Are you passionate about building efficient systems, leading multidisciplinary teams, and delivering high-quality environmental projects? SummitWest Environmental is seeking an organized, proactive, and solutions-oriented SCE Planning Project Manager to help shape a dynamic utility environmental planning program.
As the dedicated project manager for SummitWest's Southern California Edison (SCE) Environmental Planning contract, you will play a pivotal role in coordinating multidisciplinary environmental planning efforts that support critical infrastructure improvements throughout Southern California. Working alongside an exceptional team of environmental professionals—including biologists, archaeologists, wetlands specialists, GIS analysts, coastal experts, stormwater specialists, and environmental planners—you'll help ensure projects move seamlessly from intake through completion while maintaining the highest standards of quality, responsiveness, and client service.
The ideal candidate thrives in a fast-paced consulting environment, enjoys organizing and solving complex operational challenges, excels at managing multiple moving pieces simultaneously, and is energized by bringing people, processes, and projects together. If you're looking for an opportunity to make a meaningful impact while helping build and improve one of California's premier environmental planning programs, we'd love to hear from you.
JOB DESCRIPTION AND DUTIES
The SCE Planning Project Manager serves as the operational lead for SummitWest's SCE Environmental Planning Program by coordinating workflow, managing schedules, supporting client communications, and ensuring environmental planning deliverables progress efficiently from intake through completion.
The SCE Planning Project Manager may be assigned a variety of duties, including but not limited to:
- Coordinate SCE Planning assignments across SummitWest discipline leads, technical SMEs, subcontractors, and support staff from intake through completion.
- Maintain visibility into active assignments, due dates, QA/QC status, ERD status, client holds, additional analysis needs, and outstanding action items.
- Support centralized tracking systems, dashboards, and project documentation to help SummitWest monitor workload, schedule risk, deliverable status, and client commitments.
- Coordinate with Cultural Resources, Biological Resources, Wetlands / Waters, Construction Stormwater, Coastal, GIS, Intake, and other planning support leads to help ensure assignments are appropriately staffed and progressing on schedule.
- Monitor project schedules and proactively identify bottlenecks, staffing limitations, access issues, missing information, delayed reviews, or other risks that may affect delivery.
- Escalate issues requiring client clarification, leadership involvement, change management, additional technical review, or subcontractor follow-up, and help recommend practical solutions.
- Support ERD, FEDD, EHSync, Intake, and other SCE work management system workflows, as applicable to assigned responsibilities, qualifications, and user access.
- Help ensure project records, trackers, work management system entries, and deliverable documentation are accurate, current, and aligned with applicable SummitWest and SCE requirements.
- Coordinate internal QA/QC routing by confirming that deliverables are reviewed by the appropriate discipline leads or SMEs prior to completion, issuance, or submittal.
- Support subcontractor coordination by communicating priorities, tracking deliverable progress, confirming status updates, and routing work through SummitWest’s review process.
- Prepare or support project dashboards, workload summaries, action item logs, meeting notes, escalation summaries, and other project reporting for SummitWest leadership and SCE, as assigned.
- Assist with project controls, invoice documentation, work status reporting, and administrative project management functions, as assigned.
- Assist in developing and improving SOPs, workflows, tracking systems, templates, and training materials to support consistency, quality, and turnaround time.
- Participate in client meetings, internal planning meetings, subcontractor coordination meetings, project kick-off meetings, and status meetings.
- Maintain professional, timely, and solutions-oriented communication with SCE Environmental Project Managers, SummitWest staff, subcontractors, and partner firms.
- Promote accountability, collaboration, responsiveness, and follow-through across the project team.
- Perform other related duties as assigned.
DECISION-MAKING AUTHORITY
The SCE Planning Project Manager is responsible for coordinating work, prioritizing assignments, managing project workflows, and escalating technical or contractual issues. Technical environmental determinations remain the responsibility of the appropriate discipline lead or designated SME.
TECHNICAL BOUNDARY OF ROLE
The SCE Planning Project Manager is responsible for project coordination, scheduling, workflow management, tracking, communication, documentation, quality assurance coordination, and issue escalation.
This position may support environmental planning review activities when qualified and assigned, but does not replace discipline-specific SME technical authority.
The SCE Planning Project Manager is expected to recognize when technical expertise is required, route assignments to the appropriate SME, document technical decisions clearly, ensure technical reviews are completed, QA/QCed, and escalate as appropriate.
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE
- Bachelor's degree in Environmental Science, Environmental Studies, Environmental Planning, Natural Resources, Biology, Geography, Business Administration, Project Management, or a related field.
- Minimum five (5) years of professional experience in environmental consulting, utility environmental planning, environmental compliance, or related environmental program coordination.
- Minimum two (2) years in professional project management within the above listed industry sectors.
- Experience supporting utility (preferrably SCE) environmental planning, clearance, intake, ERD, EHSync, or similar work management system strongly preferred.
