Manager, Permitting

Ezee Fiber

Elk Grove Village (IL)

On-site

USD 110,000 - 130,000

Full time

3 days ago

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Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision benefits

401(k) with company match

Paid time off

Job summary

Ezee Fiber is seeking a Manager, Permitting in the United States to lead permitting across multiple fiber markets. You will set strategy, drive execution, manage internal teams and external partners, and remove barriers to support rapid FTTH expansion.

You will oversee governance, data dashboards, and escalation processes to protect deployment schedules, while building a high-performing team and maintaining strong relationships with municipalities and utilities.

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience; 7+ years in OSP permitting, telecom engineering, utility coordination, or related fields.
Proven leadership of people, vendors, or multi-market permitting programs in high-growth environments.
Strong knowledge of FTTH/telecommunications design, rights-of-way, pole attachments, and multi-jurisdictional requirements.
Proficiency with ArcGIS/ESRI; experience with 3GIS, Smartsheet, or similar systems.

Responsibilities

Develop and lead permitting strategy across assigned markets.
Own permitting performance, cycle time, backlog, aging, risk, and escalation strategy.
Translate growth objectives into permitting capacity plans and staffing needs.
Provide executive updates on permitting health, constraints, and forecasted impact.

Skills

Strategic leadership

People leadership

Vendor governance

Data-driven decisions

Executive communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Telecommunications, Construction Management, GIS, or related field

Tools

ArcGIS/ESRI

3GIS

Smartsheet

Job description

WHY JOIN US?

Build your career with Ezee Fiber, proudly recognized by PCMag as the Best Overall ISP in the U.S. for 2026.

At Ezee Fiber, you'll do more than build a career; you'll help shape the future of connectivity. Every team member plays a vital role in delivering reliable, high-speed internet and exceptional customer experiences. Whether in the field, in the office, or behind the scenes, you'll be part of a collaborative team that values innovation, professional growth, and making a meaningful impact in the communities we serve.

OUR VALUES

At Ezee Fiber, our success is built on delivering Speed, Simplicity, and Service in everything we do. Guided by our core values of Integrity, Compassion, Accountability, and Collaboration, we empower our employees to do the right thing, support one another, take ownership of their work, and work together to deliver exceptional experiences for our customers and the communities we serve.

JOB SUMMARY

The Manager, Permitting is a leadership role responsible for setting permitting strategy, directing execution, and ensuring permitting readiness across assigned fiber deployment markets. The Manager leads internal team members and external partners, establishes operating standards, removes jurisdictional and vendor barriers, and provides senior leadership with clear visibility into permitting risk, throughput, and forecasted impact to construction.

This role operates with significant autonomy and is accountable for translating deployment priorities into scalable permitting plans. The Manager serves as a senior point of escalation for municipalities, utilities, engineering partners, construction leaders, and permitting vendors, while building a high-performing team capable of supporting rapid FTTH expansion.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Strategic Leadership & Market Execution

Develop and lead permitting strategy across assigned markets, aligning permit sequencing and jurisdictional priorities with engineering and construction deployment plans.
Own permitting performance, cycle time, backlog, aging, risk, and escalation strategy; establish corrective actions when milestones are at risk.
Translate business growth objectives into permitting capacity plans, staffing priorities, vendor requirements, and measurable execution standards.
Provide executive-ready updates on permitting health, constraints, forecasted impacts, and decisions required to protect deployment schedules.

People Leadership & Organizational Development

Lead, coach, develop, and hold accountable a team of permitting professionals; establish clear goals, performance expectations, and development plans.
team capability through structured training, cross-market knowledge sharing, succession planning, and consistent operating practices.
Assess workload and capacity, recommend staffing changes, and support hiring decisions as the permitting organization scales.
Create a culture of ownership, urgency, accuracy, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

Municipal, Utility & Stakeholder Leadership

Serve as a senior company representative with municipalities, counties, state agencies, utilities, pole owners, joint-use partners, and other authorities having jurisdiction.
Develop and maintain strategic relationships that improve permitting predictability, resolve escalated issues, and support long-term market expansion.
Lead complex negotiations and escalations involving rights-of-way, pole attachments, easements, design requirements, permitting conditions, and jurisdictional interpretation.
Partner with Legal, Government Affairs, Engineering, Construction, and Operations when permitting issues create material business or deployment risk.

Vendor Governance & Performance Management

Establish vendor scopes, service expectations, quality standards, reporting requirements, and performance measures for external permitting resources.
Review vendor performance against schedule, quality, responsiveness, and contractual commitments; implement recovery plans and escalation actions when required.
Ensure vendor-produced permit packages and designs meet Ezee Fiber standards and jurisdictional requirements before submission.

Operational Excellence, Data & Controls

Establish standardized permitting workflows, governance, dashboards, KPIs, and reporting cadences across assigned markets.
Use data to identify bottlenecks, jurisdictional trends, recurring defects, capacity constraints, and opportunities to reduce permit cycle time.
Ensure accurate and timely permit data within systems such as 3GIS, Smartsheet, ArcGIS/ESRI, and other business platforms.
Drive process improvement, automation, documentation, and scalable controls that support growth without sacrificing quality or compliance.

Technical & Regulatory Oversight

Provide leadership on OSP/FTTH permitting requirements, utility pole attachments, rights-of-way, public utility easements, private property considerations, and applicable municipal or agency requirements.
Review and interpret site plans, maps, drawings, survey information, aerial imagery, geographic data, and technical documents affecting permit strategy.
Ensure permitting practices remain aligned with applicable regulatory requirements, company standards, and construction objectives.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES

Directly supervise one or more employees. Carries out responsibilities in accordance with the organization's policies and applicable laws.

QUALIFICATIONS

Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Telecommunications, Construction Management, GIS, Business, or a related field preferred; equivalent relevant experience may be considered relevant professional experience may be considered in lieu of a degree. Typically, 7+ years of progressive experience in OSP permitting, telecom engineering, utility coordination, infrastructure deployment, construction, or related work, including demonstrated leadership responsibility. Demonstrated experience leading people, vendors, or multi-market permitting programs in a high-growth or production-oriented environment. Advanced knowledge of FTTH/telecommunications design principles, permitting processes, rights-of-way, pole attachments, and multi-jurisdictional requirements. Strong working knowledge of ArcGIS/ESRI products; experience with 3GIS, Smartsheet, or comparable tracking/reporting systems preferred. Demonstrated ability to build productive relationships with municipalities, utilities, permitting authorities, and external partners. Ability to exercise independent judgment, make high-impact decisions, manage competing priorities, and expedite material business risks appropriately. Strong executive presence, written communication, presentation, negotiation, analytical, and problem-solving skills.

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS

Valid Driver License

PHYSICAL, FIELD, OR ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS

The physical requirements described here are representative of those that must be met by an associate to successfully perform the essential functions of the job. While performing the duties of the job, the associate is required on a daily basis to analyze and interpret data, communicate, and remain in a stationary position for a significant amount of the workday and frequently access, input, and retrieve information from the computer and other office productivity devices. The associate is regularly required to move about the office and around the corporate campus. The associate must frequently move up to 10 pounds and occasionally move up to 25 pounds.

TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS

Travel up to 30%

TOTAL REWARDS