Background
The Office of Permitting and Compliance (OPC) is responsible for leading all permitting and regulatory functions within the Department, ensuring clarity, consistency, and regulatory integrity across all activities. The Office was established to consolidate and modernize Louisiana’s permitting framework into a centralized, technically rigorous, and transparent system that ensures compliance with state and federal law while supporting responsible economic development.
OPC integrates engineering, geology, ecology, design, and compliance functions into a unified workflow. Its structure encompasses integrity and production audits, UIC and storage regulation, groundwater protection, coastal permitting and mitigation, and reservoir and legacy site management. By aligning these technical functions, OPC improves efficiency, eliminates duplication, enhances science-based decision-making, and accelerates permitting timelines while maintaining environmental stewardship.
OPC is composed of five operating divisions—Compliance, Ecology, Engineering, Geology, and Permitting—staffed by engineers, geologists, environmental specialists, and regulatory professionals who manage activities central to Louisiana’s ecological and economic sustainability.
Scope and Purpose
The mission of OPC is to ensure that permitting and compliance functions are executed with clarity, consistency, and integrity, supporting the State’s obligation to protect natural resources and promote responsible economic activity. The Office oversees science-based permit approvals, wetland mitigation, regulatory oversight, and environmentally sound operational practices, ensuring that applicants experience a clear and efficient permitting pathway.
The Executive Director, as the Office’s chief executive, is responsible for ensuring that OPC fulfills the Department’s statutory mandates under R.S. 30:2 and R.S. 30:3, including preventing waste, conserving natural resources, and safeguarding both underground and surface environments. OPC’s regulatory responsibilities extend to drilling activities, well amendments, work orders, field orders, unitization, and intrastate pipeline infrastructure not regulated by FERC.
Through its centralized structure, OPC delivers data-driven, science-based regulatory outcomes that align economic development with environmental stewardship.
Position Summary
The Chief of Staff serves as a key advisor and strategic partner to the Executive Director of OPC, supporting the operational, administrative, and strategic functions of the Office. This role is responsible for coordinating cross-divisional initiatives; aligning goals, priorities, and workflows across programs; and facilitating efficient communication and decision-making at all levels of the organization.
The Chief of Staff oversees planning and execution of major projects, serves as a liaison to internal and external stakeholders, and ensures effective management of daily operations as delegated by the Executive Director. The position requires a strong understanding of technical, legal, and regulatory considerations related to environmental permitting and compliance, including the Department’s statutory obligations and the Office’s broad regulatory scope.
Success in this role requires strong strategic planning capabilities, high-level communication skills, effective personnel and time management, sound judgment, and the ability to synthesize legal, technical, and financial information into clear and actionable recommendations. The Chief of Staff ensures the Office’s work remains aligned with its mission of scientifically sound regulation, environmental stewardship, and efficient, transparent permitting processes.
- Bachelor’s degree or higher in Business, Engineering, Geoscience, Communications, or Political Science.
- At least three (3) years’ experience in energy-related development, consulting, policy, or technical analysis; experience should include corporate or public organization management, operations, or strategy.
The Chief of Staff’s primary responsibility will be to serve as an extension of the Executive Director in the execution of their duties. This role requires regular communication with the Executive Director and an active understanding of Office initiatives, operations, action items, and other developments. Responsibilities may include the following, as the Executive Director deems appropriate:
- Communicate Office initiatives, policies, and developments to internal staff, executive leadership, the Board, legislators, industry groups, and partner agencies.
- Represent the Executive Director in meetings, calls, speaking engagements, and public events, effectively conveying information and reporting back key details.
- Maintain visibility across all OSTR functions to identify emerging operational needs, risks, and opportunities.
- Manage Executive Director workflows, including priority setting, briefing preparation, sequencing of tasks, and decision timelines.
- Support the Executive Director in developing priorities and executing tasks efficiently and on schedule.
- Provide administrative oversight by participating in staffing plans, recruitment, onboarding, performance reviews, and employee development efforts.
- Coordinate routine administrative and operational matters, such as procurement, travel, contract correspondence, and scheduling, when delegated.
- Monitor and evaluate Office operations through performance metrics to identify gaps, inefficiencies, and opportunities for improvement.
- Support policymaking and advocacy efforts by maintaining knowledge of statutory and regulatory authorities and recommending updates to improve operations.
- Perform additional duties as assigned, including legislative representation, testimony before regulatory bodies, interagency coordination, and emergency response activities.
Position-Specific Details
Appointment Type: Unclassified
Work Schedule: Work hours are flexible.
Compensation: $120,000 - $165,000 annually
The final salary will be determined based on the selected candidate’s qualifications and experience.
How to Apply
To apply for this vacancy, click on the “Apply” link above and complete an electronic application, which can be used for this vacancy as well as future job opportunities. Applicants are responsible for checking the status of their application to determine where they are in the recruitment process. Further status message information is located under the Information section of the Current Job Opportunities page.
For further information about this vacancy contact:
Email: _DCE-Recruiting@la.gov
Human Resources Division
Department of Conservation and Energy
PO Box 94396
Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9396
Louisiana is a State As a Model Employer (SAME) that supports the recruitment, hiring, and retention of individuals with disabilities.
Benefits
Louisiana State Government represents a wide variety of career options and offers an outstanding opportunity tomake a difference through public service. With an array of career opportunities in every major metropolitan center and in many rural areas, state employment provides an outstanding option to begin or continue your career.
As a state employee, you will earn competitive pay, choose from a variety of benefits, and have access to a great professional development program:- New Year's Day
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Day,
- Mardi Gras,
- Good Friday,
- Memorial Day,
- Independence Day,
- Labor Day,
- Veteran's Day,
- Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
- Louisiana State Employees Retirement System (www.lasersonline.org). LASERS has provided this video to give you more detailed information about their system
- Teacher's Retirement System of Louisiana (www.trsl.org),
- Louisiana School Employees Retirement System (www.lsers.net), among others
