Senior Manager – Waste and Environmental Services

Purpose

Lead and provide strategic direction to Wirral Council’s Waste & Environmental Services and serve as the lead advisor to the Council on waste and streetscene management. As the senior officer managing the Council’s Recycling, Waste Management, and Street Cleansing Contract, develop strategies and operational systems to optimize waste prevention and recycling/reuse performance, ensuring compliance with legislation and targets. Lead the development and delivery of the Council’s Behaviour Change programme to support new recycling and refuse collection arrangements, and oversee borough-wide campaigns promoting positive behaviors in schools, businesses, and communities.

Support the Director of Neighbourhood Services and Departmental Management Team in achieving the Council’s priorities, ensuring legal, statutory, and political obligations are met while managing risks.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Behavioural:

• Enjoy, achieve, create impact, and thrive in the role and organization.
• Live the Council’s values and leadership behaviors.

Team Leadership and Management:

• Lead the Waste & Environment Team to ensure efficient deployment of staff and resources across the borough, managing the Recycling, Refuse Collection, and Street Cleansing Contract.
• Manage culture change necessary to modernize Waste & Environmental Services, meeting legislative and corporate requirements and improving performance.
• Collaborate as part of the Council’s Climate Emergency & Environment Portfolio’s Senior Management Team, demonstrating expected behaviors.
• Provide strong leadership, fostering engagement, growth, innovation, collaboration, and performance.
• Set responsibilities, expectations, and deliverables, empowering team members to excel.
• Continuously improve tools, practices, and service impact.
• Develop the Waste & Environment Team, including health & safety risk assessments, performance conversations, training, and team communication.

Communication, Engagement, and Training:

Data Analysis and Decision-Making:

• Represent the Council on the Liverpool City Region’s Waste Partnership’s Senior Officer Working Group (SOWG) and collaborate with partners on regional waste management.
• Act as the Council’s representative for Keep Britain Tidy membership to promote environmental campaigns.
• Work with the Customer Feedback Team to manage enquiries from residents, councillors, and MPs, following policies and deadlines.
• Understand community needs through data analysis, citizen feedback, and co-produced policies and strategies.
• Lead management of the Council’s Recycling, Refuse Collection, and Street Cleansing Contract, developing partnership arrangements.
• Lead waste modeling work with Liverpool City Region districts and MRWA to inform future strategies.
• Contribute technically to the development of the Customer Relationship Management System and website.
• Oversee Waste & Environment Services performance, contract management, and resources.
• Identify external funding opportunities for recycling, reuse, and waste prevention initiatives.
• Lead the development and monitoring of Business Continuity Plans.
• Manage financial aspects of Waste & Environmental Services, including budgets and risks.
• Report performance data related to recycling and waste management to inform planning.
• Identify income and grant opportunities to enhance services or initiatives.
• Lead change management for operational changes.
• Attend Committee meetings to present performance updates and work with the Chair and Spokespersons on strategy and performance oversight.
• Deputise for the Assistant Director – Climate Emergency & Environment as needed.

Compliance:

Other:

Perform other duties as appropriate for the grade.

Role-specific Knowledge, Experience, and Skills

Qualifications:

• Degree or equivalent qualification.
• ILM Level 3 management or equivalent.
• IOSH ‘Managing Safety’ qualification or equivalent.
• Commitment to ongoing professional development in waste and environmental management.

Knowledge & Skills:

• Adherence to policies including Health & Safety, GDPR, Governance, and Conduct.
• Understanding of legislation, policies, and practices in waste management.
• Leadership skills to inspire and motivate teams.
• Knowledge of waste legislation, trends, and initiatives.
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written.
• Ability to promote environmental services positively.
• Creative approaches to behavior change.
• Procurement knowledge.
• Data analysis skills to support projects and impact measurement.
• Customer-focused service development experience.
• Understanding of Health and Safety risk assessments and safe working systems.
• Desirable: Coaching skills, knowledge of recycling processes, social media communication, and service application development.

Experience:

• Designing and implementing waste service changes.
• Contract management and partnership working.
• Working in a political environment and developing relationships with senior politicians.
• Project planning and performance management.
• Developing KPIs for continuous improvement.
• Desirable: Experience with direct communications, social media, and service applications.

Additional Information:

• Travel across the borough and flexible working arrangements.
• Occasional evening and weekend work.
• Experience with waste and environmental service change management, contract management, and partnership collaboration.
• Resilience and ability to handle conflicting priorities.
• Experience with performance indicators and continuous improvement.
• Desirable: Experience in communication development and social media engagement.
• Work with VDU (>5 hrs/week), vocational driving.

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