WHO WE ARE

We are the Metropolitan Council, the regional government for the seven-county Twin Cities metropolitan area. We plan 30 years ahead for the future of the metropolitan area and provide regional transportation, wastewater, and housing services. More

information about us on our website.

We are committed to supporting a

diverse workforce that reflects the communities we serve.

Join an award-winning wastewater industry leader in protecting our environment! Metropolitan Council Environmental Services (ES) operates and maintains the wastewater collection and treatment system in the Twin Cities metropolitan region. It also provides coordinated long-range water resources and supply planning, and air and water quality monitoring to meet future needs. ES treatment plants consistently earn state and national awards for complete compliance with their environmental permits. ES received a Governor’s Award as a Great Place to Work.

To find out more about the Environmental Services division, please click on the link for more information: https://metrocouncil.org/Wastewater-Water.aspx.

How your work would contribute to our organization and the Twin Cities region

Environmental Services (ES) protects the region’s water through safe, reliable wastewater treatment and long-term planning to support clean water for future generations. As environmental expectations evolve, emerging contaminants increase attention, and regulatory requirements continue to change, Environmental Compliance plays a critical role in helping ES adapt while maintaining trust with regulators, stakeholders, and the communities we serve.

The Environmental Compliance Manager leads the Environmental Compliance system within Environmental Services, a division of the Metropolitan Council. This system includes the people, processes, and tools that support ES in meeting environmental regulations, mandates, and goals while helping the organization respond to emerging environmental challenges and changing expectations.

Working closely with the Director of Environmental Compliance & Safety, this role helps shape environmental compliance strategies across a complex regional utility. The Manager partners with operations, planning, engineering, legal, and capital functions to develop practical, forward-looking approaches that balance regulatory requirements, operational realities, long-term sustainability, and organizational priorities.

This position requires an adaptive leader who can apply sound principles, systems thinking, and collaboration to complex environmental issues. The Manager oversees the Environmental Compliance department while helping Environmental Services anticipate change, navigate uncertainty, and continue protecting our region’s water.

The candidate's permanent

residence must be in Minnesota or Wisconsin. This position will create a

six-month eligibility list for current and future openings.

What you would do in this job

Lead efforts to establish, maintain, and update ES compliance strategies, including but not limited to water quality and air quality strategies.
Work closely with the Director of Environmental Compliance & Safety to evaluate emerging environmental issues, changing regulations, and long-term compliance strategies for Environmental Services.
Develop practical, forward-looking environmental compliance strategies that anticipate changing regulatory requirements and support long-term organizational resilience.
Work with planning, treatment services, capital, and process engineering to evaluate options and establish strategies.
Work closely with the Council’s Office of General Counsel on legal issues.
Coordinate work among departments within ES to ensure internal clarity and transparency of business processes, roles, and responsibilities to achieve divisional desired outcomes.
Strengthen partnerships with operations and internal stakeholders to integrate environmental compliance into daily work, improve field support, and align priorities across functions.
Serve as subject matter expert on ES’ Environmental Compliance requirements.
Track, evaluate, and communicate changing environmental regulatory requirements, mandates, and goals that affect Environmental Services.
Partner with planning system leads to coordinate work integration among environmental compliance and planning systems.
Support development of practical, principle-based approaches to complex environmental challenges, including emerging contaminants, changing regulations, and issues requiring cross-functional coordination.
Identify improvement opportunities and coordinate continuous improvement efforts to support ES’ ongoing success in achieving environmental compliance and maintaining trust with stakeholders and regulators.
Promote data-informed decision-making and strengthen environmental compliance systems, communication, and organizational understanding.
Ensure accurate, consistent, and transparent environmental compliance reporting (internally and externally).
Maintain working relationships with regulators and partners, connecting with ES staff as appropriate.
Collaborate with Environmental Compliance department staff to set department priorities and support professional growth and development.
Manage and support the success of staff in the department as subject matter experts leading coordination of cross-functional business processes.

What education and experience are required for this job (minimum qualifications)

Education/Experience:
Any of the following combinations of professional experience in environmental compliance, including experience working with National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPEDS) requirements, and completed education (degree field of study in Environmental Science, Biology, Chemistry, or closely related field):

High school diploma/GED with eleven (11) years of experience including three (3) years of experience in management or supervision.
Associate degree with nine (9) years of experience, including three (3) years of experience in management or supervision.
Bachelor’s degree or higher with seven (7) years of experience, including three (3) years of experience supervising employees and teams.

