Director Regulatory, Environmental & Permitting

The Director is responsible for leading and executing regulatory, permitting, and environmental activities across the company’s renewable energy development portfolio.

The Director serves as both a strategic leader and hands-on practitioner, actively advancing permitting and regulatory work for utility-scale wind, solar, and battery storage projects across the United States and Canada. The role will lead a small regulatory and environmental team, including a Canadian Specialist and a U.S. Specialist, while also directly managing complex permitting processes, agency engagement, consultant oversight, and environmental strategy for key projects.

The Director requires deep expertise navigating U.S. federal, state, and local permitting frameworks and the ability to drive projects forward in complex and evolving regulatory environments. Experience in both Canadian and U.S. regulatory and permitting environments is strongly preferred; however, significant U.S. renewable energy permitting experience is required.

The Director partners closely with Development, Engineering & Construction, Commercial, Legal and executive leadership to support project advancement from origination through commercial operations. 

Key Responsibilities

Regulatory Strategy, Permitting & Project Execution

• Lead and directly support regulatory and environmental permitting activities for utility-scale renewable energy projects across the United States and Canada.
• Act as a hands-on permitting lead (“player-coach”) for key U.S. development projects, including direct involvement in permitting strategy, agency engagement, consultant management, and issue resolution.
• Oversee and advance all regulatory approvals, permits, licenses, authorizations, and environmental reviews required for project development, construction, and operations.
• Develop and execute permitting strategies that support project schedules, commercial objectives, and development milestones.
• Identify, assess, and proactively manage permitting risks, environmental constraints, and regulatory challenges that may impact project viability or timelines.
• Support greenfield development opportunities, acquisition due diligence, and portfolio expansion initiatives.
• Provide practical regulatory guidance and recommendations to cross-functional project teams and senior leadership.

Environmental & Technical Leadership

• Lead environmental strategy and execution related to wildlife, habitat, wetlands, cultural resources, endangered species, federal land use, and other environmental considerations.
• Oversee environmental studies, impact assessments, biological surveys, technical analyses, and mitigation planning activities.
• Ensure technical quality, consistency, and regulatory defensibility of environmental studies, filings, and consultant deliverables.
• Support environmental compliance activities through development, construction, and operational phases.
• Oversee development of environmental management plans, monitoring programs, and mitigation commitments.

Agency & Stakeholder Engagement

• Build and maintain strong working relationships with federal, state, county, and municipal regulatory agencies across the U.S.
• Represent the organization in agency meetings, public consultation processes, hearings, and technical working groups.
• Support stakeholder engagement strategies involving communities, landowners, agencies, tribal entities, and external interest groups.
• Partner with internal stakeholders on regulatory and environmental communications and messaging.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner closely with Development to support project advancement and schedule execution.
• Collaborate with Engineering & Construction to ensure permit conditions, environmental commitments, and regulatory requirements are effectively implemented.
• Work closely with Legal and commercial teams on regulatory risk mitigation, contractual matters, and transaction diligence.

Consultant & Budget Management

• Lead selection, engagement, and management of environmental consultants, technical advisors, and specialty subject matter experts.
• Establish clear scopes, deliverables, timelines, and budget expectations for external partners.
• Ensure consultant performance aligns with project objectives, regulatory expectations, and company standards.
• Manage budgets related to permitting, environmental studies, and regulatory activities.

Leadership & Team Development

• Lead and support the Regulatory & Environment team, including direct oversight of both U.S. and Canadian regulatory specialists.
• Provide mentorship, guidance, and technical support to team members while fostering accountability and collaboration.
• Balance leadership responsibilities with direct project execution and day-to-day permitting involvement.

Qualifications & Experience

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science, Environmental Engineering, Natural Resources, Biology, Ecology, Planning, or related discipline required.

Experience

• 10 years of progressive experience in renewable energy regulatory permitting, environmental management, or project development.
• Significant hands-on experience supporting utility-scale wind, solar, and/or battery energy storage development in the United States is required.
• Demonstrated success navigating U.S. federal, state, and local permitting and environmental regulatory frameworks.
• Experience working with agencies such as BLM, USFWS, Army Corps of Engineers, state utility/regulatory agencies, county permitting authorities, and related entities.
• Deep understanding of environmental review processes, endangered species regulations, wildlife permitting, land use approvals, and environmental compliance.
• Experience directly managing complex permitting efforts and multi-disciplinary environmental studies.
• Proven ability to support multiple concurrent projects across different stages of development.
• Experience presenting to agencies, stakeholders, public forums, and regulatory hearings.
• Significant experience in U.S. renewable energy permitting and regulatory environments is required. Experience working across both U.S. and Canadian jurisdictions is considered a strong asset.
• Prior leadership experience managing people, consultants, and/or functional accountability is required.

Core Competencies

• Strong understanding of U.S. renewable energy permitting and regulatory environments
• Hands-on, execution-oriented leadership style
• Strategic thinking and commercial acumen
• Strong project execution and prioritization capability
• Sound regulatory judgment and risk assessment
• Ability to influence and collaborate across cross-functional teams
• Strong communication, stakeholder engagement, and relationship-building skills
• Ability to manage complexity and drive results in evolving regulatory environments