Sr Environmental Compliance Manager

UNC Dairy • Town of Lancaster, NY

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

Join a team that nourishes life from farm to table! Upstate Niagara Cooperative, proudly owned by 200+ local family farms, is one of America’s largest and most stable dairy cooperatives. Guided by farmer- and employee-led values, we process and market high-quality milk, yogurt, dips, sour cream, cottage cheese, and more under our trusted brands: Upstate Farms®, Bison®, Milk for Life®, and Intense Milk®. Here, you’ll support sustainable farming, strong communities, and the mission to deliver fresh, local dairy to families every day.

The Senior Environmental Compliance Manager will lead the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of a comprehensive, enterprise-wide environmental compliance program across all manufacturing facilities. This role serves as both a technical expert and master planner, ensuring proactive permit management, audit readiness, and regulatory compliance while driving environmental performance and operational reliability.

Requirements

• Corporate subject matter expert in environmental compliance across all dairy manufacturing operations.
• Design and implement a master environmental compliance program, standardizing processes across all plants.
• Develop and maintain a centralized compliance master plan and calendar.
• Build scalable systems to eliminate “scrambling” at permit due dates.
• Establish governance routines (monthly/quarterly reviews) with plant leadership.
• Lead all internal environmental audits across facilities.
• Own and execute SMETA audits, with specific accountability for the Environmental Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) component.
• Prepare sites for regulatory inspections and third-party audits; lead response strategy.
• Develop and track corrective and preventive action plans (CAPA) to closure.
• Standardize audit tools, templates, and scoring methodologies across all sites.
• Oversee all environmental permitting (air, water, stormwater, waste).
• Develop a forward-looking permit strategy.
• Maintain a centralized repository of permits and regulatory documentation across all plants.
• Ensure timely and accurate regulatory reporting (TRI, Tier II, DMRs, emissions inventories, etc.).
• Translate complex regulatory changes into clear, actionable guidance for plant teams.
• Evaluate and optimize environmental systems for cost, compliance, and operational efficiency.
• Support capital projects related to environmental infrastructure and compliance.
• Partner with plant leadership to ensure environmental compliance is embedded into daily operations, production decision-making, and maintenance and reliability programs.
• Provide guidance on high-risk scenarios (e.g., wastewater capacity, discharge risks, whey management).
• Support integration of environmental compliance into SAP/ERP workflows where applicable.
• Build environmental competency across plants through structured training programs.
• Coach plant teams to move from compliance dependency → ownership mindset.
• Lead environmental incident investigations with a strong root cause and prevention focus.
• Influence behavior in a unionized environment, balancing compliance with operational realities.
• Operate as a “player-coach”—strategic at the enterprise level and hands-on in plants.
• Comfortable working in 24/7/365 manufacturing environments with shifting priorities.
• Ability to drive accountability without direct authority across multiple sites.
• Strong presence in plants to build trust, credibility, and adoption of standards.

Responsibilities

• Act as the corporate subject matter expert in environmental compliance across all dairy manufacturing operations.
• Design and implement a master environmental compliance program, standardizing processes across all plants.
• Develop and maintain a centralized compliance master plan and calendar that consolidates: Permit renewal timelines, Reporting deadlines, Audit schedules, Regulatory commitments.
• Ensuring the organization is proactive vs. reactive and never at risk of missed deadlines.
• Build scalable systems to eliminate “scrambling” at permit due dates through visibility, ownership, and automation.
• Establish governance routines (monthly/quarterly reviews) with plant leadership.
• Lead all internal environmental audits across facilities with a focus on consistency, repeatability, and audit readiness.
• Own and execute SMETA audits, with specific accountability for the Environmental Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) component.
• Prepare sites for regulatory inspections and third-party audits; lead response strategy.
• Develop and track corrective and preventive action plans (CAPA) to closure.
• Standardize audit tools, templates, and scoring methodologies across all sites.
• Oversee all environmental permitting (air, water, stormwater, waste).
• Develop a forward-looking permit strategy to reduce operational risk and ensure continuity.
• Maintain a centralized repository of permits and regulatory documentation across all plants.
• Ensure timely and accurate regulatory reporting (TRI, Tier II, DMRs, emissions inventories, etc.).
• Translate complex regulatory changes into clear, actionable guidance for plant teams.
• Evaluate and optimize environmental systems for cost, compliance, and operational efficiency.
• Support capital projects related to environmental infrastructure and compliance.
• Partner with plant leadership to ensure environmental compliance is embedded into: Daily operations, Production decision-making, Maintenance and reliability programs.
• Provide guidance on high-risk scenarios (e.g., wastewater capacity, discharge risks, whey management).
• Support integration of environmental compliance into SAP/ERP workflows where applicable (e.g., reporting, tracking, alerts).
• Build environmental competency across plants through structured training programs.
• Coach plant teams to move from compliance dependency → ownership mindset.
• Lead environmental incident investigations with a strong root cause and prevention focus.
• Influence behavior in a unionized environment, balancing compliance with operational realities.
• Operate as a “player-coach”—strategic at the enterprise level and hands-on in plants.
• Comfortable working in 24/7/365 manufacturing environments with shifting priorities.
• Ability to drive accountability without direct authority across multiple sites.
• Strong presence in plants to build trust, credibility, and adoption of standards.

Benefits

• group health and/or dental insurance
• retirement plan
• wellness program
• paid time away from work
• paid holidays

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Education Level: No Education Listed