What additional skills and experience would be helpful in this job (desired qualifications):

Experience serving as a subject matter expert in environmental compliance within a complex or highly regulated environment.
Demonstrated knowledge of federal and state laws and regulations related to air and water, including the Clean Water Act/National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), National Ambient Air Quality Standards, and related environmental compliance frameworks.
Demonstrated knowledge of state biosolids land application regulations.
Certifications or licenses in environmental compliance and wastewater operations areas such as biosolids, stormwater, hazardous materials, or related areas.
Demonstrated experience applying systems thinking and adaptive problem-solving to complex environmental or utility-related challenges, including coordinating work across teams without direct authority.
Experience developing or implementing environmental compliance strategies, programs, or business systems in a complex operational environment.
Experience navigating changing regulatory requirements, emerging environmental issues, or situations involving regulatory uncertainty.
Experience negotiating or collaborating with environmental regulators and external agencies.
Experience with contaminated site cleanups, the MPCA voluntary investigation and cleanup program, and federal and state Superfund laws.
Experience building strong working relationships across operational, technical, legal, regulatory, and leadership stakeholders to achieve shared outcomes.
Experience using data, technical information, or environmental trends to support decision-making and communicate recommendations.

What knowledge, skills and abilities you should have within the first six months on the job:

Knowledge of Environmental Services’ water quality and air quality permits, renewal schedules, and associated regulatory obligations.
Understanding of Environmental Services’ organizational structure, internal partnerships, and cross-functional roles that support environmental compliance success.
Working knowledge of Environmental Services technology systems used to support compliance activities (e.g., LIMS, WAM, Origami, SharePoint, and related systems).
Understanding of Environmental Services environmental compliance strategies, priorities, and emerging environmental issues affecting the utility.
Knowledge of Environmental Services business processes related to planning, operations, permitting, regulatory engagement, and compliance reporting.
Ability to effectively navigate and build working relationships across Environmental Services, including operations, planning, engineering, legal, and executive leadership.
Ability to apply Environmental Services’ regulatory, operational, and organizational context to environmental compliance decision-making.
Ability to support staff development, priority setting, and department coordination in alignment with Environmental Services goals.

What you can expect from us:

We offer the opportunity to make a difference and positively influence the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
We encourage our employees to develop their skills through on-site training and tuition reimbursement.
We provide a competitive salary, excellent benefits and a good work/life balance.

More about

why you should join us!

Additional information

Union/Salary Grade: MANA, Grade K
FLSA Status: Exempt
Safety Sensitive: No

What your work

environment would be:
You would perform your work in a standard office

setting. Work may sometimes require travel between your primary work site and

other sites.

What steps the

recruitment process involves:

We review your minimum qualifications.
We rate your education and experience.
We conduct a structured panel interview.
We conduct a leadership assessment.
We conduct a selection interview.

Once you have successfully completed the steps

above, then:

If you are new to

the Metropolitan Council, you must pass a drug test (safety-sensitive positions only), and a background check which verifies education, employment, and criminal history. A driving record check and/or physical may be conducted if applicable to the job. If you have a criminal conviction, you do not automatically fail. The Metropolitan Council considers felony, gross misdemeanor, and misdemeanor convictions on a case-by-case basis, based on whether they are related to the job and whether the candidate has demonstrated adequate rehabilitation.

If you are already an employee of the Metropolitan Council, you must pass a drug test (if

moving from a non-safety sensitive position to a safety-sensitive position) and

criminal background checks if the job you're applying for is safety-sensitive,

is a supervisory or management job, is in the Finance, Information Services,

Audit, or Human Resources departments, or has access to financial records,

files/databases, cash, vouchers or transit fare cards. A driving record check and/or physical may be

conducted if applicable to the position.

IMPORTANT: If you make a false statement or withhold information,

you may be barred from job consideration.

The Metropolitan Council is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action, and veteran-friendly employer. The Council is committed to a workforce that reflects the diversity of the region and strongly encourages persons of color, members of the LGBTQ community, individuals with disabilities, women, and veterans to apply.

If you

have a disability that requires accommodation during the selection process,

please email HR-OCCHealth@metc.state.mn.us.

Metropolitan Council jobs

Environmental Compliance Manager