Environmental Program Manager

Environmental Manager | Manufacturing & Environmental Compliance | Mapleton, IL

Environmental Manager

📍 Location: Mapleton, IL
🏭 Industry: Manufacturing / Heavy Industrial Operations
💼 Employment Type: Full-Time
🚫 Visa Sponsorship: Not Available
🚚 Relocation Assistance: Available
✈️ Interview Travel: Reimbursed
💰 Compensation: Competitive Base Salary + Bonus Eligible

Overview

A leading industrial manufacturing organization is seeking an Environmental Manager to provide strategic leadership and oversight of environmental compliance programs at a large-scale manufacturing facility.

This role will be responsible for managing environmental programs, ensuring regulatory compliance, driving continuous improvement initiatives, and partnering with operational leaders to maintain safe, compliant, and sustainable operations.

The successful candidate will serve as the site's environmental subject matter expert while mentoring personnel across all levels of the organization and helping drive environmental performance excellence.

Key Responsibilities

Environmental Compliance & Regulatory Management

  • Lead environmental compliance programs across the facility.

  • Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local environmental regulations.

  • Interpret and apply environmental regulations and permit requirements.

  • Support regulatory inspections, audits, and agency interactions.

  • Maintain environmental permits and compliance documentation.

Air, Water & Waste Programs

  • Manage air compliance programs and permit requirements.

  • Oversee drinking water and wastewater compliance activities.

  • Ensure proper hazardous waste management and disposal practices.

  • Monitor environmental performance and identify potential risks.

  • Develop corrective actions and improvement initiatives.

EHS Leadership

  • Provide leadership, mentoring, and guidance to hourly, salaried, and management personnel.

  • Promote a strong environmental and safety culture throughout the facility.

  • Partner with operations leaders to drive compliance and risk reduction.

  • Support site-wide EHS objectives and business initiatives.

Auditing & Risk Management

  • Conduct environmental audits and compliance assessments.

  • Evaluate program effectiveness and identify improvement opportunities.

  • Monitor environmental performance trends and key metrics.

  • Recommend and implement corrective and preventative actions.

Training & Development

  • Ensure environmental training programs meet regulatory requirements.

  • Support employee awareness and compliance initiatives.

  • Provide environmental expertise and coaching to facility leadership teams.

Required Qualifications

Education

✔ Bachelor's Degree in Environmental Science, Engineering, EHS, Chemistry, or a related technical discipline.

Experience

✔ 5+ years of environmental compliance, environmental engineering, or EHS experience.

✔ Experience managing environmental programs within industrial or manufacturing environments.

✔ Strong knowledge of environmental regulations and compliance requirements.

✔ Previous leadership or management experience.

Highly Preferred Experience

Environmental Compliance

  • Air Compliance Programs

  • Air Permit Management

  • Title V Permitting

  • Environmental Reporting

  • Regulatory Agency Interaction

Water Programs

  • Drinking Water Compliance

  • Wastewater Treatment

  • Water Permitting

  • Environmental Monitoring

Hazardous Materials

  • Hazardous Waste Regulations

  • Waste Management Programs

  • Environmental Risk Assessments

Preferred Industry Backgrounds

Candidates from the following industries are strongly preferred:

  • Foundry Operations

  • Oil & Gas

  • Paper Mills

  • Heavy Manufacturing

  • Industrial Processing

  • Chemical Manufacturing

  • Metals Processing

Core Competencies

Environmental Health & Safety (EHS)

  • Environmental Compliance

  • Regulatory Interpretation

  • Environmental Auditing

  • Environmental Program Management

Risk Management

  • Risk Assessment

  • Regulatory Risk Mitigation

  • Compliance Monitoring

  • Incident Prevention

Leadership

  • Team Development

  • Cross-Functional Collaboration

  • Change Management

  • Stakeholder Engagement

Continuous Improvement

  • Problem Solving

  • Process Improvement

  • Sustainability Initiatives

  • Operational Excellence

Screening Questions

  1. Do you hold a Bachelor's degree in Environmental Science, Engineering, EHS, Chemistry, or a related technical field?

  2. How many years of environmental compliance or EHS experience do you have?

  3. Do you have direct experience managing air compliance programs and environmental permits?

  4. Have you worked with drinking water and wastewater compliance programs?

  5. Do you have experience managing hazardous waste programs and regulations?

  6. Have you worked within a manufacturing, foundry, oil & gas, paper mill, or similar industrial environment?

  7. Do you have previous leadership or management experience?

  8. Are you comfortable relocating to Mapleton, Illinois?

  9. Have you interacted directly with regulatory agencies and environmental auditors?

  10. What environmental permits and compliance programs have you personally managed?

Ideal Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate will be an experienced environmental leader who combines strong technical compliance expertise with the ability to influence and develop teams.

They will possess:

  • Deep knowledge of environmental regulations and permitting.

  • Significant experience with air compliance and air permitting.

  • Strong understanding of wastewater, drinking water, and hazardous waste programs.

  • Previous leadership experience within industrial manufacturing environments.

  • Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.

  • A proactive approach to risk reduction and continuous improvement.

  • The ability to work collaboratively across operations, engineering, maintenance, and leadership teams.

Candidate Snapshot

Requirement

Details

Experience

5+ Years Environmental Compliance/EHS

Education

Bachelor's Degree Required

Leadership

Management Experience Required

Compliance Expertise

Air, Water & Waste Programs

Industry

Manufacturing / Industrial Operations

Preferred Industries

Foundry, Oil & Gas, Paper Mill

Location

Mapleton, IL

Travel

Occasional

Relocation

Available

Bonus

Eligible

What Makes Someone Successful in This Role?

  • Strong environmental compliance and permitting expertise.

  • Proven success managing environmental programs in industrial settings.

  • Ability to lead and influence teams across all organizational levels.

  • Experience navigating complex regulatory environments.

  • Strong problem-solving and risk management capabilities.

  • Passion for environmental stewardship and operational excellence.

  • Ability to balance compliance, sustainability, and business objectives.

Why This Opportunity?

✅ Lead environmental strategy at a large-scale industrial facility.

✅ Significant ownership and visibility within plant leadership.

✅ Opportunity to drive meaningful environmental improvements and sustainability initiatives.

✅ Relocation assistance and bonus eligibility available.

✅ Work within a highly respected manufacturing organization committed to safety, compliance, and operational excellence.