Recycling and Waste Management Officer

South Gloucestershire Council; Yate; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 42,000; Full time

Job summary

South Gloucestershire Council is seeking a Recycling and Waste Management Officer to develop, promote and implement recycling services across the district, helping meet ambitious targets. You will monitor contractors, run educational programmes and engage with residents through events and campaigns.

You will coordinate with teams, maintain records, and support enforcement where needed, using IT tools to analyse data and report on progress. Office-based with field duties and occasional travel.

Qualifications

• Experience working within a waste management environment and applying relevant legislation.
• Strong IT skills with databases, Excel and PowerPoint, plus Outlook or waste management systems.
• Ability to prioritise, plan, monitor and evaluate workloads to meet standards and deadlines.
• Excellent communication skills and the confidence to engage with diverse audiences.

Responsibilities

• Monitor the council’s waste contractor and perform inspections of Sort It Centres and collection arrangements.
• Prepare promotional materials and engage residents through events, roadshows and meetings.
• Deliver educational programmes on waste, street cleansing and envirocrime with schools and communities.
• Respond to enquiries, investigate complaints and make recommendations.
• Liaise with colleagues to identify issues, refer to Enforcement when needed, and maintain records.

Skills

Waste management experience

IT skills

Driving licence

Communication skills

Tools

Excel

PowerPoint

Outlook

Databases

Job description

How You'll Make a Difference

As a Recycling and Waste Management Officer, you will work as part of a team to develop, promote and implement recycling and waste minimisation services across South Gloucestershire. Supporting the delivery of statutory duties and council policies relating to waste management and street cleanliness, you will help ensure services are delivered effectively and professionally. The work you deliver will reach every household in the district and play an important role in helping the council achieve its ambitious recycling targets of 68% by 2027 and 70% by 2030.

What You Will Be Doing

It will be your responsibility to monitor the council’s waste contractor, carrying out checklist inspections of Sort It Centres, undertaking health and safety checks and completing quality inspections of collection arrangements and vehicles.

Using a range of communication channels, you will prepare promotional materials and engage with residents to provide information, advice and support, including attending community events, roadshows and local meetings.

You will deliver educational and promotional programmes relating to waste, street cleansing and envirocrime, working with schools, business and local communities, while supporting the development and enforcement of the council’s envirocrime policies.

Responding to enquiries and investigating customer complaints, you will ensure the council’s statutory responsibilities are met, undertaking visits where required to assess circumstances, provide advice and make recommendations.

Liaising with place community officers and other colleagues, you will identify emerging issues, support early intervention activity and make referrals to the Enforcement team where appropriate, maintaining accurate records and case histories.

What We Need From You

It is essential that you have experience working within a waste management environment, with the ability to apply waste or street cleansing legislation, policies and procedures to everyday scenarios.

You must have strong IT skills, including experience of using databases, Excel and PowerPoint, alongside other relevant software such as Outlook or waste collection management systems. You will be able to maintain accurate reports and records.

We are looking for someone who has the ability to priorities, plan, monitor and evaluate workloads to meet service standards, targets and deadlines.

Given the nature of the role, you need to have excellent communication skills, with the ability to adapt your approach to different audiences and deal confidently with challenging situations, including conflict resolution and soft enforcement activity.

You will have strong organisational skills, enabling you to effectively plan and deliver activities, assess information from a variety of sources and identify issues requiring further action.

A key aspect of this role will be setting up, adjusting and using technical equipment such as video cameras, so you must have experience of this.

What You Need To Know

You will be based at our offices at Dean Road, Yate.

You will be expected to travel throughout the authority and surrounding area so you must have a full, valid driving licence with regular access to a vehicle or have an alternative means of travel.

The role involves some evening and occasional weekend work to support engagement activities, which is shared across the team.

Interviews will be held on 6th October 2026.

How a Career At South Gloucestershire Council Is Different

As part of our benefits package, you will receive generous annual leave (pro rata), employee wellbeing support and you will have access to a range of staff discounts, including eye tests, travel, shopping and leisure activities.

We recognise that our diverse team of skilled and dedicated people make us a great place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and ensure that individuals are selected, promoted and developed on the basis of their merits and abilities.

Office-based, you’ll be part of a team. If you need specialist expertise or just a bit of advice from someone who’s been there and done it, it’s right there for you.

Our teams at South Gloucestershire Council are making a real difference to the lives of people who live, work and learn here.

We’re building and shaping communities which people are proud of.

We’re planning for the future; building and improving the roads, railways, schools, green spaces, and houses.

We’re providing essential services across our communities to ensure they are safe and well maintained.

We’ve achieved a great deal, but we need talented and dedicated people to ensure we continue to make a difference.

We’re making a difference, be part of it!