Environmental Planner

WRA’s an employee-owned environmental consultancy. We are a tenacious team of planners, engineers, and scientists, and we aim to leave the lands we love better than we found them. 

Our clients and partners hire us because we’re skilled at navigating through challenging projects involving wildlands, parks, community spaces, and infrastructure. We bring over four decades of expertise, long-standing relationships, and connections to our local communities to make sure that projects are pursued in responsible ways where both people and the environment thrive. 

As an organization, we believe that independence and interdependence are not mutually exclusive. We invest in systems, processes, and employee programs to support our staff’s collective engagement and success. At the same time, we encourage our employees to operate with an ownership mindset, taking responsibility for outcomes and being true to our commitments. 

WRA’s environmental planning team prepares environmental documents that enable planning and development projects, vital public infrastructure, habitat restoration, climate resiliency, and public access projects to proceed. We are looking for an experienced Environmental Planner to prepare CEQA and NEPA documents for a diverse mix of clients and project types. The Environmental Planner in this role will work closely with, and under the direction of a Senior Environmental Planner and/or a supervisor and other environmental planning staff. As an integral part of our team, the Environmental Planner in this role will participate in diversifying our client base and actively seeking new opportunities to build our planning practice. The Environmental Planner will collaborate with a Senior Environmental Planner and/or supervisor in the creation and execution of a strategic plan, propelling the growth of our team in both scale and services. If you are excited to contribute to meaningful projects and be at the forefront of shaping the future of environmental planning at WRA, we want to meet you!

The position location is flexible within the state of California with a strong preference near any of WRA’s northern California offices (San Rafael, Emeryville, or Petaluma). In this role you have the option to work in person, fully remote (within California), or in a hybrid capacity. Occasional travel may be required for site visits, meetings, public hearings, etc.

In this role, you will:

• Serve as a project manager and leader related to environmental planning and permitting projects
• Write and prepare all levels of CEQA and NEPA documents
• Manage the preparation of Categorical Exemptions, Initial Studies/Mitigated Negative Declarations, and Environmental Assessments
• Work closely with other team leaders and project delivery teams to win and deliver projects
• Advise project managers, based on coordination with subject matter experts, on technical issues that may require changes in scope and additional fees
• Coordinate and build relationships with technical subconsultants on proposal and project efforts
• Contribute to a collaborative environment in support of client needs and company goals
• Participate in strategic initiatives to grow and diversify our environmental planning practice
• Mentor and train junior-level technical staff, and provide oversight of technical work products that include CEQA and NEPA documents
• Other duties as assigned

To be successful in this role, you will need:

• A Bachelor’s degree in environmental studies, science, planning, or related field
• 5 to 10 years of relevant experience preparing CEQA and NEPA documents with a track record of increasing responsibility and the ability to manage increasingly complex projects
• An understanding of current planning law and practice
• A proven track record of building new client relationships and managing existing client relationships effectively
• Self-awareness, the ability to self-regulate, and a growth mindset
• A desire and ability to work in a team environment
• Experience preparing CEQA and NEPA documents
• Experience with Caltrans Local Assistance Program guidelines