Principal Administrative Manager - West Region

About the opportunity

SWCA Environmental Consultants is seeking a Principal Administrative Manager to support our fact-past West region. In this highly visible regional leadership role, you will lead and develop a geographically distributed administrative team while fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, professional development, and service excellence across the region.

The Principal Administrative Manager will oversee our administrative teams and functions of our West region, considering the most essential business needs of the West region’s individual business units and offices, identifying how SWCA’s regional team of administrative support professionals can optimally support their operations partners. This position provides administrative leadership and support for 22 administrative professionals across 18 office locations in 10 states.

Serving as a strategic partner to regional leadership, corporate departments, and executive stakeholders, you will identify evolving business needs, align administrative priorities, and help create a more consistent and connected administrative operating model in support of broader OneSWCA objectives.

You will identify performance standards, best management practices, standard operating procedures, and priority process improvements to provide enhanced consistency and excellence in the administrative support and operations collaboration throughout the region.

This is a full-time, regular, salaried/exempt position that is hybrid-eligible from any of our current West region offices in California, Arizona, Oregon, Nevada, or Utah, with candidates residing in/around Pasadena, CA or Phoenix, AZ as preferred. We will also seriously consider highly qualified distributed (remote) candidates. Travel will be expected to visit other office locations at least once a quarter.

To be considered for this position, please submit a cover letter.

Application Deadline: Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, and interviews may be scheduled as qualified candidates are identified. This position may close without prior notice once a strong candidate pool is established.

About SWCA

SWCA Environmental Consultants is a 100% employee-owned environmental consulting firm providing full spectrum environmental services across the United States. Our North Star is to be the best place to work and a leader in sustainability, delivering sound science and creative solutions to complex environmental challenges.

 We are guided by our core values every day. We collaborate as #OneSWCA, we are #AlwaysLearning, we #NeverSettle, and we #GiveBack to our communities. With offices nationwide, SWCA offers a collaborative, team focused environment where employees can build meaningful and long-term careers.

What you will accomplish

• Establishes and maintains robust financial controls and oversight for all administrative invoice processes. Leads initiatives to optimize financial workflows, ensure compliance, and drive continuous improvement and partners with finance leadership.
• Oversees expense reconciliation processes for office directors, VPs, and SVPs.
• Leads collaboration with Talent Acquisition to coordinate new hire requisitions, guiding the full lifecycle from requisition approval through candidate selection. Chairs interview panels. Provides direct supervision, mentorship, and performance management for administrative staff.
• Serves as the principal liaison with vendors, leading negotiations, renewals, and contract management.
• Leads planning and execution of regional events, conferences, and engagement initiatives and collaborates with local admins.
• Manages and authorizes employee change forms (ECFs) and exit ECFs, ensuring data integrity, confidentiality, and compliance with HR policies.
• Sources, negotiates, and maintains high-value relationships with corporate vendors, acting as a strategic point of contact for all corporate departments.
• Represents the administrative function in monthly leadership meetings and facilitates departmental and regional administrative forums.
• Implements new administrative processes across office, subregional, and regional teams. Conducts regular strategic touchpoints with corporate departments, regional directors, and VPs. Provides strategic leadership for sustainability and Gives Back initiatives.
• Leads and directs office moves and improvements, including site selection, lease negotiations, vendor sourcing, and project management of tenant improvements.
• Follows applicable federal, Tribal, state, local, industry, contractual, and company regulations, standards, and specifications.
• Performs related work as assigned.

Additional Job-Specific Responsibilities:

• Leads and oversees administrative operations across the West Region, ensuring consistent, high-quality support services across offices, subregions, and business teams.
• Directly manages, mentors, coaches, and develops regional administrative staff, fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Provide strategic administrative and operational support to the Senior Vice President of the West Region, including coordination of regional priorities, leadership activities, and executive-level administrative needs.
• Plan and execute regional meetings, leadership events, conferences, employee engagement activities, celebrations, and other strategic gatherings.

