Senior Vice President, Recycling
About The Position
Recycling is a core aspect of the waste industry. Rumpke Waste & Recycling is a leader in the space, and we’re only getting started. We’re seeking a visionary leader to take our growing company to the next level. Reenergize your entrepreneurial spirit and your leadership passion. Rumpke is a company where leaders take ownership. It’s a place where senior leadership creates new plans, implements strategy and then achieves the results that drive the company and industry innovation forward. Rumpke Waste & Recycling offers leaders a rare opportunity: a business with real assets, and real earnings responsibility to deliver outcomes that matter to the communities it serves. A position at a company still owned and led by people who take the long view, an experienced, educated and practical family who has dedicated their lives to making the world a better place with calculated investments and inventive thinking that spans three generations and nearly 100 years. At Rumpke the pace of business is swift with very little red tape. Private ownership means agility and opportunity. Leaders and team members work alongside owners to achieve the company’s mission to deliver exceptional waste and recycling solutions to our customers and communities through a commitment to safety, service, the environment and the growth of our people. No one is a number at Rumpke. People, safety, compliance and innovation drive company progress. The values of teamwork, quality, perseverance, growth and responsibility shape Rumpke’s culture and strategic decisions. Rumpke is looking for someone to lead its recycling business end to end — the Material Recovery Facility network, its capital plan, the commodity value of everything we process, and the recycling programs our customers and municipalities rely on. We are looking for a well-rounded, polished leader who can run a demanding multi-site operation safely and profitably through commodity cycles, while continuing to build recycling into a capability that strengthens Rumpke's position in every market it serves. Rumpke requires a realistic and strategic visionary who understands recycling mechanics, commodity markets and the value of public education and perception.
Requirements
- 12+ years of progressive leadership in waste management, recycling operations, or environmental services, including 7+ years at senior executive level
- Demonstrated multi-site operational leadership with full profit and loss ownership
- Experience with material recovery facility operations, commodity markets, municipal contracts, and recycling program design
- Experience leading capital-intensive operational transformation
- A bachelor’s degree in Business, Environmental Science, Engineering, Sustainability, Operations Management, or a related field is required
- Approximately 50% travel across our five-state footprint, with flexibility for nights, weekends, and emergency response as needed
- A valid driver's license and legal eligibility to work in the United States
Nice To Haves
- A master's degree is preferred
Responsibilities
- Own the recycling P&L — processing cost, commodity revenue, tip and processing fees, and facility operating expense.
- Set cost-per-ton targets by facility and hold teams accountable.
- Build plans that ensure stability even through commodity pricing downturns and deliver a return on Rumpke’s capital investments.
- Own safety performance across the recycling organization and make it a priority for every operating review.
- Partner with Corporate Safety for adherence to appropriate processing environment standards, according to OSHA, ANSI, DOT, EPA and Rumpke standards (such as machine guarding, PPE, lockout/tagout, mobile equipment, pedestrian separation, housekeeping, compliance reporting, etc.).
- Lead every material recovery facility and processing operation according to a common operating model encompassing throughput, uptime, quality specifications and maintenance discipline.
- Drive down system contamination and residue.
- Identify and direct automation and technology work that lowers cost per ton and reduces dependence on a tightening labor market.
- Own commodity marketing and the sale of processed material, including long-term supply agreements with mills and end markets.
- Keep forward visibility on commodity markets and advise the CEO and CFO on earnings exposure.
- Set the processing cost floors that underpin customer and municipal pricing.
- Lead multi-year planning for recycling infrastructure, sorting technology, and automation.
- Build the investment case, present it to the CEO and CFO, and deliver on the commitments.
- Pursue new material streams, processing services, and third-party volume.
- Serve as technical lead on municipal and large commercial recycling bids.
- Evaluate acquisition and partnership opportunities.
- Set diversion goals and track performance against them.
- Lead identification and outreach to new end users.
- Develop a customer program that improves inbound material quality and strengthen local relationships.
- Collaborate with Rumpke Corporate Communications to enhance public education programs.
- Build a recycling leadership team with ready successors for every critical role, including your own.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
