Sr. Permit Manager
About The Position
The Senior Permit Manager provides strategic leadership and oversight for all end-to-end permitting activities supporting network construction and deployment. This senior-level role is accountable for managing complex, high-volume permitting programs across multiple jurisdictions, mitigating permitting-related risks, and ensuring permits are submitted, approved, and closed in alignment with aggressive deployment timelines and budget objectives. The Senior Permit Manager acts as a subject matter expert, trusted advisor, and escalation point for permitting strategy, regulatory navigation, and municipal engagement, partnering closely with Engineering, Construction, Legal, and external agencies to enable timely project execution. This role supervises 6-8 permit managers in various markets across 8 states.
Requirements
- Demonstrated experience leading multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional permitting programs for large-scale infrastructure or utility deployments.
- Advanced knowledge of zoning, permitting, and regulatory requirements
- Proven ability to navigate complex municipal environments and build credibility with regulatory authorities.
- Strong written and oral communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence at senior levels.
Responsibilities
- Lead and oversee end-to-end permitting activities across multiple municipalities and jurisdictions, including utility pole attachments and rights-of-way permits.
- Review, prepare, submit, administer, and close out complex permitting applications, ensuring compliance with local, state, and regulatory requirements.
- Own permit fee management, including forecasting, tracking, approvals, and coordination of payments internally and with vendor partners.
- Establish and maintain reporting mechanisms to track high-volume permit status, performance metrics, risks, and timelines.
- Provide executive-level visibility into permit progress, risks, delays, and mitigation strategies across the full permit lifecycle.
- Serve as the primary point of escalation for complex permitting issues, jurisdictional disputes, and regulatory challenges.
- Coordinate with vendor design teams to ensure permit drawings and construction documentation are permittable, cost-effective, and aligned with deployment strategies.
- Partner with Engineering, Construction, and Program Management teams to ensure designs meet municipal requirements prior to submission.
- Ensure accurate entry, maintenance, and governance of permitting data within company systems, including Microsoft Office and SharePoint.
- Act as a cross-functional liaison to obtain approvals, administer permits, and ensure compliance with permit conditions during construction and closeout phases.
- Oversee permit closeout activities to support project payment milestones, compliance, and audit readiness.
- Develop and maintain senior-level relationships with municipalities, including Code Enforcement, Building Officials, Planning & Zoning departments, City Councils, commissions, and neighborhood associations.
- Support internal teams and legal counsel in the review and interpretation of agreements related to network installation, maintenance, and operations.
- Provide expert research, guidance, and recommendations regarding permitting requirements and deployment impacts.
- Mentor and provide functional guidance to permitting staff and vendor partners, elevating permitting capabilities across the organization.
- Proactively assess, manage, and resolve permitting risks that could impact construction schedules or cost.
- Own and continuously optimize end-to-end permitting processes across jurisdictions to improve speed, consistency, and scalability.
- Influence internal teams and external agencies to drive timely permitting outcomes and remove obstacles to deployment.
- Identify and implement opportunities for process improvement, standardization, automation, and cost reduction.
- Partner with engineering and design teams to ensure solutions are permittable, deployment-ready, and aligned with long-term network strategy.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
Education Level
No Education Listed
Number of Employees
11-50 employees
