Area Operations Manager

Reworld Waste•Lorton, VA

2d•$180,600 - $258,100

About The Position

The Area Operations Manager oversees the safe, efficient, and profitable operation of multiple facilities in a geographic region, with responsibility for regional P&L performance and coordination between facility teams and commercial and functional support teams. The role is located in Fairfax or Alexandria, Virginia, or Montgomery, Maryland, and reports to the Regional COO. The successful candidate provides leadership and coaching to operations teams and collaborates with commercial, safety, maintenance, and engineering teams. The manager ensures compliance with safety, environmental, health, and corporate requirements while optimizing costs and achieving results. Using data-driven analysis, the role supports facility managers in operating effectively and efficiently while meeting customer needs and company profitability goals. The position drives operational excellence, asset availability, consistent operating and maintenance practices, facility performance, talent development, and continuous improvement across the region. It also supports regional growth, annual and long-term planning, capital planning, change management, and implementation of Reworld technical standards and best practices.

Requirements

10 or more years of progressive operations management experience.
At least 5 years of supervisory experience in a leadership role.
Experience leading operations and maintenance execution.
A track record of safety leadership and P&L management, effective use of people, and performance accountability.
Experience building high-performance teams and leading large or complex operations that deliver services and strong customer satisfaction.
End-to-end plant operations and maintenance knowledge covering incoming waste types, refuse processing, boiler operations, turbine generator operations, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, ash, and auxiliary systems.
Bachelor’s degree in engineering or another technical discipline.
Leadership experience in specialty chemicals, utilities, operations and maintenance, heavy industry, or an intensive-asset environment involving significant processing equipment and material handling, or equivalent experience.
Experience managing an organization that includes staffing, mentoring, and talent development.
Business acumen, including understanding P&L implications, new process technology development and scale-up, and process improvement; large operations experience is required.
Ability to drive cultural change and accountability and establish a continuous improvement mindset.
Strong customer orientation and comfort working in a matrixed organization.
Ability to promote dedication to process safety, worker safety, and environmental stewardship.
Ability to walk, stand, sit, and climb; lift or carry 50 pounds; work at heights and in confined spaces; qualify to wear a full-face respirator; and consistently work in various weather conditions.

Nice To Haves

An advanced degree.
Lean Six Sigma certification.
Understanding of power market dynamics and strategies, plant operations, and how these areas intersect.
Experience interacting successfully with federal, state, and local regulators, legislators, permitting agencies, and community organizations.

Responsibilities

Drive operational excellence, asset availability, and optimization across the region through proactive plant maintenance and planning, with safety as the priority.
Provide visible safety and environmental leadership and take an active role in implementing safety, health, and environmental programs, policies, and procedures.
Measure performance through audits and KPI tracking; lead root cause analysis of incidents and ensure corrective actions are completed across area facilities.
Assist facilities in proactively identifying opportunities to improve performance and reduce risk.
Promote consistent, integrated facility operations and maintenance through effective planning, communication, and sharing information and processes.
Support regional growth by collaborating with commercial teams and Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP).
Deliver P&L targets through detailed plans for waste mix, routing, and execution against pro forma.
Drive accurate, consistent reporting using KPIs such as production, operating statistics, labor costs, and other operating expenses; ensure policy compliance and timely issue resolution, using lean tools to address root causes.
Coordinate consistent operation and maintenance of Energy from Waste (EFW) and Material Processing Facilities (MPF), including contingency planning and execution.
Drive facility production and equipment availability, address operating deficiencies, and coordinate corporate and field support to develop and implement operating plans.
Coach TTF and MPF leaders on safety, P&L management, and planned and unplanned events, in collaboration with regional maintenance and engineering leaders.
Communicate, implement, and maintain best practices and procedures and promote common KPIs to measure operating performance and improve effectiveness.
Assess talent and succession needs across facilities and create development opportunities to build a talent bench.
Coordinate employee development and succession plans for key Operations and Maintenance roles and promote effective use of HR systems and policies for hiring, recognition, growth, and employee development.
Lead by example through active community involvement that demonstrates Reworld’s value proposition.
Coordinate corporate support for successful integration, effective budget management, and organic growth initiatives.
Drive annual and long-term plans that support company goals.
Lead change management for operational initiatives in the transformation plan, including adoption of new tools, processes, and programs.
Support asset performance assessments, analyze and document deviations, and capture lessons to keep policies and programs current and aligned with field performance.
Champion Lean Management processes and lead change across the operations organization.
Identify process improvements using Problem Solving Reports (PSRs) and external benchmarks; create countermeasures to resolve root causes of problems and inconsistencies.
Partner with engineering and PMO on capital expenditure planning, engineering standards, budgeting, forecasting, and facility master planning.
Ensure compliance with the Reworld Technical Standards Program; coordinate implementation support, oversight, and variance procedures; and implement outage best practices, including outage management team oversight of assessment, procurement, execution, and cost control.
Identify opportunities to use new technologies to improve process-focused performance.