Full Job Description
In the role of Environmental Planner II, you will contribute to and help manage a wide variety of environmental planning, documentation, and permitting projects throughout Hawaiʻi. Working collaboratively with senior planners, project managers, technical specialists, and clients, you will:
- Prepare environmental review documents pursuant to Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes Chapter 343, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and other applicable federal, state, and county requirements.
- Conduct environmental and land-use research; evaluate potential project impacts; and develop practical avoidance, minimization, and mitigation measures.
- Prepare clear, well-organized technical reports, environmental assessments, environmental impact statements, permit applications, planning studies, and related deliverables.
- Coordinate with biological, cultural, archaeological, engineering, and other technical specialists, and integrate their findings into environmental documents.
- Support federal, State of Hawaiʻi, and county environmental permitting and agency consultation.
- Evaluate project consistency with state and county land-use plans, policies, zoning requirements, and regulatory programs.
- Serve as a task lead or deputy project manager for environmental planning assignments, including managing schedules, budgets, deliverables, and multidisciplinary coordination.
- Perform quality-control reviews of environmental documents, technical studies, permit applications, and supporting materials.
- Coordinate with clients, regulatory agencies, subconsultants, community stakeholders, and project team members.
- Support public involvement activities, including public meetings, agency consultations, presentation materials, and responses to public comments.
- Mentor and provide technical guidance to junior planning staff.
- Assist with workload planning and efficient use of project resources.
- Support proposal preparation, scopes of work, cost estimates, interviews, and other business-development activities.
- Participate in professional organizations and industry events and help strengthen the firm's environmental planning practice in Hawaiʻi.
- Promote a culture of quality, collaboration, safety, and environmental stewardship.
- Perform other duties as needed.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in environmental planning, urban and regional planning, environmental science, geography, natural resources, or a closely related field.
- A minimum of 6 years of relevant experience in environmental planning, documentation, permitting, or regulatory compliance.
- Demonstrated experience preparing or contributing substantially to environmental review documents, preferably including HRS Chapter 343 and/or NEPA documents.
- Experience evaluating environmental impacts and preparing avoidance, minimization, or mitigation measures.
- Understanding of environmental permitting processes and coordination with regulatory agencies.
- Strong technical writing, research, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to synthesize complex technical information into clear and understandable documents.
- Experience coordinating multidisciplinary technical teams and managing individual tasks or smaller projects.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams.
- Ability to manage multiple assignments, priorities, and deadlines.
- Strong interpersonal and oral communication skills and the ability to work effectively in a collaborative team environment.
- Ability to travel within Hawaiʻi and occasionally to other locations, as project needs require.
- An attitude and commitment to being an active participant in our employee-owned culture.
Preferred Qualifications
- Master's degree in environmental planning, environmental science, urban and regional planning, or a related field.
- Seven to nine years of environmental planning or consulting experience.
- Experience with Hawaiʻi's environmental review, land-use, and permitting requirements, including HRS Chapters 343, 205, 205A, and 6E.
- Familiarity with State of Hawaiʻi and county planning and permitting agencies.
- Experience with federal environmental requirements, including NEPA, Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, and Clean Water Act permitting.
- Experience preparing environmental assessments, environmental impact statements, permit applications, and land-use entitlement documents.
- Experience with projects involving transportation, utilities, energy, water, coastal resources, or public infrastructure.
- Knowledge of Hawaiʻi's cultural, biological, archaeological, and community considerations.
- Experience with GIS, Microsoft Project, document production, and technical graphics.
- Previous environmental consulting experience.
- AICP certification or other relevant professional certification.
Qualifications
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Urban Planning or closely related field
- A minimum of 5 years experience in planning and design
- AICP certification desired
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office programs
- Extensive graphics and report document production experience
- Experience with GIS
- Strong oral and written communication skills
- Leadership skills and ability to work in a team environment
- May require the ability to travel
- An attitude and commitment to being an active participant of our employee-owned culture is a must