Senior Environmental Specialist – Panama

About the role

The Senior Environmental Specialist will provide technical leadership for environmental compliance, monitoring, permitting and impact mitigation on large‑scale dam, hydropower, tunnel and heavy‑civil projects. The role supports the ACP and project stakeholders to ensure contractor activities meet contract, regulatory and international environmental standards, often in remote construction environments.

Key responsibilities

• Assist the ACP in developing and reviewing environmental requirements for the Employer Requirements and RIR Contract.
• Review and evaluate contractor environmental management, monitoring, and social plans for compliance.
• Conduct field inspections, audits and monitoring of water quality, erosion control, air quality, noise, waste and hazardous material handling.
• Support environmental permitting, agency coordination and compliance reporting.
• Investigate incidents, spills or non‑conformances and track corrective actions.
• Provide technical input during design reviews, constructability studies and value‑engineering exercises.

Required profile

• Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science, Engineering, Ecology or related field (Master’s preferred).
• 15+ years of progressive experience in environmental consulting or construction environmental management.
• Proven experience on at least one major dam, hydropower, tunnel or heavy‑civil project valued at $100 million +.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently in remote field locations and collaborate with multicultural teams.
• Authorization to work in Panama or ability to obtain required work permit.

Required skills

• Water quality monitoring
• Erosion and sediment control
• Stormwater and wastewater management
• Waste and hazardous material handling
• Spill prevention and response
• Air quality, dust and noise monitoring
• Environmental auditing and compliance assessments
• Environmental permitting and regulatory liaison
• Environmental incident investigation
• Technical writing and report preparation