- Demonstrated experience managing multiple concurrent assignments with competing priorities, client requests, action items, and deadlines.
- Experience coordinating with interdisciplinary environmental teams, project managers, technical reviewers, subcontractors, or client representatives.
- Experience supporting QA/QC processes and environmental deliverable coordination.
- Experience maintaining project schedules, dashboards, trackers, and workflow management systems. Strong background in excel and sheets based platforms.
- Experience supporting field teams, data management, and project workflow coordination.
- Experience coordinating biological resources, cultural resources, wetlands/waters, SWPPP, coastal resources, GIS, or public lands, or related environmental planning workflows.
- Experience supporting project controls, budget tracking, invoice review, and performance reporting.
SKILLS AND ABILITIES
- Proficient with Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, Smartsheets, or similar project tracking and reporting tools.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Exceptional organization skills, attention to detail, and commitment to producing high-quality deliverables.
- Strong technical writing, analytical, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills.
- Self-motivated with the ability to work remotely with minimal supervision.
- Ability to professionally communicate and collaborate with individuals across a wide range of technical backgrounds and personality types while maintaining accountability for deadlines and deliverables.
- Ability to work both independently and collaboratively within multidisciplinary teams.
- Ability to distinguish between project management responsibilities and discipline-specific technical decision-making.
- Ability to coordinate multiple projects simultaneously in a fast-paced environment with aggressive deadlines.
- Strong leadership, interpersonal, and relationship management skills.
- Ability to proactively identify project risks, bottlenecks, missing information, scheduling conflicts, and potential impacts to scope, schedule, or budget.
- Ability to prepare professional meeting minutes, action item logs, status reports, dashboards, escalation summaries, and client communications.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
- Authorized to work in the U.S. without company sponsorship.
- Successful clearance through SummitWest background check (upon employment).
- Commitment to supporting SWE’s values of professionalism, diversity, equality, and inclusion.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Direct experience supporting Southern California Edison (SCE) Environmental Planning projects.
- Experience working with utility clients or on-call environmental contracts.
- Experience with SCE Environmental Planning workflows, including EHSync, ERD issuance, FEDD tracking, SCE Intake, templates, and planning processes.
- Experience developing SOPs, workflow documentation, dashboards, training materials, or project tracking systems.
- Experience coordinating subcontractor deliverables and multidisciplinary consulting teams.
- Experience working in high-volume utility or infrastructure programs
- Experience conducting SME-level desktop environmental reviews for biological resources, wetlands/waters, utility environmental planning, permitting, or related environmental disciplines.
- Previous experience serving as a Project Manager or Assistant Project Manager within an environmental consulting firm.
- Previous experience leading or managing biological resource projects, including desktop review, staff coordination, scheduling, and client communication.
- Experience coordinating biological resource planning and environmental review workflows.
- Experience supporting project controls, invoicing, budget tracking, and performance reporting.
LOCATION
Remote, located within California
STATUS
Full-time, Exempt
BENEFITS
- Eligible for Paid Time Off and Sick Leave
- Eligible for Health Insurance (Medical, Dental, and Vision)
- Eligible for 401(k) with matching contribution
- Eligible for cell phone stipend
- Eligible for educational stipend
- Paid training opportunities
- Employee incentives and Employee Referral Program
- Opportunities for remote and office work
- Career development and promotion opportunities
ABOUT SUMMITWEST
At SummitWest, we believe in putting people first—both our team members and our clients. We’ve created an environment where people want to work: one that is caring, fun, and safety-focused. Our success is built on the foundation of strong leadership, accountability, and transparency, principles that guide everything we do and are extended to everyone we work with.
We are a team of passionate environmental consulting specialists dedicated to providing cutting-edge natural resource management services. From wildlife and botanical surveys to construction monitoring, climate change studies, GIS mapping, permitting, and urban planning, we deliver innovative solutions to complex challenges.
With a team of 100 experts, we pack a big punch in terms of knowledge, expertise, and the diversity of projects we manage across the western United States. At SummitWest, every project is an opportunity to make an impact—on the environment, on our clients, and on the communities we serve.
If you’re looking to join a team that’s dynamic, forward-thinking, and values its people, SummitWest is the place for you!
Pay: $85,000.00 - $115,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- Professional development assistance
- Referral program
- Retirement plan
- Vision insurance
- Work from home
Application Question(s):
- How many years of experience do you have supporting utility/SCE environmental planning, clearance, intake, ERD, EHSync or similar work management systems?
- Do you have experience coordinating biological resources, cultural resources, wetland/waters, SWPPP, coastal resources, GIS, public lands, or a related environmental planning workflow?
Education:
Experience:
- environmental consulting, compliance, or utility planning: 5 years (Required)
- environmental consulting project management: 2 years (Required)
Location:
Work Location: Remote
