Assistant Service Manager – Environmental Operation

Hackney is one of the most dynamic and progressive local authorities in the UK. We are a resilient, vibrant, and creative borough in the heart of London, with strong, diverse communities and a powerful set of shared values.

Over the past twenty years, the Council has built up first-class services, outstanding public infrastructure, and a reputation for excellence, innovation, and ambition. We are leading the way on essential work such as our fight for equity in Hackney with a particular focus on becoming an actively anti-racist borough. But the work doesn’t stop there, we are proactive in our approach to bringing fairness to all aspects of life including gender, neurodiversity and across the poverty divide.

Is it time to play a pivotal leadership role in an essential service that never sleeps and help set a national standard for excellence?

Hackney is seeking five exceptional, highly-motivated Assistant Service Managers to join our integrated Environmental Operations. These are pivotal, high-impact operational leadership roles, directly supporting the Service Manager.

While the job covers all cleansing, waste & recycling collections, and evening services, you will initially be assigned to a specific area within Environmental Operations. Successful candidates must be flexible and willing to rotate or be reassigned across all Environmental Operations areas as business needs dictate, ensuring continuous service delivery across the borough. These roles are critical in delivering high-quality, efficient, and compliant environmental services, contributing positively to the local environment and public realm.

The Challenge: Drive operational excellence in a 24/7 Service

You will be responsible for leading and managing Environmental Operations activities across both street and estate environments within the London Borough of Hackney.

This role offers significant scope for a resilient leader:

• Provide direct, day-to-day management for up to 6 Supervisors, and through them, lead up to 150 frontline staff.
• Ensure all services are delivered strictly in accordance with contractual schedules, promptly identifying and rectifying the root cause of any non-compliance.
• Manage services including Street Cleansing, Refuse & Recycling Collections, Market Cleansing, Estate Cleansing, Commercial Waste Services and Gully Cleansing.
• Proactively and promptly address all staff issues, including poor work performance, disciplinary matters, and non-attendance, without the need for intervention from senior managers.
• Assist the Service Manager in formulating and executing strategies to substantially enhance the efficiency, effectiveness, and financial performance of services, championing a culture of continuous improvement.
• Oversee the rigorous application of performance review mechanisms, systematically measuring achievement against predefined Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and strategic objectives.

Are you ready for the commitment?

The nature of Environmental Operations necessitates a flexible and dedicated management approach spanning a 24-hour cycle.

• This role has management responsibility for operations across the day, evenings, and night shift services.
• You are contractually obliged to work any of the aforementioned shifts if directed to do so by the Service Manager to ensure continuous managerial oversight.
• All Assistant Service Managers will participate in a required weekend working rota to cover any necessary operational shifts (day/evening/night) across the weekend.

What you will bring:

You must demonstrate a proven track record, experience, and competencies in the following areas:

• A successful track record as an operations manager within the Waste Industry or the Environmental Sector, ideally within the public sector.
• Proven ability to provide vision and direction to individuals and teams, bringing ownership and commitment.
• Demonstrable ability to attract, develop, and motivate an operational workforce, and to deal swiftly and competently with poor behaviour, performance, and standards.
• A clear understanding of budget making processes and the skills to monitor financial and operational performance utilising Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
• Highly developed communication and presentational skills, with a personal and professional approach that generates credibility and respect.

If you are a dynamic, assertive, and resilient leader ready to manage the complexity and scale of a vital 24/7 service, we encourage you to apply. Join us to shape an innovative future for our public realm, delivering exceptional environmental quality for every resident, business, and visitor.

As a Council, our most outstanding asset is our staff, who are highly dedicated to serving our residents and committed to our goals as an organisation.

If you want to work in a place where you can represent our values so we achieve the best for our residents, please click on the apply button below.

We operate a fair and open anonymous selection process. Therefore, we do not accept supporting statements or CV’s.

To proceed with your application, you will need to create an account and submit your application.

As part of the application process, you will need to complete a number of competency based questions. These questions allow you to demonstrate your suitability for the role and provide examples of your skills, knowledge and experience outlined in the job description.

We understand the benefits of using AI in the workplace. However, if you are thinking of using this tool to submit your application, we ask you to think about what value it will add. AI tools tend to lack the personal touch and authenticity we value in candidates. We encourage you to showcase your unique knowledge and skills using your own voice.

Closing date for applications: 17 May 2026 (22.59)

Interview date: W/C 8 June 2026

We are also working towards our vision, which is to be a place for everyone; where residents and staff can be proud; a place that celebrates diversity and where everyone can feel valued, included and involved. In order to achieve this, we look for people who are: Proud; Ambitious; Pioneering; Open; Proactive; Inclusive.

Hackney Council works to eradicate discrimination on the basis of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. We also recognise that people can be disadvantaged by their social and economic circumstances, so we will also work to eliminate discrimination and disadvantage caused by social class. We also welcome those interested in flexible working. We particularly welcome applications from disabled people, as this group is currently under represented in our workforce.

The Council has a dedicated employment support service (Hackney Works), which offers Hackney residents guidance in relation to applying for jobs. If you are thinking about applying for a job, please contact the Hackney Works team to find out what support is available: hackneyworks@hackney.gov.uk