Project Manager - Water

About Veolia North America

A subsidiary of Veolia Group, Veolia North America (VNA) offers a full spectrum of water, waste and energy management services, including water and wastewater treatment, commercial and hazardous waste collection and disposal, energy consulting and resource recovery. VNA helps commercial, industrial, healthcare, higher education and municipality customers throughout North America. Headquartered in Boston, Mass., Veolia North America has approximately 10,000 employees working at more than 350 locations across the continent. Please visit our website www.veolianorthamerica.com.

BENEFITS

Veolia's comprehensive benefits package includes paid time off policies, as well as health, dental and vision insurance. In addition, employees are also entitled to participate in an employer sponsored 401(k) plan, to save for retirement.  Pay and benefits for employees represented by a union are outlined in their collective bargaining agreement. 

Position Purpose: 

This position is responsible for leading our operations team to provide quality water treatment and distribution services to Jersey City under an Operations and Maintenance (O&M) service contract.  The position is responsible for compliance with contractual responsibilities, environmental compliance and safety goals. The ideal candidate will be able to lead a diverse team, collaborate across the broader Veolia company to leverage expertise, and build and sustain strong relationships with our client and customer base.

Primary Duties/Responsibilities:

• The Project Manager reports to the Regional Vice President, Mid-Atlantic East, within Veolia North America's Municipal Water Contract Operations division. The role is responsible for the direction of the Project to provide high-quality water treatment and distribution system services to the residents of Jersey City, under a long-term service contract.  To accomplish this goal, the incumbent sets the strategy and provides guidance, assistance, and direction to his/her reports.
• Supervises and participates in the preparation and administration of strategic plans, systems plans, capital plans, marketing plans, operating plans and revises plans as needed. 
• Administers corporate, local and state rules and regulations, which govern operations, water quality, service, safety, etc.
• Develops and maintains sound regulatory, governmental, media, community, customer and employee relations programs in collaboration with the company's support functions. .
• Through his/her Leadership Team, trains and develops employees to assure each employee has the necessary skill sets to accomplish his/her responsibilities.
• Serves as primary point of contact with the client including giving presentations of progress and special reports, participating in client meetings, conducting client service audit interviews and professional handling and resolution of client services concerns, contract interpretation and modification and/or renewal activities.
• Promotes morale and provides staff with an atmosphere of open communication, innovation and job growth.
• Promotes environmental and community engagement projects, site tours, partnerships with local colleges/universities, internships, green initiatives. 
• Supervises project staff to ensure work is performed in a safe and professional manner by following established safety, operating and emergency response procedures.
• Ensures uniform monitoring and recordkeeping are performed.
• Ensures that safety, process control, and maintenance management programs and systems are consistently implemented by subordinates and that each site follows established administrative and maintenance policies and procedures.
• Collaborates with support functions (technical, HR, health & safety, finance) to oversee all activities related to Technical Services within the scope of his/her reporting structure.
• Manages the establishment of procedures for maintaining high standards of operation, product quality, reliability and safety.
• Through his/her Leadership Team, trains and develops employees to assure each employee has the necessary skill sets to accomplish his/her responsibilities.

Dimensions / Supervisory Responsibilities:

• Direct reports:  6
• Indirect reports: 66
• System - Jersey City watershed management, water treatment, water distribution, capital project management, meter reading, billing, and customer service.

Work Environment:

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job:

• The employee is occasionally exposed to outside weather conditions. 
• The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

Education/Experience/Background:

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Science, Civil, Environmental, or Sanitary Engineering preferred.  Equivalent experience in related fields with strong understanding of local governments and contracting of local services acceptable.
• Master's Degree in Engineering, Environmental Sciences or Business preferred.
• Minimum ten-fifteen years combined experience as Project Manager/ Operations Manager/Director in a Water or Wastewater Utility, Consulting Engineering, Construction Management, Program Management, or Facilities Management organization with a minimum of ten years of supervisory experience managing Technical/Operational employees and complex activities.
• Minimum 10 years of demonstrated experience in supporting or leading public works project development activities with documented evidence of successfully capturing target projects.
• Strong knowledge of municipal water and/or wastewater industry issues including regulatory, financing and inter-local government management agreements.

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities:

• Visionary leader with strategic decision making capacity and a growth mindset.
• Strong interpersonal skills to effectively relate to and interact with staff, elected officials, regulators, and media.
• Strong commercial skills to be able to work with the client and local elected officials to develop new business, negotiate contracts, resolve conflicts, prepare change orders, prepare capital plans, and manage regulatory reviews. 
• Familiarity and adherence to all relevant environmental and safety compliance regulations. Strong knowledge of EPA and NJDEP rules and regulations concerning water treatment and water distribution systems including knowledge of emerging regulations, including lead service line (LSL) replacements, as well as PFAS/PFOS regulations. Familiarity with NJDEP reports, compliance records, Water Quality Accountability Act (WQAA) rules and regulations.
• Excellent skills in leadership, team building, internal & external communications, change management, and training and mentoring of staff.
• Experience overseeing water and/or sewer projects; experience supervising capital system upgrades. 
• Preference for history of watershed, water treatment, and water distribution management. Includes strong working knowledge of metering, billing, and customer service operations. 
• Preference for familiarity with chemical optimization, dosages, tracking of non-revenue water (NRW), system hydraulics, water main repairs/replacements, capital upgrades.
• Working knowledge of digital tools/water plant optimization tools.
• Strong financial acumen with ability to review and recommend annual budgets and report variances.
• Proficient knowledge of Google platforms (Google Doc, Google Sheets, Google Slides). 

Required Certification/Licenses/Training:

• Valid driver's license in state of residence is required and must meet risk management guidelines.
• NJDEP T-4 and/or W-4 Operator License preferred, or ability to obtain licenses within 1-2 year time-frame. 
• Professional Engineer (P.E.) license preferred but not required.

Physical Requirements:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job:

• The employee is regularly required to talk or hear.
• The employee is frequently required to stand; walk; climb stairs or ladders; sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; climb or balance; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl and taste or smell.
• The employee may occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include ability to distinguish color, close vision, and distance vision.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer! All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.

Disclaimer: The salary, other compensation, and benefits information is accurate as of the date of this posting. The Company reserves the right to modify this information at any time, subject to applicable law.