilities

• Supervise and mentor project managers, technical staff, and field personnel, while promoting a culture of teamwork, engagement, quality service, and customer satisfaction.
• Work closely with the Program Management Director to hire or transfer staff in response to client (project and program) resourcing needs.
• Provide highly effective, dynamic management and leadership to SWCA’s program and staff. Help align employees to their annual career development goals and build teams to support program and individual employee development.
• Support building teams with deep knowledge of our client, and meet client needs by sharing knowledge and insights with the program team.
• Proactively monitor the productivity and development of your team, set clear expectations, and foster an environment of teamwork.
• Provide general support to the team relating to subject matter resources, training opportunities, regulatory and research updates.
• Support the strategic development of SWCA’s Program Management team, standard operation procedures and tools, communication pathways, and communication cadence.
• Support maintenance of positive relations between the Program and other operating units within SWCA.
• Drive compliance of safety policies and reporting requirements to ensure overall team safety.
• Lead, oversee, and execute the management of large-scale, complex permitting efforts for renewable energy and power delivery projects.
• Serve as subject matter expert in the areas of generation (wind and solar) and/or transmission project delivery.
• Provide technical oversight on client projects at a regional level. Provide senior level quality assurance/quality control reviews of deliverables prepared by other team members.
• Responsible for ensuring appropriate subject matter expert coverage on projects managed or managed by their team.
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with the client project managers or other client staff.
• Support mapping of client organizations and identify opportunities to expand or grow these relationships.
• Help identify client needs and goals, and provide client feedback to program management leaders.
• 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.
• Engage with the client services and program management leaders to evaluate changing market conditions and strategic sales opportunities at a regional and sub-regional level.
• Lead proposal efforts and internal business development groups, drive accountability for participation in business development and help mentor seller-doer mentality in all employees.

Benefits

• Regular-status employees are also eligible for performance bonuses.
• Candidates are also encouraged to consider SWCA’s Total Rewards package, which includes a competitive benefits package (https://www.swca.com/careers/benefits-wellness/), forward-thinking workplace flexibility, outstanding corporate culture, award-winning career development, and more.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 1,001-5,000 employees