Environmental Associate (Contractor)

TotalEnergies; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

TotalEnergies is seeking an Environmental Associate to support environmental compliance, permitting, and sustainability initiatives across onshore renewables in North America. The role involves audits, ESIA/EMP development, and coordinating with contractors and internal teams to ensure regulatory compliance.

Applicant will oversee environmental standards during construction, manage interactions with stakeholders, and travel to project sites roughly quarterly for oversight inspections and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Environmental Science, Biology, Natural Resources, Environmental Engineering, or related field.
• 7+ years of relevant experience in renewable energy or large infrastructure construction environments.
• Experience leading environmental inspections and developing Environmental Management Plans (EMPs).
• Knowledge of federal/state environmental regulations (CWA, SWPPP, NPDES, SPCC, protected species).

Responsibilities

• Maintain environmental inspections records and track compliance across construction projects.
• Lead environmental compliance audits and site-specific impact assessments.
• Coordinate with internal/external stakeholders on environmental permitting.
• Communicate findings and corrective actions to construction teams and update schedules.
• Review EPC bid packages for environmental permitting considerations and compliance.
• Provide weekly progress updates and maintain project files.

Skills

Environmental compliance

Project management

Regulatory permitting

Stakeholder communication

Environmental auditing

ESIA/EMP development

Risk assessment

Sustainability initiatives

Team collaboration

SPCC/SWPPP/NPDES knowledge

Salesforce usage

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in Environmental Science/Related Field

Tools

Salesforce

Job description

Contexte et environnement

The Environmental Associate is a long-term contractor position and will focus on projects in the construction phase by supporting environmental compliance, impact assessments, permitting, and sustainability initiatives for TERUSA's onshore renewables portfolio in North America. The role works closely with the Director of Environmental Permitting and other TERUSA team members to ensure successful project execution and regulatory compliance.

HSE&Q Responsibilities

The Environmental Associate will comply with all applicable TotalEnergies and U.S. Health, Safety, Environment, and Quality (HSE&Q) requirements and supporting standards, including:

• Demonstrating adherence to the TotalEnergies HSE MAESTRO Management System.
• Taking responsibility for personal safety and the safety of others.
• Reporting anomalies, near misses, incidents, and unsafe conditions.
• Actively participating in HSE meetings, sustainability moments, training sessions, and emergency drills.
• Promoting a strong safety culture and environmental stewardship.
• Acting in accordance with TotalEnergies policies, ethics, and compliance values.

Activities

• Support TotalEnergies' environmental standards and take ownership of environmental compliance during the construction phase across multiple projects.
• Lead construction-site environmental compliance audits and site-specific impact assessments based on Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs). Manage consultants throughout the construction phase, including RFP development, scope definition, scheduling, and site access coordination. This includes engaging consultants to perform oversight inspections for regulatory compliance and permit commitments, including SPCC, SWPPP, MBTA, Section 404, state-level NEPA permitting, isolated waters permitting, conditional use permitting, and protected species permitting.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for construction-related environmental questions from internal and external stakeholders.
• Communicate impact assessment findings and site audit results to construction teams. Support site teams in implementing corrective actions and track environmental compliance progress across multiple construction projects within the Salesforce project management system.
• Review project constraints and EPC bid packages to identify environmental permitting concerns and ensure compliance with company policies and impact assessment assumptions.
• Participate in regular internal and external project team meetings. Communicate environmental and permitting-related project updates and progress to cross-functional teams. Maintain project files and deliverables on the file server. Provide weekly updates to project schedules and progress reports.
• Support TotalEnergies' environmental standards through ongoing coordination with internal and external stakeholders.
• Travel to project construction sites approximately once every three months to conduct onsite inspections and coordinate with site teams.

Activités

Accountabilities

• Maintain records of environmental inspections, spills, cleanups, permit violations and non-compliance
• Track corporate environmental KPIs for construction
• Review project layouts and construction designs for environmental risks and compliance with environmental requirements and standards
• Track site restoration to regulatory, contract and company standards

Profil du candidat

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Environmental Science, Biology, Natural Resources, Environmental Engineering, or a related field.
• 7+ years of relevant experience, as described below.
• Experience managing environmental aspects of renewable energy or large infrastructure construction projects, including evaluating impacts and risks, recommending appropriate mitigation measures, and tracking mitigation effectiveness.
• Experience leading environmental inspections and developing and implementing Environmental Management Plans (EMPs) for construction projects.
• Demonstrated experience managing sensitive environmental compliance discussions with external contractors, including the ability to navigate challenging, adversarial, or high-pressure situations while maintaining professionalism and ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements.
• Proven ability to manage multiple projects concurrently in an organized manner, including oversight of project budgets, schedules, and scopes.
• Knowledge of federal, state, and local environmental regulations applicable to renewable energy projects, including working knowledge of the Clean Water Act (CWA), Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPPs), the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) requirements, and protected-species regulations.
• Preferred experience in one or more of the following areas: stormwater management best practices and permitting, protected-species management during construction, sustainability initiatives, biodiversity conservation, site restoration, contract administration, and environmental construction management.
• Strong verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Ability to quickly learn new responsibilities, adapt to a dynamic work environment, and collaborate effectively with multidisciplinary project teams.