Operations Manager - Wastewater Treatment

Company Description

A subsidiary of Veolia group, Veolia North America (VNA) 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. VNA helps commercial, industrial, healthcare, higher education, and municipality customers throughout North America. Headquartered in Boston, Mass., Veolia North America has more than 10,000 employees working at more than 350 locations across the continent.

Job Description

Position Purpose: 

Supervises five or more full time employees in an assigned plant or department. Plans and coordinates activities of workers to operate and maintain water / wastewater treatment, processing, disposal and testing equipment in water / wastewater treatment facility to purify water to meet permit requirements and operational requirements.

Primary Duties/Responsibilities: 

• Assigns personnel to shifts and plans daily schedules to operate filtering and chemical treatment, coagulating and settling basins, and other plant facilities. Coordinates schedule to ensure that plant resources are being utilized to achieve project objectives.
• Oversees the human resource functions of assigned team including hiring and firing, performance appraisals, coaching and counseling team. Recommends and provides input for salary and job change actions. Works with HSE and training team to ensure that all personnel receive safety and process training. Coaches and counsels team to improve technical skills and interpersonal and problem resolution skills. Works to identify and provide opportunities for team to learn new skills and techniques.
• Prepares work orders either manually or from a CMMS system as required and prepares work related reports, procurement requisitions, charts, graphs and data submittal requirements in an accurate and timely manner.
• Ensures that consistent process control and quality assurance procedures are followed in all assigned areas and shifts. Ensures that uniform monitoring and recordkeeping are performed facility-wide.
• Reviews and evaluates water reports, records, logs, and graphs to confirm adequacy of present and projected water needs. Prepares reports concerned with chemical and bacteriological analyses of water for internal purposes, client and regulatory agencies.
• Provides leadership in achieving safety goals. Proactively manages safety and environmental issues and ensures compliance with Federal and State standards including Hazardous Waste Disposal and Air Quality Standards. Ensures that issues are identified, addressed, and elevated, if necessary, in a timely manner.
• Establishes maintenance schedules and ensures that machines, equipment, tooling and other accessories are properly maintained and in top working condition. Assists in diagnosing and evaluating complex equipment and process failures.
• Recommends and maintains an up-to-date plan of action to be taken in event of emergencies such as machine, equipment or power failure, or need to release dammed water to affect flood control. Executes the plan if necessary.
• Executes capital and facility improvement plans as required. May oversee construction and maintenance of roads and communication lines used in operating water supply system. May occasionally be called upon to fill in or help handle excess production workload demands.
• Must adhere to Company policies, practices and ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
• Determines the means or process of achieving the objectives established at higher levels and is subject to the limits imposed by the available technology and resources and to the constraints set by upper management. Specifies and oversees what is done at lower levels. Is expected to evaluate methods and processes and recommend improvements.
• Must be proactive to prevent non-compliances and to act when a challenging situation has the potential for worsening if action is not taken to resolve the problem on the spot and reports periodically. Such preauthorized actions are recorded and later reported at regular weekly or monthly meetings.
• Ensures that business initiatives and goals are effectively communicated to employees as appropriate.
• Demonstrates objective listening on a consistent basis and creates and maintains an environment that encourages open communication. Promotes respect within and outside the work group, teaches and encourages collaborative problem solving and effective working relationships. Coaches and counsels assigned staff to adhere to values, policies and standards and to improve safety, quality and process reliability in a cost-effective manner. Interfaces daily with other functional areas including Engineering, Quality Control and Purchasing.

Work Environment: 

• Typically spends 75% of time in operations environment and 25% of time in office environment.
• May need to work outside in inclement weather conditions and drive company vehicle to perform duties.
• May serve rotational 24-hour emergency on-call.
• Possible Work Hazards : May be exposed to possible operations hazards including dust, fumes, toxic and caustic chemicals, rotating machinery, high pressure, hot or cold work temperatures, slippery surfaces, water and electrical hazards.

Qualifications

Education/Experience/Background: 

• Degree in related field (24 credits in Chemistry is a plus) or equivalent related experience.
• Five to seven years in various positions within a water / wastewater treatment environment with knowledge of methods, principles and practices of operating, maintaining and repairing water treatment plant equipment, instrumentation and associated systems.
• Lead experience or supervisory training required with understanding of human relations, training, performance evaluation and health and safety.

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities: 

• Must have an understanding of water /wastewater treatment process engineering, water quality assurance, maintenance strategy and laboratory procedures.
• Must demonstrate effective skills in troubleshooting, problem solving and team building.
• Ingenuity and initiative are required to coordinate problem resolution and to execute the schedule requirements within a team environment.
• Must have general knowledge of budget preparation and understanding of cost control.
• Demonstrated good verbal communications and interpersonal skills in order to interface with and motivate all levels of personnel.
• Demonstrated ability to prepare accurate, timely, effective, complete and easily understood written communications and reports.
• Proficiency in the care and use of all site specific, facility required PPE (Personal Protection Equipment).
• PC skills and knowledge of word processing, spreadsheet and presentation software for preparing work related reports, charts, graphs and data submittal requirements.
• Ability to use computer systems for preparing work orders and purchasing requisitions.
• Must be able to serve rotational 24-hour emergency on-call if required by site.
• Demonstrated commitment to compliance with applicable laws and regulations, the Company’s Code of Business Conduct and other Company policies and procedures.

Required Certification/Licenses/Training: 

• Highest level of Water / Wastewater Certification and Highest level of Water Treatment Certification with knowledge of current and pending water treatment standards, regulations and federal, state and local laws and codes.
• Employee Orientation.
• Standard Operating Procedures.
• Safety, OSHA & Quality Training.
• Financial and performance management training.
• Must stay abreast of advancements in technology and systems.
• HAZWOPER (Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response) Level I and II certification if required by site.
• Forklift certification if required by site.
• May perform more advanced functions as part of training and development.

Physical Requirements: 

• Amount of time spent – Standing 25%, Sitting 25%, Walking 50%.
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; and talk or hear.
• The employee is occasionally required to stoop, kneel, or crouch and enter confined spaces.
• May be required to use ladders or stairs.
• The employee must lift and/or move up to 50 pounds (occasionally 60 pounds).
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, and ability to adjust focus. Requires close visual observation to detect process non-conformance and machine malfunction.

Additional Information

Benefits: Veolia’s comprehensive benefits package includes paid time off policies, as well as health, dental and vision insurance. In addition, employees are also entitled to participate in an employer sponsored 401(k) plan, to save for retirement. Pay and benefits for employees represented by a union are outlined in their collective bargaining agreement.

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.