Director of Operations Medical Waste

CleanHarbors•Santa Ana, CA

23d•Remote

About The Position

The Director of Operations for Medical Waste is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations, compliance, and strategic planning for medical waste facilities within the organization. This role ensures safe, efficient, and legally compliant handling of hazardous and infectious waste, while optimizing operational performance and supporting long-term growth. Develops and maintains relationships with regulatory agencies, customers, and vendors. Analyzes operational performance metrics and implements strategies to improve operational efficiency and profitability. Develops and manages budgets, forecasts, and financial reports. Develops and implements safety and environmental policies and procedures to ensure compliance with regulations and best practices. Manages and leads a team of operations personnel, including hiring, training, and performance management. This role is critical for ensuring that medical waste facilities operate safely, efficiently, and in full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. The Director must balance operational excellence with regulatory compliance, staff leadership, and strategic growth planning. Preferred location of position is in Southern California, Chicago, IL, Houston, TX or Norwell, MA. Clean Harbors (NYSE: CLH) is North America’s leading provider of environmental and industrial services. The Company serves a diverse customer base, including a majority of Fortune 500 companies. Its customer base spans a number of industries, including chemical, energy and manufacturing, as well as numerous government agencies. These customers rely on Clean Harbors to deliver a broad range of services such as end-to-end hazardous waste management, emergency spill response, industrial cleaning and maintenance, and recycling services. Through its Safety-Kleen subsidiary, Clean Harbors also is North America’s largest re-refiner and recycler of used oil and a leading provider of parts washers and environmental services to commercial, industrial and automotive customers. Founded in 1980 and based in Massachusetts, Clean Harbors operates in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and India. For more information, visit www.cleanharbors.com .

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Facilities Management, Business Administration, Engineering, or a related field; Master’s preferred.
7+ years of facilities management experience, with leadership responsibilities.
Experience in healthcare or hazardous waste operations preferred.
Proven track record in budgeting, project management, and regulatory compliance.
Strong analytical, organizational, and project management skills.
Ability to manage multiple priorities and adapt to changing regulations.
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
Knowledge of building systems, maintenance processes, and safety standards.
Ability to travel to multiple facility locations up to 50%.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree

Responsibilities

Ensuring that Health and Safety is the number one priority by complying with all safe work practices, policies, and processes and acting in a safe manner at all times.
Manage and coordinate all aspects of medical waste facility operations, including collection, transportation, storage, and disposal.
Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local regulations (e.g., EPA, OSHA, DOT, CLIA, FQHC standards).
Conduct incident investigation follow through in conjunction with the local facility management team including the General Manager, Compliance Manager and Health and Safety Representative; Works closely with corporate compliance to ensure resources are in place to support all compliance functions.
Works closely with Facility Engineering to ensure efficient execution and completion of capital projects by managing local operations management resources; Ensures each facility is maintaining the proper preventative maintenance schedules and checklist to prevent and eliminate unplanned downtime.
Ensures daily inspection readiness and proper facility management in accordance with the facility's part B permit and any other regulatory commission.
Works closely with National Logistics to ensure proper routing of waste material through the facilities based on individual plant technologies, permits, staffing and low-cost disposal options.
Acts as a guide and mentor to the local Plant General Managers to help make sound business decision including but not limited to, cost controls, disposal efficiencies, labor and personnel issues and new opportunities.
Ensures the proper management of aging inventories throughout the facilities by managing all material within 6 months of receipt; Works closely with the facility engineering to ensure the proper resources are in place to maintain each facility; Coordinates the End of the Month inventory liabilities with local operations management, finance, and National Logistic to insure accurate inventory scans and accurate monthly income statements.
Develop and maintain procedures to ensure local accountability and best practices.
Function in active business development leadership role; work closely with Regional and Vertical Sales teams and, in some cases, manage Business Development Sales Staff directly or indirectly.
Meet with critical and new business "customer" when called upon.
Assist with development of major opportunities (ie projects)
Develop long-range facility plans, including expansions, renovations, or new facility development.
Other tasks as assigned.