Minimum Qualifications

Knowledge normally obtained through post-secondary education or training; bachelor's degree or higher preferred. Ten years of relevant, progressively responsible experience, including some experience managing others. Twelve years of related experience is preferred; or any equivalent combination of experience, performance, training, and/or education.

Experience and qualifications for success

• Ten (10) years of relevant, progressively responsible experience in business administration and operational management, including substantial direct people management experience with responsibility for coaching, performance management, employee development, workforce planning, and team accountability
• Demonstrated success leading and developing geographically dispersed teams across multiple offices, locations, or business units
• Knowledge normally obtained through post-secondary education or training.
• Demonstrated commitment and success in collaborative processes across the business.
• Track record of establishing positive relationships with colleagues at the local, regional, and national levels.
• Demonstrated success managing complex cross-functional projects, large-scale events, process improvement initiatives, organizational change efforts, and multiple competing priorities.
• Experience creating and ensuring adherence to standard operating procedures.
• Proven experience defining performance expectations and building a culture of accountability, engagement, and high performance with staff, including employees and stakeholders who may not report directly to you.
• Proven track record of influencing the delivery of results, even in areas without direct authority.
• Ability to travel 10% of the time. 

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in environmental science, business administration, or a related field.
• Twelve (12) years of related experience; or any equivalent combination of experience, performance, training, and/or education.
• Eight (8) years of experience managing multiple sites (offices or locations) within a business.

Key Skills:

• Outstanding leadership, coaching, and relationship-building skills, including the ability to develop teams, influence stakeholders, and foster collaboration across a geographically distributed workforce.
• Strong problem-solving ability using independent decision making, proactive initiative, and business insight.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, with the ability to represent company externally and internally in a positive and professional manner.
• Project management experience with the ability to develop and manage schedule and budget using both company resources and those of vendors.
• Strong understanding of financial metrics at the organizational (profit and loss) level.

Other Job Conditions

• Applicants must possess a valid driver's license and meet SWCA's driver requirements.
• This position may require domestic travel, including travel by commercial airline. Candidates must be able to obtain and maintain all valid travel documents and identification required for work-related travel throughout the duration of employment. 
•  Drives compliance of safety policies and reporting requirements to ensure overall team safety.  

Pay Range

SWCA is committed to salary equity and transparency. The expected pay range for this West-Region-based position is $84,572.00 - $121,434.30 per year. Actual pay may vary based on experience, qualifications, geographic location, and other factors permitted by law. Eligible employees may also receive performance-based bonuses. 

As a 100% employee owned company, we invest in your future. Our Total Rewards package includes an Employee Stock Ownership Plan, 401(k) with profit sharing, medical, dental, and vision coverage, paid time off, wellness programs, and professional development opportunities.

Closing

If you need accommodation due to a disability, please contact accommodations@swca.com or call 1 480 581 5378. If you require assistance with the application process, please contact recruiting@swca.com.

Use of Technology in Hiring 

SWCA may use approved technology, including AI-assisted tools, to support parts of the application and recruiting process. All selection and hiring decisions are made by SWCA employees, and candidates are not selected or rejected by automated systems. We are committed to a fair, transparent, and human-centered hiring experience. 

Candidate Use of AI 

Candidates may use AI tools to help prepare application materials and interviews. However, all application materials, assessments, and interview responses must accurately reflect their own experience, skills, and qualifications. AI must not be used to fabricate experience, complete assessments on their behalf, or otherwise misrepresent their background or abilities. 

Equal Opportunity Employer 

SWCA Environmental Consultants is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We encourage applications from women, minorities, veterans, and individuals with disabilities. We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace where all employees can thrive. 

SWCA continues to invest deeply in career development programs, delivering our award-winning Career Landscape support resources to accelerate the growth of our staff. We recognize the valuable skills and experiences our internal team members bring to SWCA’s continued success. Qualified internal candidates are encouraged to apply and will be seriously considered for this position. We believe in promoting from within, where possible, providing our existing employees with compelling opportunities to advance their careers.

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