Director of Natural Resources

Raba Kistner, Inc. is a premier Engineering Consulting and Program Management firm. Our purpose is to build a better and more sustainable world for our employees, their families, our clients, and the communities we serve. Our Core Values are:

• Community “We care for our communities”
• Integrity “We act with integrity”
• Passion “We infuse passion into everything we do”
• Quality “We believe quality comes from a culture of innovation and continuous improvement”
• Growth “We dedicate ourselves to personal and business growth”

Raba Kistner is seeking a detailed-oriented, dependable Director, Natural Resources to join our Environmental team in Dallas, Austin, Houston, Conroe, or Beaumont, TX . The Director of Natural Resources is responsible for leading and growing Raba Kistner’s Natural Resources Service Line while shaping its next chapter. Raba Kistner’s Natural Resources Service Line delivers wetland and stream delineations; jurisdictional determinations; Clean Water Act Sections 404 and 401 permitting; threatened and endangered species habitat assessments, presence/absence surveys, and agency consultations; vegetation, wildlife, and aquatic resource surveys; NEPA environmental assessments and supporting technical studies; environmental constraints analyses and due diligence; wetland and stream mitigation planning, monitoring, and reporting; construction-phase biological monitoring; and regulatory compliance support. The Director will have broad influence over strategy, talent, client development, and financial performance, with the support and resources of an established multidisciplinary Environmental Division. Working closely with the Environmental Division COO and Natural Resources Assistant Director, this leader will develop and execute an annual growth plan aligned with the Division’s five-year strategy and broader Enterprise plans, regularly evaluating progress and adapting priorities to capture emerging opportunities. The Director will expand profitable backlog, strengthen existing client relationships, pursue new markets and geographies, and help broaden the Service Line’s capabilities. Equally important, this role offers the opportunity to work closely with an Assistant Director and senior managers to build a high-performing, progressive culture by mentoring current and future leaders, developing staff, recruiting key talent, and aligning team capabilities with the long-term growth vision. The Director will maintain strong visibility with decision-makers across public and private-sector markets, anticipate regional and statewide trends, and balance staffing resources with a growing project portfolio. In addition to driving growth, the Director will provide strategic and technical guidance on active and proposed projects, help resolve complex project matters, and champion quality, safety, collaboration, and continuous improvement. Through this leadership, the Director will play a meaningful role in the success of the Natural Resources Service Line, the Environmental Division, Raba Kistner, its employees, and its clients.Other responsibilities include: 

