Waste Manager

Position Summary

The Waste System Branch Manager provides strategic and hands-on leadership for the Santa Rita Operating Companies. This role is responsible for team performance, production quality, financial results, resource allocation, customer relationships, and alignment with HeartLand’s operational standards and culture. Success requires strong leadership, urgency, decisive action, and an ownership mindset.

Reporting

Reports directly to the Commercial Branch Manager.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership & People Development

· Lead, coach, and develop field teams to deliver consistent, high-quality operational results.

· Foster a culture of accountability, safety, continuous improvement, customer service, and collaboration.

· Ensure adherence to all policies, SOPs, training standards, and safety requirements.

· Partner with HR on selection, onboarding, coaching, corrective action, and professional development.

Operational Excellence

· Manage daily operations of waste branch; ensure routes are scheduled efficiently and executed to quality, production, and budget expectations.

· Maintain accurate oversight of Aspire work tickets, job costing, forecasting, and operational reporting.

· Conduct routine job reviews, site walks, and audits to identify trends and improvement opportunities.

· Allocate labor, equipment, and resources to meet project and branch needs.

· Ensure feet is maintained in good working order.

Financial Performance

· Develop and manage annual budgets, growth plans, and departmental financial goals.

· Own monthly financial performance including revenue, labor efficiency, overhead, and gross margin.

· Ensure timely and accurate billing; collaborate with Controller to maintain receivables within terms.

Customer & Vendor Relations

· Source new customers to keep up with growth plans.

· Build and maintain strong customer relationships through proactive communication and service excellence.

· Manage contract compliance, expectations, escalations, and dispute resolution.

· Support business development efforts including renewals, up-sells, and networking.

· Maintain productive vendor and subcontractor partnerships.

Safety & Compliance

• Champion a zero-tolerance safety culture; ensure timely reporting of incidents.
• Enforce OSHA requirements, HeartLand safety standards, and regulatory compliance.

Strategic Contributions

· Contribute to annual strategic planning and operational initiatives.

· Identify root causes of issues and implement sustainable improvements.

· Drive alignment and standardization across Santa Rita operations.

Qualifications

· Minimum 3 years of progressive leadership in the waste industry required.

· Valid driver’s license; insurable required.

· Strong financial and operational acumen, with experience in job costing and P&L oversight required.

· Proficient or able to learn Aspire, Microsoft Office, and fleet management systems required.

· Bachelor’s degree in Landscaping, Construction Management, Business, or related field preferred.

· Green Industry certifications preferred.

· Bilingual in Spanish preferred.

Success Measures

· Achievement of budgeted client and revenue retention rates (typically 90%).

· Improve quality standards.

· Meet or exceed sales goals.

· Fleet remains in working order

· Operationalize growth objectives.

· Create a culture of accountability.

· Zero-tolerance safety culture with proper reporting.

· Accurate and timely KPIs, forecasts, and documentation.

· Strong employee retention and leadership development.

· Compliance with all SOPs, quality expectations, and safety standards.