Site Leader/Assistant Plant Manager

Company Description

Veolia in North America is the top-ranked environmental company in the United States for three consecutive years, and the country’s largest private water operator and technology provider as well as hazardous waste and pollution treatment leader. It offers a full spectrum of water, waste, and energy management services, including water and wastewater treatment, commercial and hazardous waste collection and disposal, energy consulting and resource recovery. Veolia helps commercial, industrial, healthcare, higher education and municipality customers throughout North America. Headquartered in Boston, Veolia has more than 10,000 employees working at more than 350 locations across North America.

Job Description

Position Purpose: 

In the role of Site Leader, the successful candidate will oversee daily operations at the site, ensuring efficiency, safety, and alignment with organizational and performance goals.  Address operational challenges directly, utilizing a hands-on approach to quickly resolve issues and maintain smooth site operations. Lead a small, close-knit team by demonstrating strong emotional intelligence, fostering a supportive and collaborative work environment. Clearly communicate site goals, procedures, and updates to team members, fostering open and effective communication within the small team. Adapt to the unique needs of a smaller site, showing flexibility in managing multiple responsibilities and responding to changing conditions. Ensure high standards of safety, quality, and efficiency in all site operations, continuously seeking ways to improve processes. Act as a representative of the site within the local community, promoting positive relationships and ensuring the site’s activities are well-regarded.

• Safety: Foster a safety-driven culture across the site, ensuring all employees have proper training, resources, and PPE. Maintain compliance with OSHA, State, and Veolia Safety and Environmental programs.
• Compliance: Oversee contract execution for the site, ensuring adherence to established environmental, health, safety, operational, maintenance, and emergency response procedures.
• Reliability: Monitor site delivery performance, maintaining high standards of quality and consistent results. Coordinate problem resolution and manage conflicting priorities effectively.
• People Focused: Promote a positive work culture, manage resources effectively, and communicate business initiatives and goals to team members. Evaluate and mentor the team to drive performance and growth.
• Customer Obsessed: Build and maintain strong customer relationships, addressing escalated issues promptly. Contribute to new business opportunities and work towards improving net promoter scores.
• Cost Effective: Support OPEX (Operational Excellence) initiatives for efficiency and cost savings. Assist with budgeting and cost control for the site. Identify and implement process improvements to increase operational efficiency.

Primary Duties/Responsibilities: 

• Ability to take a direct, hands-on approach to operations, working closely with a small team on day-to-day tasks and decision-making.
• Willingness to lead by example, being actively involved in site operations and addressing issues alongside the team.
• Effective in leading and managing small teams, fostering a culture of trust, accountability, and open communication.
• Ability to coach and mentor team members, developing their skills and ensuring they are cross-trained for operational flexibility.
• Focused on creating a supportive and collaborative work environment where every team 
• Experience in managing direct client communications, addressing concerns, and maintaining a high level of service satisfaction.
• People Management:
  • Foster a positive and inclusive work culture that promotes employee engagement, development, and retention.
  • Provide strategic leadership, coaching, and mentoring to site-level personnel.
  • Implement company employee recognition programs and address employee concerns promptly and effectively.
  • Generally supervise a staff of at least 5 FTEs.
• Safety:
  • Champion a culture of safety excellence by implementing and enforcing comprehensive safety protocols, procedures, and best practices across the site.
  • Conduct regular safety training programs and promote individual accountability for safe work practices.
  • Monitor and report on site-level safety performance metrics, including incident rates and near-misses.
  • Promote a culture of safety accountability and individual responsibility.
• Compliance Management:
  • Ensure site operations comply with all relevant environmental, safety, and operational regulations, as well as contractual obligations.
  • Stay up-to-date with regulatory changes and maintain effective communication with regulatory bodies.
  • Implement corrective actions to address non-compliance issues and collaborate with stakeholders on compliance matters.
• Operational Reliability:
  • Oversee the execution of site-level projects and operations to meet professional standards and deliver consistent, reliable results.
  • Monitor project performance metrics, such as schedule adherence and quality, and address potential risks or issues.
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure project success and continuous improvement.
  • Generally manage water/wastewater facilities up to 5 MGD.
• Customer Relations:
  • Build and maintain strong relationships with site-level customers and stakeholders.
  • Address customer inquiries, concerns, and complaints in a timely and professional manner.
  • Collaborate with teams to enhance customer experience and satisfaction.
  • Represent the company at customer events and meetings.
• Financial Management and Cost Effectiveness:
  • Identify and implement operational efficiencies and cost-saving initiatives to drive profitability.
  • Participate in continuous improvement and operational excellence programs.
  • Monitor and report on site-level financial performance and key cost metrics.
  • Optimize resource utilization and reduce downtime through cross-functional collaboration.

Work Environment:

• Spends 60% of time in the operations environment and 40% of time in the office environment at a site. 
• Attends client meetings (e.g., city council, utility board or internal management).
• Need to work outside in inclement weather conditions and drive a company vehicle to perform duties. 
• Occasional travel for training or meetings.

Qualifications

Education/Experience/Background: 

• High School Diploma/GED is required.
• A degree in Business, Engineering, Project Management, or a related field is strongly preferred but not required.
• 5 years of leadership experience, 3 of which leading a small team, with a focus on hands-on leadership and operational oversight.

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities: 

• Management and Leadership Skills:
  • Skilled in effective supervision, training, and personnel management.
  • Demonstrated leadership, motivation, and team-building abilities.
  • Proficient in conflict resolution.
  • General understanding of project management and contract administration.
• Operational Knowledge:
  • Understands principles and practices of water/wastewater distribution/collection systems.
  • Understanding of water/wastewater treatment plant operations and maintenance.
  • Knowledge of analytical methods for water quality analysis and data interpretation.
  • Familiar with regulatory compliance reporting.
• Regulatory Compliance:
  • Knowledgeable of relevant local, state, and federal rules, regulations, and laws applicable to water/wastewater operations.
• Financial Management:
  • Familiarity with budgeting procedures, monitoring, and analysis.
• Customer Service:
  • Capable of delivering exceptional customer service.
• Additional Skills:
  • Strong problem-solving and analytical abilities.
  • Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.
  • Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.

Required Certification/Licenses/Training: 

• Must be able to obtain the required certifications.

Additional Information

Benefits: Veolia’s comprehensive benefits package includes paid time off policies, as well as health, dental, vision, life insurance, savings accounts, tuition reimbursement, paid volunteering and more. In addition, employees are also entitled to participate in an employer sponsored 401(k) plan, to save for retirement.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer! All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.

Disclaimer: The salary, other compensation, and benefits information is accurate as of the date of this posting. The Company reserves the right to modify this information at any time, subject to applicable law.