Deputy Leader (Assistant Plant Manager) Water & Wastewater

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. www.veolianorthamerica.com

Position Purpose: 

In the role of Deputy Site Leader, the successful candidate will assist the Site Leader in managing daily operations, ensuring that all activities align with organizational goals and operational standards. Support the Site Leader in addressing operational challenges, providing hands-on assistance and contributing to quick, effective solutions. Help relay site goals, procedures, and updates to team members, ensuring clear and consistent communication throughout the site. Foster a positive and collaborative work environment by supporting team members, helping to resolve any issues, and promoting teamwork.  Flexibly manage various responsibilities, stepping in to handle tasks as needed and adapting to the changing needs of the site. Assist in maintaining high standards of safety, quality, and efficiency, working closely with the Site Leader to implement process improvements. Serve as a secondary leader, stepping in to lead site operations in the absence of the Site Leader, ensuring continuity of operations.

• 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, operating, maintenance, and emergency response procedures.
• Reliability: Monitor project 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 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 foster teamwork and collaboration, ensuring that communication flows smoothly across all team members to ensure team alignment and site goals are met.
• Supports the Site Leader in managing team performance, helping to identify areas for improvement and offering coaching as needed.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills to assist in liaising with the Site Leader, staff, and external stakeholders.
• Provides support in client communications and is capable of stepping into client-facing roles when necessary.
• Assists the Site Leader in promoting a safety-first culture and conducting regular safety checks or audits
• Assists the Site Leader in mentoring junior team members, providing guidance and support for skill development and performance improvement.
• Demonstrates a desire to grow into a future leadership role, with a focus on developing both operational and leadership skills.
• People Management:
  • Promote a positive work culture.
  • Manage resources effectively.
  • Communicate business initiatives and goals to team members.
  • Evaluate and mentor the team.
  • Typically supervise less than 10 FTEs.
• Safety Management:
  • Implement and enforce comprehensive safety protocols, procedures, and best practices at the operational level.
  • Conduct regular safety training and awareness programs for all site personnel.
  • Continuously monitor and report on safety performance metrics, including incident rates and near-misses, to drive improvement.
• Compliance Oversight:
  • Oversee contract execution for the site.
  • Ensure adherence to established environmental, health, safety, operating, maintenance, and emergency response procedures.
• Operational Reliability:
  • Monitor project delivery performance.
  • Maintain high standards of quality and consistent results.
  • Coordinate problem resolution and manage conflicting priorities.
• Customer Relations:
  • Build and maintain strong, trust-based relationships with site-level customers and stakeholders.
  • Respond to customer inquiries, concerns, and complaints promptly and professionally.
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams to continuously improve customer experience and satisfaction.
• Cost Effectiveness:
  • Identify and implement operational efficiencies and cost-saving initiatives to enhance site-level performance.
  • Monitor and report on site-level financial transactions to ensure cost-effectiveness.
  • Work closely with cross-functional teams to optimize resource utilization and minimize downtime.
• Facility Management:
  • Independently manage facilities generally less than 1 MGD; or support Site Leader with generally 1-5 MGD facilities.
  • Align responsibilities with supervisor if part of a common project.

Work Environment: 

• The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

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. 

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities: 

• Operational Knowledge:
  • Comprehensive understanding of unit processes applicable to water and/or wastewater treatment facilities.
  • Knowledge of: a) Water treatment processes (e.g., coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, filtration, disinfection) b) Wastewater treatment processes (e.g., primary treatment, secondary treatment, tertiary treatment).
• Systems Expertise:
  • Preferred knowledge of: a) Electrical systems relevant to water/wastewater facilities b) Mechanical systems used in treatment plants c) Instrumentation and control systems for process monitoring and automation.
• Computer Skills:
  • Proficiency in general computer applications, including: a) Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) b) Data entry and management systems c) SCADA systems (desirable) d) Computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS).
• Additional Desirable Skills:
  • Familiarity with water quality testing and analysis techniques.
  • Understanding of regulatory compliance requirements.
  • Basic troubleshooting skills for equipment and processes.
  • Ability to read and interpret technical drawings and schematics.

Required Certification/Licenses/Training: 

• Must be able to obtain certifications as required.

Physical Requirements: 

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. 
• The employee is frequently required to stand, walk, climb stairs or ladders, sit, use hands to finger, handle or feel, reach with hands and arms, climb or balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl and taste or smell. 
• The employee may regularly lift 10-25 pounds and may occasionally lift and or move up to 50 pounds.   

Pay Range: $90000 to $98000 per year.

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.