Principal Environmental Specialist

Mc Dermott; Dubai; On-site; AED 357,120 - 535,680; Full time

Job summary

Mc Dermott is seeking a Principal Environmental Specialist in Dubai to lead environmental compliance and sustainability initiatives across major energy projects. The role involves developing and implementing Environmental Management Systems, ensuring ISO compliance, and managing risk across onshore and offshore operations.

The ideal candidate will have a Bachelor's degree in Environmental Science or related fields and 7-8 years of relevant experience, with strong knowledge of environmental regulations and ISO standards.

Qualifications

• 7-8 years of environmental experience within the Energy or Construction industry.
• Strong knowledge of local environmental laws and regulations.
• Trained and experienced ISO standards lead auditor.
• Ability to interpret environmental regulations into practical project controls.

Responsibilities

• Develop, lead, implement, and maintain an Environmental Management System.
• Ensure compliance with ISO 14001 requirements across projects.
• Monitor compliance with documented environmental requirements through audits.
• Manage environmental performance indicator data collection and analysis.

Skills

Environmental management

Environmental compliance

ISO 14001

Environmental audits

Incident investigation

Environmental risk management

Sustainability reporting

Microsoft Excel

Regulatory permits

Education

Bachelor's degree in Environmental Science, Safety, Engineering, or related discipline

Tools

RegScan

Intelex

FigBytes

PowerBI

Job description

Principal Environmental Specialist Job Snapshot

Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Industry: Oil and Energy

Function: Health and Safety

Experience: 7-8 years environmental experience

Job Type: Full-time

Country: United Arab Emirates

City: Dubai

Salary: 32000-48000 monthly (Market estimated)

Position Overview

Principal Environmental Specialist in Dubai, United Arab Emirates is a senior Oil and Energy environmental role focused on environmental management systems, HSES compliance, ISO 14001 standards, environmental audits, regulatory permits, sustainability reporting, environmental performance indicators, and risk management across EPCI, construction, offshore, and onshore operations.

This position is ideal for an experienced environmental professional who can work independently, lead environmental initiatives, advise senior management, and support complex energy project execution with strong technical, regulatory, and compliance expertise.

Role Context

The Principal Environmental Specialist will provide specialist environmental support across projects, facilities, contractors, and operational interfaces. The role requires in-depth knowledge of environmental legislation, corporate HSES requirements, client standards, ISO management systems, environmental permits, compliance assurance, incident investigation, sustainability reporting, and environmental performance data.

The successful candidate will help develop and implement environmental management processes, support tendering and project execution, lead environmental investigations, monitor regulatory compliance, and strengthen environmental performance across the business.

