Director, Hazardous Medical Waste Operations

Enhance Recruiting•Houston, TX

About The Position

We are seeking an experienced Director of Hazardous Waste Operations in Houston, TX to lead and grow a national hazardous waste platform for a growing medical waste service provider. The role offers the opportunity to shape the platform, strengthen service quality and compliance, and develop operational leaders in an essential industry. It provides exposure to cross-functional operations and opportunities for long-term career development. The Director leads hazardous waste operations across on-site hospital programs, regional route-based services, third-party transportation coordination, and hazardous waste disposal partnerships. The role develops scalable national operating models, operating plans, resource strategies, standardized procedures, staffing strategies, performance metrics, and best practices that support growth, efficiency, service quality, and regulatory compliance. The position drives safety, service execution, labor productivity, route efficiency, customer retention, vendor performance, operating margin, and profitability. It leads service delivery within healthcare systems and ensures readiness for customer implementations, expansions, and operational transitions. The Director works with Transportation, Supply Chain, and EH&S leadership; manages vendor relationships; and supports regulatory inspections, audits, corrective actions, incident investigations, and continuous improvement initiatives. National travel of up to 50% may be required as business needs require.

Requirements

Direct, hands-on operational experience with RCRA- and DOT-regulated hazardous waste, including hazardous waste handling, transportation, treatment, storage, or disposal (TSD).
10+ years of progressive operations leadership experience, including at least 5 years directly leading RCRA- and DOT-regulated hazardous waste operations, such as hazardous waste TSD, transportation, or industrial hazardous waste services.
Deep working knowledge of RCRA, DOT, and EPA hazardous waste regulations, with direct experience operating within these regulatory frameworks.
Experience leading remote, multi-site field operations across multiple geographic regions.
Strong understanding of hazardous waste transportation, operations, service delivery, and regulatory compliance.
Demonstrated success driving operational standardization, improving performance, implementing process improvements, and scaling business operations.
Strong financial acumen, including experience managing operational budgets, performance metrics, profitability, and overall business performance.
Experience leading and developing large field-based operations teams and operational leadership talent.
Excellent leadership, communication, problem-solving, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
Experience limited to Regulated Medical Waste (RMW) and sharps operations, solid waste, general environmental services (EVS), or distribution/logistics alone does not satisfy the hazardous waste experience requirement.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor's degree in Operations, Environmental Sciences, Supply Chain, Engineering, Business Administration, or a related field is preferred.
Experience in adjacent regulated industries is valued in addition to, but not as a substitute for, the required hazardous waste experience.

Responsibilities

Lead all hazardous waste operations, including on-site hospital programs, regional route-based services, third-party transportation coordination, and hazardous waste disposal partnerships.
Develop and implement scalable national operating models, standardized operating procedures, staffing strategies, performance metrics, and best practices.
Develop operating plans and resource strategies to support business growth while maintaining efficiency, service quality, and regulatory compliance.
Improve safety, service execution, labor productivity, route efficiency, customer retention, vendor performance, operating margin, and profitability.
Lead hazardous waste service delivery within healthcare systems and ensure operational readiness for customer implementations, expansions, and transitions.
Partner with Transportation and Supply Chain leadership to optimize routing, fleet utilization, scheduling, equipment utilization, and operational effectiveness.
Identify opportunities to improve operational leverage through process improvements, standardization, and continuous improvement initiatives.
Manage transportation, treatment, recycling, and disposal vendor relationships; support enterprise negotiations and vendor consolidation; and ensure accountability for service levels, compliance, responsiveness, and pricing.
Partner with EH&S leadership to ensure compliance with applicable federal, state, and local hazardous waste regulations.
Support regulatory inspections, audits, corrective actions, incident investigations, and continuous improvement initiatives that strengthen safety, compliance, and operational excellence.
Travel nationally up to 50% as business needs require.