Senior Environmental Specialist
Environmental assessment, regulatory permitting, and construction environmental management across PRI's resource, infrastructure, and energy projects
Location: Surrey, BC, Vancouver, BC, Calgary, AB, Peterborough, ON or Mississauga, ON (travel to project/construction sites)
Full-time, permanent • Senior level
About the opportunity
This is a senior technical role for an environmental professional who is comfortable owning a file from early environmental assessment and permitting strategy through to boots-on-the-ground construction oversight. You will lead permitting under the Water Sustainability Act and Fisheries Act and other regulatory approvals, liaise directly with regulators and project teams, and manage environmental compliance on active construction sites, while mentoring junior staff and contributing to PRI's growing environmental practice.
The practice serves municipalities, provincial and federal agencies, First Nations, developers, and industrial and resource-sector clients, delivering environmental assessments, regulatory permitting and approvals, construction environmental monitoring, and environmental management planning across linear infrastructure, energy, and natural resource development projects.
Who this role is for
You are a seasoned environmental professional who thinks like a regulator and a project manager at the same time: someone who can build a defensible permitting strategy, hold their own in a DFO or provincial agency review meeting, and then show up on-site during construction to make sure the mitigation actually gets implemented. You are equally comfortable writing a technical submission and walking a job site with a hard hat on, and you take genuine satisfaction in keeping complex projects moving while protecting the environment, fish habitat, and water resources those projects touch.
What you'll do
Environmental assessment and regulatory permitting
• Lead and contribute to environmental assessments under provincial and federal legislation, including scoping, baseline data collection, impact prediction, and mitigation planning for energy, mining, and infrastructure projects.
• Lead permitting strategy and applications under the Water Sustainability Act, including approvals for changes in and about a stream, water use and diversion, and groundwater authorizations, managing applications end-to-end with provincial regulators.
• Lead Fisheries Act reviews and serve as PRI's primary point of contact with Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) on fish and fish habitat authorizations, Measures to Avoid Harm to Fish and Fish Habitat submissions, and Request for Review processes.
• Prepare and review environmental impact assessments, baseline reports, and technical submissions supporting provincial and federal regulatory approvals and permit conditions.
Construction environmental management
• Develop and implement Environmental Management Plans (EMPs), erosion and sediment control plans, and environmental protection plans for construction-phase projects.
• Provide environmental oversight during construction, including site inspections, contractor environmental compliance monitoring, permit condition tracking, and environmental incident response.
• Lead construction environmental monitoring programs, including fish salvage, sediment and turbidity monitoring, and vegetation and wildlife sweeps, and coordinate qualified environmental monitors across active construction sites.
• Liaise directly with contractors, project managers, and regulators to resolve environmental compliance issues in real time and keep construction schedules on track.
Regulatory, client, and community relationships
• Act as PRI's primary technical liaison with provincial and federal regulators, including DFO and provincial water and natural resource authorities, on permitting and compliance matters.
• Build and sustain client relationships across PRI's environmental practice, and support business development by identifying and pursuing new environmental assessment, permitting, and construction monitoring opportunities.
• Support engagement and consultation with Indigenous communities and other stakeholders on environmental assessment, permitting, and construction-phase work.
• Represent PRI in agency and client meetings, providing credible technical input on environmental risk, permitting timelines, and mitigation strategy.
Team leadership and technical mentorship
• Mentor and review the work of junior environmental personnel, and build a bench of staff capable of leading permitting applications and construction environmental monitoring independently.
• Provide technical quality assurance and quality control on environmental deliverables, ensuring every submission meets PRI's standards and applicable regulatory requirements.
• Contribute to proposals, cost estimates, and scopes of work for environmental assessment, permitting, and construction monitoring assignments.
• Champion consistent environmental management practices and tools across PRI's offices and project teams.
Who we're looking for
Required
• Bachelor's degree in environmental science, biology, or a related discipline; Registered RPBio, P.Ag or AScT or equivalent professional designation, or eligibility for registration.
• Minimum 8-10 years of environmental consulting experience, with a demonstrated record of leading environmental assessments and regulatory permitting applications.
• Direct, hands-on experience permitting under the Water Sustainability Act, including applications for changes in and about a stream and water use approvals.
• Direct experience working with Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), including fish habitat authorizations, review processes, and Fisheries Act Approval submissions.
• Proven experience providing environmental management and monitoring during construction, including development and implementation of Environmental Management Plans and erosion and sediment control plans.
• Experience contributing to or leading environmental assessments under provincial and/or federal environmental assessment legislation.
• Valid driver's license and willingness to travel to project and construction sites across BC and Western Canada, including some remote and field-based work.
Preferred
• Experience across energy, mining, or linear infrastructure (pipeline, transmission, or transportation) sectors.
• Experience with Indigenous consultation and engagement processes on permitting or construction projects.
• Demonstrated experience mentoring junior environmental staff and reviewing technical deliverables.
• Multi-jurisdictional experience across BC, Alberta, Ontario and Nova Scotia.
Why PRI
• The opportunity to own environmental files end-to-end, from assessment and permitting strategy through construction delivery.
• A collaborative environment that connects environmental practice with civil, geotechnical, hydrotechnical, and geomatics disciplines across the firm.
• Engage in direct, ongoing relationships with regulators including DFO and provincial agencies, and shape permitting strategy rather than simply execute it.
• A growing, cross-cutting environmental practice with genuine room to mentor junior staff and build technical capability across PRI's offices.
• Competitive compensation, comprehensive benefits, and genuine support for ongoing professional development.
