Overview
Head of Service: Waste Operations – Waterbeach Recycling Centre, United Kingdom
Our Benefits
We value our colleagues in Cambridgeshire County Council and have developed a number of benefits in addition to the basics like annual leave, sick pay, pension and mileage…
- A comprehensive wellbeing package to cover all aspects of wellbeing, both in and out of work, which can also be accessed by your family
- Buy up to 4 weeks additional annual leave (pro-rata) through our salary sacrifice scheme
- Take your bank holidays flexibly to better suit your personal circumstances
- Make Additional Voluntary Contributions (Shared AVCs) to your pension with tax and National Insurance savings
- Access to development opportunities, apprenticeships and qualified coaches to support your personal and professional growth
- Paid volunteering hours each year so you can make a positive impact on our community during your normal working day
- Access to Peer Support Groups through our IDEAL staff equality, diversity and inclusion network
- Opportunities to nominate and receive Employee Recognition Awards
- An Our Cambs Rewards account, giving you access to in-store and online discounts as well as our Car Lease and Cycle to Work schemes
Take a look at our Employment Benefits Brochure attached to this advert to find out more.
About the role
An exciting opportunity has arisen in the Environment, Planning and Economy Service for a dedicated and experienced professional to undertake the role of Head of Service: Waste Operations on a temporary basis until the end of March 2028 (with the potential for an extension to this date). This role has been created to ensure that the operational and people elements of the service are fully covered whilst the substantive postholder is seconded into a waste strategy role for the Council over the same time period.
If you have any questions about this role or would like to discuss it in more detail, then please contact Emma Fitch, Service Director for Environment, Planning and Economy on 07467 339633 or by e-mail to emma.fitch@cambridgeshire.gov.uk; or alternatively Adam Smith, Head of Waste Strategy on 07796 948332 or by e-mail to adam.smith@cambridgeshire.gov.uk.
Interviews for this role are planned for Monday 8 June 2026 and will also include a stakeholder panel made up of colleagues that re likely to work closely with the postholder.
About you
We are looking for an experienced senior leader with a strong track record of managing complex, regulated public services at scale. The postholder should be confident operating at a strategic level while ensuring high‑quality, safe and compliant day‑to‑day service delivery.
The postholder should bring clear strategic thinking, able to translate national policy, legislation and organisational priorities into effective operational plans, service improvements and measurable outcomes for communities; whilst being comfortable in leading change, managing risk and making evidence‑based decisions in a politically sensitive environment.
The successful candidate should have substantial experience of contract or commercial management, including oversight of major, long‑term contracts and productive relationships with contractors and partners. They will demonstrate strong financial acumen, with experience of managing significant budgets, driving value for money and securing funding where appropriate.
The postholder needs to be a credible, visible leader, skilled at motivating and developing senior managers and building high‑performing teams, with a clear commitment to inclusive, compassionate leadership and staff wellbeing. Excellent communication, negotiation and influencing skills are essential, including the ability to engage effectively with elected members, government bodies, regulators, partner authorities and local communities.
Ideally, the candidate will have direct experience in waste management or environmental services, including policy, infrastructure, planning and partnership working. However, candidates without direct waste experience will be considered where they can demonstrate strongly transferable leadership, commercial, regulatory and service‑delivery expertise from comparable complex service areas, alongside the ability to quickly build technical knowledge and provide confident professional leadership.
The role requires degree‑level qualification or equivalent professional experience.
About us
Cambridgeshire is a great place to work and live with a diverse population, an urban centre in Cambridge, historic Isle of Ely, Huntingdon and St Ives as well as more rural landscapes.
We are proud to serve the diverse communities of Cambridgeshire and want our workforce to be reflective of this diversity, which we believe benefits our employees, the organisation and our communities.
Visit our jobs and careers section to find out more about our wide range of learning and development opportunities; apprenticeships; our wellbeing package; staff benefits; our commitment to equality, diversity and Inclusion.
http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/council/jobs-and-careers
IMPORTANT: Before applying for this role, please make sure you have the right to work in the country where the role is based. Unless it clearly stipulates within in the job advert above that the hiring company is looking to or able to sponsor applicants it is deemed that the hiring employer will only consider applications from those able to comply with and work in the country where the role is based.
