Senior Environmental Planner

ALRA | Australia’s Leading Recruitment Agency; Sydney; On-site; AUD 140,000 - 161,000; Full time

Job summary

ALRA is seeking a Senior Environmental Planner to join a Newcastle-based specialist environmental consultancy known across NSW for solving the tricky approvals problems others struggle with.

The role leads Environmental Planning & Approvals for mining and quarrying projects across NSW, delivering EIAs and approval documentation, while mentoring junior staff and coordinating with regulators, councils and communities.

Qualifications

• 10+ years experience in Environmental Planning, Approvals or Impact Assessment.
• Strong exposure to mining, quarrying or extractive industry projects.
• Experience delivering Environmental Impact Statements or major approvals documentation.
• Comfortable mentoring junior staff and supporting project delivery.
• Strong stakeholder engagement skills with clients, regulators and community.

Responsibilities

• Lead Environmental Planning & Approvals for mining and quarrying projects across NSW.
• Deliver Environmental Impact Assessments, modification applications and approval documentation.
• Work closely with mining and quarry operators to navigate complex approvals pathways.
• Provide guidance and structure to project delivery alongside a highly technical Principal.
• Support junior consultants with mentoring and review of planning documentation.
• Interface with regulators, local councils and community stakeholders.
• Coordinate multidisciplinary inputs across environmental, technical and planning teams.
• Drive projects from early strategy through to approval outcomes.

Skills

Environmental Planning

Approvals

Stakeholder engagement

Mentoring

Project leadership

Regulatory liaison

Education

Environmental Science degree

Job description

$140,000 + Super + 10% Bonus (paid bi-annually)

Environmental Planning & Approvals – Mining & Quarrying

Newcastle based in nice, new facilities.

Senior Environmental Planner to join a specialist environmental consultancy known across NSW for solving the tricky approvals problems others struggle with.

When it comes to mining and quarrying projects, this team is the one operators call when they need approvals that actually work in the real world. Challenging sites, complex community dynamics, difficult planning pathways - that’s the kind of work that keeps them busy.

The Newcastle team already has a technically brilliant Principal leading client relationships, community engagement and winning new projects. What they need now is a strong Senior Environmental Planner who enjoys the people side of the business and can bring structure, delivery discipline and leadership to the project flow.

This isn’t about building work from scratch. The projects are there. The reputation is already established. Your role is to help the team deliver them well, mentor consultants and keep the wheels turning.

The consultancy itself sits at around 30 staff across NSW with offices in Sydney, Orange and Newcastle. That means you’ll have a local team around you day-to-day but also the depth of experience across the state when projects need it.

The Role:

• Lead Environmental Planning & Approvals for mining and quarrying projects across NSW
• Deliver Environmental Impact Assessments, modification applications and approval documentation
• Work closely with mining and quarry operators to navigate complex approvals pathways
• Provide guidance and structure to project delivery alongside a highly technical Principal
• Support junior consultants with mentoring and review of planning documentation
• Interface with regulators, local councils and community stakeholders
• Coordinate multidisciplinary inputs across environmental, technical and planning teams
• Drive projects from early strategy through to approval outcomes

Who You’ll Work With / Culture

This is a team of problem-solvers. They’re known in the extractive sector as the people who can take technically difficult sites and figure out how to get them approved.

The culture is professional but relaxed. No corporate nonsense, just smart people who enjoy complex projects and collaborating to solve them. The structure across NSW means you’re never stuck on an island either - if a project needs specialist input, there’s always someone in the wider team to lean on.

What You’ll Bring

• 10+ years experience in Environmental Planning, Approvals or Impact Assessment
• Strong exposure to mining, quarrying or extractive industry projects
• Experience delivering Environmental Impact Statements or major approvals documentation
• Comfortable mentoring junior staff and supporting project delivery
• Strong stakeholder engagement skills with clients, regulators and community
• Relevant degree in Environmental Science, Environmental Planning or similar

$140,000 + Super + 10% Bonus (paid bi-annually)

If you're not quite at the senior level, but interested in this team, they are also currently looking for a 3-5 year Environmental Planner.

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