Assistant Director, Austin Resource Recovery (Solid Waste)

City of Austin • Other Departments • 2w ago

Application Deadline or First Review: 12/19/2025

The City of Austin is seeking a highly qualified individual to fill the Assistant Director of Austin Resource Recovery position (ARR), which reports to the Director of Austin Resource Recovery (ARR).

The Assistant Director will have several exciting challenges that include leading the department in implementing recommendations from the ARR Comprehensive Plan, oversight of the Zero Waste Comprehensive plan, including updates, policy and ordinance development, and implementation strategies. The successful candidate will direct several department programs and work collaboratively across the department and city.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

Graduation with a Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in Business Administration, Public Administration, Engineering, Environmental Science, or a closely related field, plus eight (8) years of management experience in Resource Recovery, Utilities, Municipalities, or in leading and managing a large budget and division, including two (2) years of experience which were in a supervisory or management capacity.
Graduation with a Master's degree from an accredited college or university may substitute for non-supervisory/management experience up to a maximum of two (2) years.

The ideal candidate is data-driven decision-maker with a strong grasp of financial modeling and strategic planning who combines solid waste expertise with an exceptional stakeholder management ability. The next Assistant Director of Austin Resource Recovery brings proven experience in zero waste planning and circular economy initiatives, with a track record of turning ambitious sustainability goals into operational realities.

The following core competencies are essential for this role:

Planning Priorities – Recognizes, plans, focuses upon, and works toward what is most important or critical.
Communicates Effectively – Ability to work with diverse communities and populations to build constructive and effective relationships and convey and receive information.
Thinks Strategically – Enables others to better understand and implement the vision and strategy while being the aligned forward thinker, has the ability to formulate and communicate sound business strategy and implement in a clear and concise manner.
Business Acumen - Demonstrates an understanding of financial drivers, cost benefit analysis, operational efficiency, and the alignment of resources with strategic goals.
Customer Focused – Strives to deliver high quality results and superior service that exceeds expectations while remaining mindful of the needs and perspective both of our internal and external customers.
Community Collaborator – Experience presenting complex information strategies to public stakeholders, management, City Manager’s Office, Board and Commissions, and City Council.
Achieves Results – Has the ability to achieve organizational goals and objectives.
Politically savvy: Ability to exhibit confidence and professional diplomacy and be comfortable in high-visibility public settings (e.g., council, commissions, community meetings).