Program Manager - Mine Closure

AECOM; Albuquerque (NM); On-site; USD 160,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

AECOM seeks an experienced Program Manager to lead large, multi-year environmental mine closure and reclamation programs, including Questa Mine in northern New Mexico. You will direct safety, quality, and commercial performance across a complex portfolio with diverse disciplines.

You will mentor project managers, engineers, scientists, and field staff while maintaining strong client relationships, managing budgets, and coordinating with regulators to ensure compliant, on-time delivery.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, geology, environmental science, construction management, or related discipline.
• 15+ years of progressive experience delivering environmental remediation, mine closure, or heavy civil infrastructure projects.
• 7+ years leading large multidisciplinary project teams.
• Demonstrated experience managing programs exceeding $25 million annually.
• Strong commercial and financial management skills.
• Excellent client relationship and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead overall execution of a multi-million-dollar environmental mine closure program.
• Develop and execute annual and multi-year program delivery strategies.
• Ensure safe, predictable, and profitable delivery across multiple concurrent projects.
• Establish program governance, reporting, risk management, and performance metrics.
• Identify, engage and manage a variety of subcontractors.
• Drive a culture focused on safety, quality, environmental stewardship, and operational excellence.

Skills

Executive leadership

Program management

Strategic planning

Commercial acumen

Client relationship management

Contract management

Risk management

Negotiation

Team development

Decision making

Conflict resolution

Financial management

Communication and influencing

Change management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in engineering, geology, environmental science, construction management, or related discipline

Professional Engineer (PE)

Project Management Professional (PMP)

Job description

Job Description

We are seeking an experienced Program Manager to lead the execution of large, multi-year environmental mine closure and reclamation programs, the largest of which is at the Questa Mine in northern New Mexico. This individual will be responsible for the safe, profitable, and technically successful delivery of a complex portfolio of environmental remediation, water management, earthworks, reclamation, support site services, and long-term stewardship projects.

The Program Manager will serve as the primary interface with the client, subcontractors, internal technical teams and potentially regulatory agencies while leading multidisciplinary project managers, engineers, scientists, construction managers, and field personnel.

This role requires a strong blend of strategic leadership, technical understanding, commercial acumen, and exceptional stakeholder management capabilities.

Key Responsibilities

Program Leadership

• Lead overall execution of a multi-million-dollar environmental mine closure program.
• Develop and execute annual and multi-year program delivery strategies.
• Ensure safe, predictable, and profitable delivery across multiple concurrent projects.
• Establish program governance, reporting, risk management, and performance metrics.
• Identify, engage and manage a variety of subcontractors.
• Drive a culture focused on safety, quality, environmental stewardship, and operational excellence, both with AECOM staff and subcontractors.

Client Relationship Management

• Serve as the senior day‑to‑day representative to the client.
• Build trusted executive‑level relationships.
• Facilitate program reviews and executive steering committee meetings.
• Identify opportunities to improve project outcomes and expand services.
• Manage client expectations through transparent communication and proactive issue resolution.

Project Delivery

Provide leadership across projects including construction management, environmental compliance, and sustain capital maintenance work.

Ensure projects are delivered to achieve annual scope and outcome commitments: safely, on schedule, within budget, in accordance with permit requirements, and to company quality standards.

Commercial Management

• Manage overall program financial performance.
• Oversee annual forecasts and operating plan developments.
• Monitor revenue, margin, backlog, and utilization.
• Lead change order negotiations.
• Review subcontractor performance and commercial risk.
• Support contract negotiations and claims management.
• Work with leadership on achieving contract key performance indicators.
• Identify opportunities for operational efficiencies and cost savings.

Leadership

• Lead a multidisciplinary team of project managers, engineers, geologists, environmental scientists, construction managers, field technicians, craft labor, subcontractors.
• Mentor future project leaders.
• Foster collaboration across technical disciplines.
• Drive accountability and high performance.

Health, Safety & Quality

• Champion a strong safety culture by leading visible safety initiatives, conducting regular field visits, supporting incident reporting and investigations, and ensuring compliance with OSHA, client safety requirements, and company HSE standards.
• Promote continuous improvement in quality management and operational excellence.

Potential Regulatory & Stakeholder Coordination

• Coordinate with federal agencies, state regulators, tribal governments, local communities, landowners, environmental organizations.
• Support permitting, compliance reporting, inspections, and regulatory negotiations.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, geology, environmental science, construction management, or related discipline.
• 15+ years of progressive experience delivering environmental remediation, mine closure, or heavy civil infrastructure projects.
• 7+ years leading large multidisciplinary project teams.
• Demonstrated experience managing programs exceeding $25 million annually.
• Strong understanding of mine closure, reclamation, water treatment, earthworks/civil projects, and environmental permitting.
• Experience managing complex EPCM or environmental consulting projects.
• Strong commercial and financial management skills.
• Excellent client relationship and communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Professional Engineer (PE).
• Project Management Professional (PMP).
• MSHA certifications.
• Experience with CERCLA, RCRA, NEPA, CWA, and NPDES permitting.
• Experience working on legacy mining sites.
• Experience with consent decrees and long‑term environmental liabilities.
• Master’s degree in engineering, environmental science, or business administration is a plus.

Desired Experience

• Capital projects.
• Mine reclamation.
• Acid rock drainage mitigation.
• Tailings management.
• Water treatment operations.
• Large earthworks construction.
• Geotechnical stabilization.
• Stream restoration.
• Habitat restoration.
• Environmental monitoring.
• Long‑term stewardship.

Experience working in mountainous terrain and remote field environments is highly desirable.

Critical Competencies

• Executive leadership.
• Program management.
• Strategic planning.
• Commercial acumen.
• Client relationship management.
• Contract management.
• Risk management.
• Negotiation.
• Team development.
• Decision making.
• Conflict resolution.
• Financial management.
• Communication and influencing.
• Change management.

Additional Information

At AECOM, we are committed to maintaining a secure and trustworthy recruitment process and take any fraudulent hiring activity seriously. To support this commitment, all newly hired employees are required to attend an in‑person Day 1 onboarding at an AECOM office location as a condition of employment. Offered compensation will be based on location and individual qualifications. The expected range is $160,000.00 – $200,000.00.

Equal Opportunity Employer

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we believe in your potential and are here to help you achieve it. All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.