Career Center

The City of Savannah, a quintessential Southern city on Georgia's coast, seeks a customer-service-oriented solid waste professional for its Division Director, Commercial & Recycling Services position. The Director is responsible for overseeing all aspects of commercial waste management, which include waste collection, transportation, and disposal, as well as recycling and litter abatement initiatives.

About the Department and Position:

Reporting to the Senior Director, Solid Waste, the Division Director, Commercial & Recycling Services oversees the Commercial Refuse Division's 22 full-time employees and Recycling & Litter Services Division’s 69 full-time employees, including two direct reports: Commercial Refuse & Recycling Services Manager and Administrative Assistant. This position has direct supervision over the Solid Waste Supervisors and oversees a budget of $10.7M (2.7M for commercial and $8M for recycling).

The Commercial Refuse Collection Division provides refuse collection to commercial customers across the city and is responsible for collecting bulk refuse from about 1,100 commercial and institutional establishments with an annual tonnage of 23,000 tons. The department also manages a container maintenance facility, which handles approximately 500 containers annually, and implements and operates a construction and demolition waste program. The Recycling and Littering Services Division provides residential curbside, community drop-off site, and commercial recycling services to residents and businesses located in the City of Savannah to 26,000 recycling customers with a 50% participation rate across the City. Curbside recycling amounts to 7,000 tons per year.  The division also provides support for special event recycling, litter collection, and public education and outreach programs to encourage solid waste reduction, increase proper recycling, and prevent litter.

The next Division Director will collaborate with the Senior Director, Solid Waste to improve services, enhance operational performance, and ensure customer satisfaction across all areas of solid waste management. Because the commercial waste management side of the business is highly revenue-driven, the new Division Director will build and expand commercial accounts to ensure the city becomes the primary service provider for local businesses. This position will also be responsible for increasing residential household recycling participation, which is currently 50%, and expanding the glass recycling program to include curbside pickup, which is not currently available for residents or businesses in the city. The next Division Director will establish a comprehensive data-tracking system for commercial accounts, measuring key metrics such as waste volume, recycling rates, customer satisfaction, and service reliability to identify areas for improvement in operations and performance.

Key Position Priorities:

• Thoroughly analyze the department’s programs and service delivery and facilitate the development of a long-term solid waste and recycling management plan to ensure that the department and its staff have sufficient resources and adequate equipment to meet service levels efficiently and effectively.
• Support the Senior Director, Solid Waste in strategic planning and fiscal management and monitor the financial operations of the department, including budgeting, billing, and financial reporting.
• Establish a departmental team culture that embraces collaborative work, professional development, and strategic priorities through the implementation of effective education, individual training and cross-training, coaching, and mentoring.
• Recruit and retain a diverse and skilled workforce committed to excellence by implementing best practices to fill vacant positions, improve turnover, and address career succession. 

The ideal candidate for Savannah’s next Division Director is:

• experienced in Commercial Refuse Collection and Recycling/Litter Services programs oversight, ensuring compliance, managing operations, and implementing strategies to maximize efforts and minimize waste within a community similar in size to Savannah and knows Georgia’s regulations for the proper handling and management of solid waste;
• known for outstanding project management skills and experienced in evaluating and implementing technical solutions to address solid waste needs and services;
• a visionary and humble leader possessing well-developed interpersonal skills and abilities to engage and build relationships with staff, city leaders, and the community;
• an influential and trusted manager with a track record of successfully leading highly skilled and educated teams that are committed to excellence and quality service delivery;
• an innovative and proactive thinker who is a swift problem-solver and handles crises with professionalism, strategy, and integrity; and,
• an effective communicator and active listener who seeks to build unity and cohesion with departmental and organizational goals and objectives.

The Division Director will utilize impeccable communication and operational management skills to boost operational efficiency, expand services to the community, grow the commercial business, and enhance recycling efforts while also maintaining fiscal responsibility and public satisfaction.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in public administration, environmental engineering or related degree;
• Six (6) years of increasingly responsible experience in sanitation services program management, recycling, and litter abatement program management, or closely related work experience;
• Two (2) years of supervisory or management experience;
• Or any equivalent combination of education, training, and experience.
• Must possess a valid driver's license.