Client Services Lead

SWCA Environmental Consultants; Portland (OR); On-site; USD 98,000 - 129,000; Full time

Job summary

SWCA Environmental Consultants seeks a Client Services Lead for the Pacific Northwest Subregion to strengthen client relationships, guide business development strategy, and drive revenue growth across service lines.

The role includes leading win cycles, coordinating with leadership, and engaging with clients and teaming partners, with limited travel (~5–20%). The candidate should reside in the Pacific Northwest and have 4+ years of relevant experience, including staff and project management.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required.
• At least four years of relevant experience; six or more preferred.
• Experience managing staff.
• At least three years of project management experience.
• Prior experience with budget/proposal development, business development, and client relationship management.
• Candidate must reside in the Pacific Northwest.

Responsibilities

• Establishes and strengthens client relationships with existing and potential clients and partners.
• Drives business development strategy by identifying market trends and opportunities.
• Holds self and others accountable for meeting sales targets and BD goals.
• Identifies opportunities to bid on projects by monitoring the marketplace.
• Develops teaming relationships with other firms and organizations.
• Coordinates internal staff and strategy meetings to align BD efforts and share market intelligence.
• Conducts external market research to inform BD decisions.
• Represent SWCA at industry events and outreach efforts (~5–20% travel).
• Mentors junior staff in client services best practices.

Skills

Client relationship management

Business development

Project management

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

About the opportunity

SWCA Environmental Consultants is seeking a Client Services Lead for our Pacific Northwest Subregion. This role is responsible for establishing and strengthening client relationships, understanding the marketplace, driving business development strategy, and taking individual and team accountability for meeting sales goals. While SWCA is a seller-doer culture, the client services position is intended to be strategic, outward-facing, and Focused on identifying and capturing opportunities that align with the Pacific Northwest subregion's growth goals.

The Client Services Lead focuses on identifying and securing opportunities and is actively involved in the full win-cycle, including the go/no-go process for key pursuits, developing teaming relationships, and assisting with the winning strategy for proposal efforts. This position will support business development and client engagement efforts across SWCA's service lines, including natural resources, cultural resources, restoration, and planning and permitting, helping connect clients with integrated solutions that address complex project needs. This role collaborates closely with Pacific Northwest leadership, leads, and project managers to advance strategic business development priorities.

Daily tasks include maintaining relationships with existing clients and teaming partners, developing new clients and teaming partner connections, identifying new business opportunities, promoting the SWCA brand, conducting market research, supporting internal mentorship, and advancing business development across the Pacific Northwest subregion. The Client Services Lead works closely with Pacific Northwest program leadership, including the Natural Resources, Cultural Resources, and Engineering Directors, and the Vice President, to align market strategies and pursuit priorities. This role also works collaboratively with technical leads, project managers, proposal teams, and marketing staff to evaluate opportunities, inform go/no-go decisions, develop winning pursuit strategies, and connect clients with integrated solutions that position SWCA for long-term success.

This is a full-time, regular, salaried, benefits eligible role. Because this role is focused on markets in the Pacific Northwest subregion, strong preference will be given to candidates who currently reside in the subregion and understand local clients and business development opportunities.

Application deadline: Our team will begin reviewing applications immediately, and interviews will be scheduled with qualified candidates on a rolling basis. The application process will remain open until we have received a robust pool of qualified candidates. Once we have identified suitable individuals, we may close the application process without prior notice. We appreciate the time and effort invested by all applicants and will carefully consider each submission.

What you will accomplish

• Establishes and strengthens client relationships by proactively engaging with existing and potential clients and partners.
• Drives business development strategy by identifying market trends, targeting key opportunities, and setting strategic priorities.
• Holds self and others accountable for meeting sales targets and business development goals, ensuring consistent performance.
• Identifies and secures opportunities to bid on projects by monitoring the marketplace and leveraging industry connections.
• Develops teaming relationships by initiating and nurturing partnerships with other firms and organizations.
• Coordinates internal staff and strategy meetings to align business development efforts and share market intelligence.
• Conducts external market research to inform business development decisions and anticipate client needs and industry shifts.
• Disseminates the SWCA brand by representing the company at industry events, conferences, and through targeted outreach efforts (~5-20% travel required).
• Performs internal mentorship by guiding junior staff in client services best practices and professional growth.
• Advances SWCA's overall business development efforts by collaborating with Technical and Operations leaders to deliver integrated solutions.
• Follows applicable federal, Tribal, state, local, industry, contractual, and company regulations, standards, and specifications.
• Drives compliance of safety policies and reporting requirements to ensure overall team safety.
• Performs related work as assigned.

Experience and qualifications for success

• Bachelor's degree
• At least four years of relevant experience, six or more years is preferred
• Experience in managing staff
• At least three years of project management experience
• Prior experience with budget/proposal development, business development, and client relationship management
• Must currently reside or plan to reside in the Pacific Northwest (Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Alaska, or Montana)

SWCA Environmental Consultants is a growing employee-owned firm, providing a full-spectrum of environmental services. With offices across the United States, SWCA is one of the largest environmental compliance firms and ranks among Engineering News-Record's Top 200 Environmental Firms.

If you would like to contact SWCA regarding the accessibility of our website or need assistance completing the online application process due to a disability, please email [e-mail] or call 480-581-5378. This contact information is for disability accommodation requests only. All other inquiries will not receive a response.

SWCA is committed to salary equity and salary transparency for all its employees. In alignment with this commitment, SWCA posts good faith pay ranges in all its advertised job postings to promote pay equity and transparency.

An employee in this Pacific Northwest-based position can expect a salary of $98,017/year to $129,205/year. Actual pay within this range may depend on experience, qualifications, geographic location, client requirements where applicable, and other factors permitted by law. Regular-status employees are also eligible for performance bonuses. Candidates are also encouraged to consider SWCA's Total Rewards package, which includes a competitive benefits package (https://www.swca.com/careers/benefits-wellness/), forward-thinking workplace flexibility, outstanding corporate culture, award-winning career development, and more.

SWCA is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages women, minorities, individuals with disabilities, and veterans to apply. At SWCA Environmental Consultants, we celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive work environment. We strongly encourage candidates from all backgrounds, including those with diverse experiences and veterans, to apply. We believe that a diverse and inclusive workforce enhances creativity, innovation, and overall organizational success

SWCA continues to invest deeply in career development programs, delivering our award-winning Career Landscape support resources to accelerate the growth of our staff. We recognize the valuable skills and experiences our internal team members bring to SWCA's continued success. Qualified internal candidates are encouraged to apply and will be seriously considered for this position. We believe in promoting from within, where possible, providing our existing employees with compelling opportunities to advance their careers.

Applicants must be willing to participate in a drug testing and alcohol screening as part of the pre-employment process, as some projects require such screenings. Applicants must have valid driver's license and be able to meet SWCA's driver requirements.