Key Responsibilities

• Maintain strong knowledge of company, facility, and project-specific HSES terms, environmental requirements, deliverables, and compliance expectations.
• Develop, lead, implement, and maintain an Environmental Management System aligned with corporate, legislative, client, and international standard requirements.
• Ensure environmental systems support ISO 14001 requirements and address critical activities across engineering, construction, operations, and contractor interfaces.
• Develop an integrated approach to HSE and environmental risk management across projects, contractors, facilities, and operational activities.
• Participate in environmental risk reviews and ensure mitigating controls remain suitable, sufficient, and practical for project execution.
• Develop and implement HSES plans, environmental procedures, and work instructions required by contract, corporate standards, and legal requirements.
• Manage, monitor, and advise on environmental matters across projects, sites, vessels, contractors, and business lines.
• Provide technical and commercial environmental support during tendering, bid preparation, project planning, and execution stages.
• Support the planning and execution of internal environmental audits and compliance assurance programs.
• Monitor compliance with documented environmental requirements through audits, performance monitoring, and frontline inspections.
• Establish relevant environmental KPIs, monitor compliance, analyze trends, and recommend improvement actions.
• Identify new, emerging, and applicable environmental regulations and interpret their impact on site, vessel, and project business plans.
• Prepare and deliver permit applications, renewals, clearances, consents, and statutory authorizations required for project execution.
• Participate in subcontractor and vendor HSES prequalification and bid evaluation processes.
• Review and approve subcontractors and vendors for environmental compliance related to equipment and services.
• Attend and provide environmental input to kick‑off meetings, constructability reviews, readiness reviews, emergency planning meetings, and project forums.
• Lead environmental investigations and root cause analysis following incidents, non‑compliances, or environmental events.
• Ensure corrective actions and recommendations are implemented, tracked, and closed according to process and statutory requirements.
• Review management of change documentation and lessons learned, providing environmental input where required.
• Provide subject matter expert guidance for HSES information, environmental training, education, and awareness materials.
• Communicate with and advise senior management on environmental issues, operational concerns, compliance risks, and project support requirements.
• Present and justify overall environmental performance to management, clients, auditors, and relevant stakeholders when required.
• Maintain proactive client interface on environmental matters, project requirements, and compliance expectations.
• Coordinate project environmental activities and travel for business needs when required to support project or operations requirements.
• Manage environmental performance indicator data collection, reporting, tracking, analysis, and improvement follow‑up.
• Support communication and awareness of environmental initiatives, campaigns, and sustainability programs.
• Contribute to McDermott's annual sustainability reporting and questionnaires when requested.

Ideal Profile

• Bachelor's degree in Environmental Science, Safety, Engineering, or a related discipline.
• 7-8 years of environmental experience within the Energy or Construction industry.
• Experience in EPCI project execution is preferred.
• Practical experience with onshore and offshore operations.
• Maintains key competencies associated with the environmental function.
• Strong knowledge of local environmental laws, codes, regulations, standards, and norms.
• Trained and experienced ISO standards lead auditor, including ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, or ISO 50001.
• Strong understanding of environmental management systems, environmental risk controls, audits, compliance assurance, and statutory permitting.
• Ability to interpret environmental regulations and translate requirements into practical project and operational controls.
• Strong statistical and data analysis ability for performance indicator tracking, trend analysis, and improvement planning.
• Excellent written and spoken communication and presentation skills.
• Good interpersonal skills with the ability to work effectively with clients, contractors, project teams, senior management, and regulatory stakeholders.
• Conflict resolution skills and leadership ability.
• Proficient in Microsoft Word, Access, PowerPoint, Excel, and related business applications.
• Advanced education such as an MBA or master's degree is preferred.
• Project management experience is preferred.
• Knowledge of RegScan, Intelex, FigBytes, and PowerBI platforms is preferred.

Skills Set

• Environmental management
• Environmental compliance
• Environmental Management System
• ISO 14001
• ISO 9001
• ISO 45001
• ISO 50001
• Lead auditing
• HSES management
• Environmental risk management
• Environmental audits
• Compliance assurance
• Regulatory permits
• Permit applications
• Permit renewals
• Statutory compliance
• Environmental inspections
• Environmental KPIs
• Performance indicators
• Trend analysis
• Sustainability reporting
• Root cause analysis
• Incident investigation
• Non‑compliance management
• Corrective action tracking
• Management of change
• Lessons learned
• Contractor HSES prequalification
• Vendor evaluation
• Environmental training
• Awareness campaigns
• Tender support
• EPCI project execution
• Offshore operations
• Onshore operations
• Environmental data analysis
• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft Access
• Microsoft PowerPoint
• Microsoft Word
• RegScan
• Intelex
• FigBytes
• PowerBI

Why Join Us

This opportunity is ideal for a Principal Environmental Specialist who wants to lead environmental compliance, sustainability, and HSES improvement across major energy projects in Dubai.

The role offers exposure to EPCI execution, offshore and onshore operations, ISO management systems, environmental audits, regulatory permits, contractor interfaces, performance reporting, and sustainability initiatives within a global engineering and construction environment.