Director Of Waste And Environment

Overview

Interim Director of Environment & Waste

Location:

Home Counties (Hybrid)

Contract:

Interim (initial 6 months, with potential extension)

Day Rate: £700 per day (Inside IR35)

We are seeking an experienced and forward‑thinking senior Place‑based leader to join a UK local authority as their Interim Director of Environment & Waste. This is a high‑impact role providing strategic leadership across environmental, waste and regulatory services, with a strong focus on sustainability, performance, compliance and service transformation.

• Provide strategic leadership as part of the council's Senior Leadership Team, ensuring environmental and waste priorities align with wider corporate objectives and the Medium‑Term Financial Plan.
• Oversee the Environment & Waste portfolio, including Waste Collection & Disposal, Environmental Services, Regulatory and associated Place‑based functions.
• Lead the development and delivery of climate change, sustainability, emergency planning and waste strategies, supporting the council's green infrastructure ambitions.
• Drive service improvement, innovation and organisational change to enhance performance, compliance and resident outcomes.
• Ensure all services operate within statutory, regulatory and governance frameworks, delivering high‑quality and value‑for‑money outcomes.
• Oversee large‑scale service budgets, ensuring financial resilience, effective mitigation of pressures and strong commercial oversight.
• Provide clear, accurate and strategic reporting to senior officers, elected Members, committees and external partners.
• Lead multi‑disciplinary teams, promoting a collaborative, accountable and improvement‑focused culture.

• Proven senior‑level experience as a Director or Assistant Director within Environment, Waste, Regulatory or Place‑based local authority services.
• Strong background in environmental services, waste management and statutory compliance.
• Demonstrable experience leading service transformation, improvement programmes and operating model redesign.
• Experience managing significant budgets and delivering sustainable, value‑for‑money services.
• Track record of working effectively with Members, senior officers, corporate leadership and external partners.
• Politically aware, collaborative and outcomes‑driven, with the ability to build confidence at all levels.

If this Interim Director of Environment & Waste role sounds like a good fit for you, please send your CV to George (URL removed).

(We offer a senior referral scheme upon successful placement of your recommendation, so please get in touch if you know someone suitable.)