Cultural Resources Team Lead

SWCA is seeking a talented Cultural Resources Team Lead to support and grow the Cultural Resources Program within our Hawai‘i and Pacific Islands office. The Cultural Resources Team Lead will be responsible for providing leadership for our experienced staff of archaeologists, anthropologists, architectural historians, and historians. The position will involve supervising and mentoring staff, managing large-scale projects, coordinating with clients and agencies, and developing new business opportunities. The successful candidate will need to have a depth of experience and familiarity with the business environment and with the cultural resources of Hawai‘i and the Pacific Region.

This is a full-time, regular status, salaried position to be affiliated with our Honolulu office. This position will support office goals and work closely with directors and leaders across the West region to accomplish those goals. SWCA is proud to offer flexible work location arrangements. Fully remote, office-based, or hybrid candidates are welcome to apply.

The Cultural Resources Team Lead will:

People Leadership

• Lead and grow the Hawai‘i cultural resources team
• Supervise, mentor, and facilitate professional growth and development of cultural resources personnel
• Take a leading role in managing the schedule for the cultural resources team of archaeologists, anthropologists, and historians, ensuring adequate coverage of project needs and appropriate assignments of staff to specific tasks
• Mentor and coach junior team members in business development and client services
• Advise the Pacific Islands Director on staffing needs and staff advancement
• Serve as a lead hiring manager for project and staff-level positions. Take a leading role in identifying staffing needs, screening job candidates, conducting interviews, and making hiring recommendations to the Director
• Ensure team compliance with performance management and training requirements, tracking progress and follow-up with individual supervisors and staff members
• Drives compliance of safety policies and reporting requirements to ensure overall team safety

Project Leadership

• Oversee the technical execution and financial performance of cultural resources projects
• Manage large-scale projects
• Monitor the performance of individual projects and provide support to project managers
• Effectively coordinate with clients and regulatory agencies to produce technically excellent work that is on time and on budget
• Identify and mitigate project challenges to avoid overruns and ensure profitability.

Client Leadership

• Manage client relationships and conduct business development with new and existing clients.
• Identify and evaluate sales opportunities (prospects and proposals) and make recommendations to the Pacific Islands Director
• Lead large proposal efforts
• Work to expand the client base in line with the office’s strategic goals
• Develop and foster teaming relationships with other offices that lead to business development opportunities
• Work closely with SWCA’s other leads in planning, natural and cultural resources in the Southern California – Pacific Islands subregion and throughout the company to promote the Pacific Islands office by extension, and SWCA’s business interests in adherence to its mission, vision, and values.

Experience and qualifications for success

• A minimum of both a Bachelor’s (B.A. or B.S.) in Anthropology, Archaeology, Architectural History, History, or related field.
• A minimum of eight (8) years of progressively more responsible experience in cultural resources fieldwork, consulting, and project management, including developing and implementing budgets, schedules, and scopes of work from pre-field tasks to final report preparation.
• Demonstrated experience in supervising, mentoring, and providing leadership for cultural resources professionals.
• Familiarity with Hawai‘i historic preservation laws, cultural resource management practices, and engagement with Native Hawaiian organizations and agencies.
• Previous experience with federal, state, and local environmental laws and regulations, including Section 106 of the NHPA, NEPA, NAGPRA, ARPA, Hawaii Revised Statutes 6E, Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 343, and Hawaii Administrative Rules regarding historic preservation.
• Established credibility with federal and state reviewing agencies.
• Demonstrated strong business development skills as a “seller/doer” and success in developing productive business relationships with agency, client, and industry contacts.
• Experience in developing sales opportunities and proposal writing.

Preferred or Helpful Qualifications:

• Ability to take initiative, resolve problems, and ensure that tasks are completed in the most effective manner.
• Flexibility and willingness to learn company procedures, and ability to try new, improved techniques.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Prior related work experience in the state of Hawaii.
• Master’s (M.A. or M.S.) Degree in Anthropology, Archaeology, History, or related field preferred.

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.

An employee in this Honolulu, HI based position can expect an annual salary of $87,369-$113,881/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, forward-thinking workplace flexibility, outstanding corporate culture, award-winning career development, and more.