Supervising, Environmental Services Specialist (Integrated Waste Management) - ESD

Job Description

Our diverse and inclusive workforce of more than 7,000 employees play a key role in the success of San José, the heart of the Silicon Valley. All City of San José employees work together as one team to make San José a vibrant, innovative, and desirable place to live and work. Visit here to learn more about our One Team Leadership Values and Expectations, including quality and excellent customer service and here to learn more about San José.

The City of San José is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants for all job openings will be considered without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status or any other consideration made unlawful under any federal, state or local laws. The City of San José is committed to offering reasonable accommodations to job applicants with disabilities. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please contact us at 408-535-1285, 711 (TTY) , or via email at [email protected] .

About the Department

The Environmental Services Department (ESD) is an award-wining department with a mission to deliver world-class utility services and programs to improve our health, environment and economy. The Department is a national leader in managing garbage and recycling services; watershed protection and pollution prevention; municipal drinking water and recycled water; sustainability initiatives; and the operation and infrastructure improvements of the San José-Santa Clara Regional Wastewater Facility. Together, ESD employees positively impact every resident and business in San José.

Our Department is an exceptional place to start or grow your career. We have a supportive leadership team, numerous professional growth opportunities, and an inclusive workplace culture that is welcoming of your talents! We offer an array of meaningful career paths and value flexibility - offering hybrid work and alternative work schedules in select roles. Additionally, the City offers excellent health and pension benefits , as well as 15 paid holidays!

To learn more about ESD, follow @sjenvironment on X (formally Twitter), Facebook , Instagram and San José Environmental Services on LinkedIn .

Position Duties

The Environmental Services Department is currently seeking to fill one (1) full-time Supervising Environmental Services Specialist vacancy in the Integrated Waste Management Division. To learn more about the great work we do in this Division, please visit sjenvironment.org.

About the Integrated Waste Management Division
The Integrated Waste Management Division oversees San José’s solid waste programs serving approximately 331,000 Residential households, over 8,000 Commercial customers and about 140 municipal facilities. Supervising Environmental Services Specialist positions within various teams (Residential, Commercial, Regulations, Solid Waste Program Performance) have the following responsibilities:

• Contract management and contractor performance monitoring
• Data management and analysis for reports, presentations, and programmatic improvements
• Regulatory compliance assistance and implementation of City’s solid waste goals
• Public education and outreach
• Budget management
• Project management, including studies and pilot projects
• Acquisition and management of grants
• Provide excellent customer service
• Work with regional groups and stakeholders
• Staff supervision

Salary range(s) for this classification is:
$129,926.16 - $158,383.68
This salary range(s) includes an approximate five percent (5%) ongoing non-pensionable compensation. Actual salary shall be determined by the final candidates’ qualifications and experience.

Position Responsibilities
Supervising Environmental Services Specialists plan, organize, and supervise the activities of assigned staff and program area within a Division of the Environmental Services Department. This classification is designated as management and supervises other professional staff, as well as manages programmatic teams by providing direction and leadership. Incumbents in this classification are responsible for the successful development, implementation, and/or ongoing supervision and overview of assigned program(s). This classification not only supervises and oversees assigned professional staff, but also performs the most complex and specialized functions in support of assigned program(s).This position requires an organized and motivated self-starter with strong collaboration, communication, negotiation, and problem-solving skills, and a demonstrated track record of successfully managing multiple projects.

This position, on the Solid Waste Program Performance team, will be responsible for initiating, leading and managing large, long-term strategic planning and data-oriented solutions in the areas of future residential and commercial contracts, tackling complex behavior change initiatives to reduce recycling contamination, and other special projects. This position supervises a team of seven, including three direct reports, providing strategic support across all of Integrated Waste Management’s programs. Areas of focus include the following:

• Collaboration with the Residential Garbage and Recycling Program to combat residential recycling contamination through new approaches, including behavior change. One current approach that this position oversees is the Contamination And Recycling Tagging (CART) Program, in which a field team provides single-family residents feedback and education to lower recycling contamination. A new initiative for the CART Program field supervisor is providing multi-family properties with information on recycling and junk pickup programs to remove barriers, help residents recycle right, and increase program participation. The position will explore other efforts that should result in reduced recycling contamination, improving the quality of recycling commodities, increasing resident awareness, and reducing the cost of processing recycling.
  
• Support the Zero Waste Innovations Grant Program through program development, grant management guidance, summarizing performance metrics, and serving as a grant manager.
  
• Assist the Division with grant applications and management.
  
• Strategize and plan upcoming residential and commercial contracts to create a smooth Request for Proposal process, taking into account new and emerging solid waste technologies and manner of provided services to customers.
  
• Assist with implementing strategies from the Zero Waste Element to the San José Climate Smart Plan to reduce solid-waste related greenhouse gas emissions.
  
• Core functions include budget planning, project management and streamlining, contract management, preparing staff documents, data analytics, utilizing best management practices, stakeholder engagement, and leading and managing professional technical staff.
  

Minimum Qualifications

Education

A bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university.

Experience

Four (4) years of increasingly responsible experience in developing, promoting, and/or implementing environmental programs (e.g.: programs in air quality, integrated waste management, biology, agriculture, energy, forestry or parks, habitat restoration, wastewater, water resources, stormwater, archaeology, geology, resource conservation, industrial or environmental health and safety, or any program emphasizing environmental sustainability or environmental regulatory compliance), including two (2) years of experience leading people or projects.