• Provide personnel staffing and supervision, business and financial management, fiscal planning and budget management to achieve growth and profitability targets, and other metrics for the Natural Resources Service Line.
• Oversee execution of Service Line projects to meet client and project financial performance expectations.
• Review Service Line project performance on a recurring basis with Assistant Director/Project Managers and work with Natural Resources staff to develop and initiate corrective actions as needed.
• Manage Service Line project billing and accounts receivable activities supported by the Finance and Administration department.
• Foster an atmosphere for continual growth of staff members. Provide mentorship and career development to professional, technical, clerical and support staff. 
• Recruit qualified staff and managers with the market knowledge and technical capabilities necessary to meet the goals of the service line and Division.
• Routinely evaluate work and personnel against established performance standards. Possess the ability to deal with difficult project management and staff issues in a constructive manner.
• Grow the backlog of profitable contracts, identify, evaluate and implement (as approved by Division COO) plans to expand client offerings, client sectors and geographies.
• Report business development/operational/financial accomplishments and status to Division COO on a regular basis.
• Assist COO with detailed annual Service Line budget planning.
• Evaluate weekly and monthly financial reports and initiate/monitor corrective actions, as needed. Establish and maintain systems and controls to ensure clients’ expectations and targeted financial performance are met.
• Monitor accounts receivable aging, coordinate collection strategies for overdue balances, and escalate material collection risks with support from the Finance and Administration department.
• Actively manage revenue on hold, write ups, and write downs to ensure alignment with Division budget and Service Line targets.
• Actively participate in Division and Enterprise strategic planning activities. 
• Maintain professional and technical operating standards.
• Maintain a broad and diverse knowledge and understanding of environmental rules and regulations as they apply to business and industry, with the ability to discuss them in layman’s terms and apply them in site specific scenarios.
• Maintain and develop relationships with current and prospective clients. Prepare, assist in preparing and approve proposals and qualifications.
• Leverage existing client relationships across Raba Kistner to identify Natural Resources needs, generate cross-selling opportunities, expand service offerings, and grow the Natural Resources Service Line’s backlog and market presence.
• Maintain a high public profile within our targeted client base. Participate as an active member in approved civic and professional activities, societies and organizations that are beneficial to the success of the Service Line and Division.
• Assist business development staff with sales and marketing pursuits as needed. Assistance may include but not necessarily be limited to proposal preparation, preparation of SOQs, and client presentations, meetings and maintenance activities.
• Serve as liaison between environmental staff and clients to help resolve client issues as needed.
• Notify Division COO of all potential disputes that may lead to billing disputes, staffing issues, legal claims or litigation, and support Division COO as requested to settle disputes or defend against litigation.
• Attend and represent Raba Kistner at relevant professional conferences, industry association meetings, and technical forums to strengthen market visibility, maintain industry awareness, and identify emerging client needs and business opportunities.
• Participate in and, as appropriate, host client luncheons, receptions, networking functions, and other client events to deepen relationships, understand client priorities, and support client retention and growth.
• Develop and deliver effective presentations to clients, prospective clients, industry groups, professional organizations, and internal stakeholders on Natural Resources capabilities, regulatory developments, project solutions, and other relevant topics.
• Coordinate with business development and marketing personnel to plan event participation, prepare supporting materials, pursue follow-up actions, and evaluate opportunities generated through conferences, trade shows, presentations, and client events.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in environmental science/engineering, Wildlife Ecology, geology, biology, Natural Resources or related field. 
• Minimum of 15 years of related experience performing and managing natural resources projects, including wetlands and waters of the United States delineations and permitting; threatened and endangered species assessments and consultations; habitat, vegetation, and wildlife surveys; National Environmental Policy Act reviews; ecological assessments; environmental permitting and compliance; mitigation planning and monitoring; and natural resource support for infrastructure, energy, industrial, and land development projects.
• Minimum of 7 years related management experience including responsibility for managing senior-level professionals, project managers, technical staff, and geographically dispersed teams.
• 40 hour OSHA HAZWOPER. 
• Possess a valid driver’s license within the applicable jurisdiction and meet firm’s auto insurability requirements.

Strong oral and written communication skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively with teams at all levels of the organization. Demonstrated experience leading and growing an environmental consulting practice, service line, regional operation, or comparable business unit, including responsibility for financial performance, staffing, backlog management, strategic planning, client development, and operational performance. Proven track record of developing high-performing teams, mentoring project managers and future leaders, recruiting experienced professionals, and implementing organizational structures that support sustainable growth. Demonstrated ability to manage long sales cycles involving multiple prospective clients while maintaining and strengthening existing client relationships. Ability to read and interpret various technical documents such as maps, construction plans, specifications, equipment’s instruction manuals, standard operating procedures, analytical methods, and or state and federal regulatory guidelines.  Detail oriented and willingness to work within a team. Intermediate in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook). Must be self-motivated with good attendance record and be able to work independently. Able to analyze, problem-solve, and recommend solutions. Limited practical experience executing environmental compliance (air, water, waste), geosciences (remediation, environmental site assessments, environmental due diligence) and natural resources (NEPA, wetland and waters of the US delineations) projects or project tasks, and/or willingness to learn these skills. Limited practical experience operating geographic data collection and other scientific data collection equipment and/or willingness to learn theses skills. Limited practical experience in field sample collection (air, soil, groundwater, surface water) protocols and procedures and/or willingness to learn theses skills. Must be able to effectively read and interpret information, present numerical data effectively and skillfully gather and analyze information. Design and deliver effective, persuasive presentations both formally and informally. 

The following physical activities described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions and expectations.

While performing the functions of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit, stand, walk, climb, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, stop, and talk. Occasionally required to lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Frequently required to use hands and reach. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, far vision, color vision, peripheral vision, focus vision and depth vision. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate to loud. Regular use of non-complex machines and equipment and hand tools such as sledgehammers, shovels and picks. Work assignments are frequently performed outside in all weather conditions.

Potential exposure to movement of heavy equipment on construction or roadway sites; potential exposure to hazardous dangerous chemicals and solvents, noise, dust, fumes, grease and oils, radiant and electrical energy, and vibration; all of which would require employee to follow proper safety procedures and utilize appropriate protective equipment.  Position may require work on ladders and scaffolding.

This position may require protracted or irregular hours. Flexibility to work irregular hours is necessary due to client needs.

EOE/Disabled/Veteran
Drug Free Workplace