Strategic Stakeholder & Permits Communications Director

AtkinsRéalis; Richmond (VA); On-site; USD 170,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical benefits

Dental benefits

401(k) with matching

Paid time off

Job summary

AtkinsRéalis is seeking a Stakeholder Management, Permits & Communications Lead for a major pharmaceutical manufacturing campus program. You will serve as the owner’s voice across internal and external stakeholders, coordinating permitting and regulatory interfaces across jurisdictions, and maintaining a disciplined communications framework for executive leadership.

The role focuses on pro-active stakeholder alignment, high-profile regulatory engagement, and ensuring permits are secured on

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field.
• 20+ years in major capital programs or large industrial projects.
• Minimum 10 years leading stakeholder engagement, permitting, regulatory affairs, communications, public involvement, or program management functions.
• Demonstrated experience supporting programs exceeding $1 billion in capital value.
• Experience managing permitting and regulatory coordination for complex industrial projects.
• Experience coordinating with environmental regulators, utility providers, transportation agencies, and planning authorities.
• Experience supporting community engagement and public-facing project initiatives.
• Experience supporting executive leadership through governance, reporting, and decision-making.

Responsibilities

• Lead stakeholder management, regulatory engagement, permitting coordination, and communications strategy across the campus program.
• Establish a comprehensive stakeholder engagement framework across client leadership, project teams, contractors, regulators, and communities.
• Develop and manage a campus-wide permitting strategy aligned with milestones.
• Coordinate permit identification, applications, reviews, approvals, and compliance across workstreams.
• Act as the primary interface with permitting authorities.
• Lead engagement with federal, state, regional, and local agencies.
• Track permitting schedules, risks, and critical milestones affecting execution.
• Collaborate with delivery teams to resolve permitting obstacles before impacting schedules.
• Coordinate environmental, utility, infrastructure, transportation, life-safety, and zoning permitting activities.
• Prepare executive briefings, dashboards, and decision-support materials.
• Coordinate messaging across contractors and internal teams for consistency.
• Support leadership in managing high-profile stakeholder issues and public communications.
• Identify and mitigate stakeholder-related risks impacting approvals or program objectives.
• Build relationships with government officials and executive stakeholders.
• Support crisis communications and escalation management as needed.
• Promote transparency and structured governance across stakeholder groups.

Skills

Stakeholder management

Regulatory engagement

Permitting coordination

Communications strategy

Executive reporting

Public involvement

Risk management

Leadership without authority

Education

Bachelor's degree in Public Administration, Communications, Engineering, Construction Management, Program Management, Environmental Studies, Political Science, or related field

Job description

AtkinsRéalis is seeking a Stakeholder Management, Permits & Communications Lead for a major pharmaceutical manufacturing campus program. You will serve as the owner’s voice across internal and external stakeholders, coordinating permitting and regulatory interfaces across jurisdictions, and maintaining a disciplined communications framework for executive leadership.

The role focuses on pro-active stakeholder alignment, high-profile regulatory engagement, and ensuring permits are secured on