Relevant experience in environmental services programs typically includes; preparing outreach/educational materials, conducting survey work, tracking and monitoring deliverables, coordinating special events, promoting programs, implementing new programs, policy development, planning and permitting, grants or contracts administration, analyzing data and creating reports, and/or tracking budgets.

Acceptable Substitution

A master’s degree from an accredited college or university in environmental studies or related field may be substituted for one (1) year of the required experience developing, promoting, and/or implementing environmental programs.

Additional years of experience in developing, promoting, and/or implementing environmental programs may be substituted for the bachelor's degree requirement on a year-for-year basis.

Other Requirements

• This position is required to work full-time 40 hours a week. The City’s flexible workplace policy requires 32 hours (four days) onsite, with up to eight hours remote.
• May serve as the secondary backup CART Program field supervisor, requiring onsite work at 6:00 a.m. and accompanying the field team through 10:00 a.m.

Form 700 requirement
This position requires a disclosure of outside investments, real property interest, income, and business positions. You must complete and file an “Assuming Office Form 700” with the City Clerk’s Office within the first 30 days of employment with the office.

Other Qualifications

Job Competencies
The ideal candidate will possess the following competencies, as demonstrated in past and current employment history.

• Job Expertise - Demonstrates knowledge of and experience with applicable professional/technical principles and practices, Citywide and departmental procedures/policies and federal and state rules and regulations.
• Computer Skills - Experienced with common business computer applications including but not limited to: MS Outlook, MS Word, MS PowerPoint, MS Access, and MS Excel.

• Decision making - Identifies and understands issues, problems, and opportunities; uses effective approaches for choosing a course of action or developing appropriate solutions
• Fiscal Management - Understands the relationship of the budget and resources to the strategic plan; complies with administrative controls over funds, contracts, and procurements.
• Initiative - Exhibits resourceful behaviors toward meeting job objectives; anticipates problems, is proactive, and avoids difficulties by planning ahead; displays willingness to assume extra responsibility and challenges; pursues continuing education opportunities that promotes job performance.
• Leadership - Leads by example; demonstrates high ethical standards; remains visible and approachable and interacts with others on a regular basis; promotes a cooperative work environment, allowing others to learn from mistakes; provides motivational supports and direction.
• Problem Solving - Approaches a situation or problem by defining the problem or issue; determines the significance of problem; collects information; uses logic and intuition to arrive at decisions or solutions to problems that achieve the desired outcome.
• Project Management - Ensures support for projects and implements agency goals and strategic objectives.
• Supervision - Sets effective long and short-term goals based on a good understanding of management practices; establishes realistic priorities within available resources; provides motivational support; empowers others; assigns decision-making and work functions to others in an appropriate manner to maximize organizational and individual effectiveness.
• Teamwork and Interpersonal Skills - Develops effective relationships with co-workers and supervisors by helping others accomplish tasks and using collaboration and conflict resolution skills.
• Communication Skills - Effectively conveys information and expresses thoughts and facts clearly, orally and in writing; demonstrates effective use of listening skills and displays openness to other people's ideas and thoughts.

Selection Process:

The selection process will consist of an evaluation of the applicant's training and experience based on the application and responses to all the job specific questions. Only those candidates whose backgrounds best match the position will be invited to proceed in the selection process. Additional phases of the selection process will consist of one or more interviews.

If you have questions about the duties of these positions, the selection or hiring processes, please contact Jennifer Macias at [email protected].

Additional Information:

Employment Eligibility: Federal law requires all employees to provide verification of their eligibility to work in this country. Please be informed that the City of San Jose will NOT sponsor, represent or sign any documents related to visa applications/transfers for H1-B or any other type of visa which requires an employer application.

You must answer all job-specific questions to be considered for this vacancy or your application will be deemed incomplete and withheld from further consideration. Applicants are expected to write their own essays/responses.

Please note that applications are currently not accepted through CalOpps or any other third party job board application system.

This recruitment may be used to fill multiple positions in this, or other divisions or departments. If you are interested in employment in this classification, you should apply to ensure you are considered for additional opportunities that may utilize the applicants from this recruitment.

Please allow adequate time to complete the application and submit before the deadline or the system may not save your application. If your online application was successfully submitted, you will receive an automatic confirmation email to the email address you provided. IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE THE CONFIRMATION, please email [email protected] and we will research the status of your application.

AI and the Hiring Process

We recognize that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming part of daily life and can be a valuable tool for learning, research, and professional growth. We encourage candidates to use AI responsibly as a support in preparing application materials, live assessments, and interviews. However, we value authenticity, accuracy and truthfulness. Application responses and interview answers must reflect your own knowledge, skills, and experiences. While AI can supplement preparation, it cannot replace the originality and judgment we look for in our employees. This ensures fairness, transparency, and equity for all applicants in the hiring process.

The City of San Jose offers a wide range of core health benefits including Medical, Dental, Vision, Employee Assistance Program, Life Insurance, Disability, and Savings Plans. Please visit the City's benefits pagefor detailed information on coverage, cost, and dependent coverage.

For information on the City’s Retirement Plan(pension for full-time employees), please visit the Office of Retirement Services website. You will be able to view information based on different Sworn/Federated job classification.

In additional to the benefits above, there is an additional perks siteto explore further benefits of working for the City of San Jose like paid leave, educational reimbursements, and holiday pay are specific to the job classification and union membership.

Closing Date/Time: 10/6/2026 11:59 PM Pacific