Cultural Resource Lead

Description

We are seeking an experienced Cultural Resource Lead to lead and grow cultural resource services across the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, and Great Basin, including Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, and California while supporting projects in other regions as needed. This senior leadership role combines business development, client development, staff supervision, technical leadership, and operational accountability. The Cultural Resources Lead will oversee regional staff and operations, cultivate public- and private-sector clients, shape capture and proposal strategies, and ensure strong project delivery and financial performance. The ideal candidate is a recognized cultural resources leader with strong knowledge of archaeology, historic preservation, tribal consultation, and applicable federal and state regulatory requirements across the region.

Key Responsibilities:

Business Development & Growth:

Lead business development for cultural resource services across the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, and Great Basin, with emphasis on Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, and Utah, and support growth and project pursuits in other regions as needed.

Identify, qualify, and pursue federal, state, tribal, municipal, utility, transportation, energy, and private-sector opportunities.

Develop capture strategies, client-specific growth plans, teaming relationships, and go/no-go recommendations.

Lead or support proposals, statements of qualifications, scopes of work, fee development, interviews, and contract negotiations.

Coordinate with company leadership and adjacent environmental disciplines to cross-sell services and expand strategic accounts.

Maintain an active pipeline and provide reliable forecasting of pursuits, backlog, staffing demand, and revenue opportunities.

Client Development & Relationship Management:

Build and maintain trusted relationships with existing and prospective clients, agency representatives, tribal governments, and teaming partners.

Serve as a senior client contact, understand client priorities, anticipate needs, and develop practical solutions that support compliance, schedule, and mission objectives.

Monitor client satisfaction, resolve elevated concerns, and ensure commitments are communicated and fulfilled.

Represent the company at industry events, professional associations, conferences, and client meetings.

Operations & Financial Management:

Provide operational leadership for the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, and Great Basin cultural resources practice, including workload planning, staffing, scheduling, quality, risk, and financial performance.

Oversee project budgets, labor utilization, subcontractors, invoicing, collections support, profitability, and corrective actions when performance varies from plan.

Balance project delivery demands with business development priorities and available staff capacity.

Partner with regional and corporate leadership to establish annual operating goals, business development priorities, hiring plans, and investment needs for the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, and Great Basin practice.

Implement consistent project management, quality control, health and safety, records management, and regulatory compliance practices.

Technical Leadership & Quality Oversight:

Provide executive and technical oversight for archaeological investigations and cultural resource projects, coordinating with appropriately qualified Principal Investigators when project or agency requirements apply.

Oversee the development and review of research designs, work plans, field methods, testing and data recovery strategies, monitoring plans, inadvertent discovery plans, and technical reports.

Provide senior review and technical direction for archaeological inventory, evaluation, mitigation, monitoring, historic property documentation, and related studies.

Ensure work complies with applicable requirements, including Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA), and relevant regional laws, permits, and agency guidance.

Support consultation and coordination with tribes, agencies, clients, landowners, and other interested parties using respectful and culturally informed practices.

Ensure recommendations regarding eligibility, effects, avoidance, minimization, and mitigation are technically sound, defensible, and clearly documented.

Supervision & Staff Development:

Supervise cultural resource managers, project managers, archaeologists, architectural historians, field staff, and technical specialists across the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, and Great Basin.

Set performance expectations, assign work, review deliverables, coach staff, and support professional development and career growth.

Lead recruiting, interviewing, onboarding, succession planning, and retention for the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, and Great Basin practice.

Promote collaboration, accountability, safety, ethical conduct, and respect for tribal sovereignty and cultural values.

Coordinate staff across offices and projects to maintain appropriate technical coverage and efficient utilization.

Project & Program Oversight:

Provide executive oversight for multiple concurrent projects and programs to ensure delivery on schedule, within scope, and within budget.

Confirm that qualified personnel, permits, equipment, subcontractors, and technical resources are available before field and reporting activities begin.

Review project risks, contractual requirements, change management needs, and recovery plans for challenged projects.

Maintain senior-level visibility into deliverable quality, client communications, regulatory coordination, and closeout requirements.

Requirements

Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree in Archaeology, Anthropology, History, Cultural Resource Management, or a closely related field; a master's degree is preferred.

A minimum of 15 years of progressively responsible cultural resource experience, including project management, technical leadership, and client-facing responsibilities.

Demonstrated experience developing business, winning work, managing client relationships, and contributing to revenue and backlog growth.

Demonstrated supervisory experience, including workload management, mentoring, recruiting, and staff development.

Experience providing senior leadership and oversight for cultural resource programs, archaeological fieldwork, analysis, reporting, and regulatory consultation.

Strong knowledge of Section 106, NEPA, ARPA, National Register of Historic Places criteria, and applicable Pacific Northwest and Great Basin cultural resource requirements.

Experience working with tribal governments and supporting government-to-government consultation processes.

Demonstrated ability to manage budgets, schedules, contracts, subconsultants, project risks, and financial performance.

Excellent written, presentation, negotiation, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to communicate effectively with executives, clients, regulators, tribes, technical staff, and the public.

Ability to travel to client meetings and project sites throughout the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, and Great Basin and to support projects elsewhere, as needed.

Preferred Skills:

Established client and agency relationships in the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, and/or Great Basin.

Experience with federal agencies, military installations, transportation agencies, utilities, energy developers, or environmental consulting firms.

Familiarity with State Historic Preservation Office processes, state-specific cultural resource requirements, and archaeological permitting requirements across the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, and Great Basin.

Experience with indefinite-delivery con