Senior Manager, Strategy Acceleration

Exciting Opportunity to Join Our Legacy of Environmental Leadership!

Location: Corporate Office - Indianapolis, Indiana

About Us: At Arcwood Environmental, we are more than just a company; we are pioneers in industrial waste management, committed to creating a cleaner, safer world. Since our inception during the environmental movement of the 1970s, we've been at the forefront of solving complex environmental challenges. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana with a dedicated team of 2,000+ employees spread across the United States, we provide innovative and compliant solutions to thousands of clients in diverse industries.

Why Arcwood?

• Impactful Work: Be part of a team that makes a real difference. Our comprehensive services range from hazardous waste management and emergency response to onsite support and technical solutions, allow us to solve our customers' waste challenges. We are part of the solution. We don't generate any waste ourselves.
• Growth Opportunities: At Arcwood, your contribution is valued beyond your job title. We believe in the power of continuous learning and growth, encouraging every employee to expand their skills and take on new challenges.
• Safety First: Your health and safety are our top priorities. We foster a culture where every employee is empowered to act safely and ensure the well-being of their colleagues. Our mantra is Safe and Compliant, Always.
• Collaborative Environment: Together we can achieve much more. Join a supportive and dynamic team where your ideas and efforts are recognized and rewarded.

Our Commitment: We are dedicated to fostering an inclusive and innovative workplace where every employee can thrive. As part of our team, you will have the freedom to contribute your expertise wherever needed, ensuring the success of our mission to protect the environment.

Our Vision: Our vision is to be the most trusted partner in the environmental services industry. We put our customers first and deliver agile, sustainable, and innovative solutions. We commit to nurturing top talent and creating lasting value for our customers, shareholders, communities, and the planet.

Our Ownership: Arcwood Environmental is backed by the EQT Infrastructure VI fund, enhancing our capabilities, and expanding our reach. EQT is a dynamic global investment powerhouse managing EUR 232 billion in assets (EUR 128 billion fee-generating). With a focus on Private Capital and Real Assets, EQT owns and supports leading companies across Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Americas, fostering sustainable growth, operational excellence, and market leadership. This exciting ownership positions us for continued impacts and growth in the future.

Senior Manager, Strategy Acceleration
As the Senior Manager, Strategy Acceleration, you will be instrumental in driving critical value creation initiatives with a primary focus on Operations and Service Delivery (e.g., plant operations, service delivery operations, transportation). Your goal through these value creation efforts will be margin expansion, profitability improvements, and transforming the business overall to increase revenue faster than COGS / SG&A. Given the nature of the business, you will also have opportunities to collaborate and drive other high-value creation efforts jointly with Commercial and functional departments.

As part of the Strategy and Transformation team, you will lead the enterprise's highest-value, highest-priority initiatives. This team is the primary engine for driving measurable value creation across the business, with a mandate to accelerate performance during Arcwood's Private Equity hold period.

This role is a career catalyst for high-potential leaders. You will operate at pace in a reputable, PE-backed portfolio company, working directly on initiatives that materially impact EBITDA, growth, and operating effectiveness. The role provides broad exposure across Operations, Service Delivery, Commercial, and functional teams, with full ownership of high-impact projects and direct visibility to senior leadership.

Success in this role is defined by tangible, needle-moving results. Your work will translate strategy into execution, delivering outcomes that meaningfully advance Arcwood's strategic objectives and overall enterprise performance. Successful candidates will have a strong ability to contribute insights and recommendations, a strong focus on pragmatic and swift execution, independent and fact-based perspectives and the ability to build trust-based relationships and collaborate effectively with leaders and teams across the organization.

Essential Functions & Requirements:

• Prioritizes health and safety by adhering to policies, processes, and maintaining safe practices at all times
• Rapidly diagnoses operating and service-delivery performance across plants, service centers, and transportation networks by understanding end-to-end workflows, identifying constraints and inefficiencies, quantifying financial impact, and prioritizing initiatives based on value and feasibility
• Owns execution of operational improvement initiatives from problem definition, business case sizing, and implementation, working side-by-side with Operations, Service Delivery, and functional teams to drive change on the ground-not just design solutions
• Translates operational insights into implementable action plans, including detailed operating changes, resourcing requirements, sequencing, and performance metrics required to sustain results
• Drives day-to-day execution rigor by actively removing barriers, escalating risks early, and holding stakeholders accountable for commitments, timelines, and performance outcomes
• Holds full accountability for assigned value-creation initiatives aligned to the Company's Full Potential Plan (FPP), with clear ownership for delivery of results rather than advisory support
• Uses data as a tool for facts and insights, analyzing large and imperfect operational data sets (e.g., throughput, utilization, labor, transportation) to identify root causes, validate hypotheses, and make fact-based decisions
• Maintains an independent, operator's point of view, incorporating stakeholder input while grounding decisions in observed performance, data, and frontline realities
• Implements operational performance management mechanisms, including KPIs, cadence reviews, issue escalation routines, and standard work, to ensure improvements are sustained beyond initial implementation
• Partners with the Vice President, Strategy Acceleration to shape the operational value-creation agenda, supporting prioritization, sequencing, and resource deployment across initiatives
• Identifies incremental operational improvement opportunities during execution and integrates them into the broader value-creation roadmap as appropriate
• Flags delivery risks, performance gaps, and execution slippage early, proposing concrete countermeasures to recover value and maintain momentum
• Tracks and reports initiative progress and realized financial impact, with clear visibility into EBITDA contribution, timing, and sustainability for senior leadership and the TMO
• Delivers and tracks measurable EBITDA impact through operational efficiency, service-delivery effectiveness, transportation optimization, and disciplined execution across the operating model
• Supports broader operational priorities as needed, including rapid-response problem solving in underperforming sites or critical service areas
• Takes on additional duties as assigned to support the team and organization

Education:

• Bachelor's degree (required); within engineering discipline (preferred)
• MBA (preferred); equivalent top-tier consulting experience may be considered in lieu of an MBA

Experience:

• 8+ years of experience leading workstreams in operations, transformations, or performance improvement environments (required)
• Experience working as part of a high-impact, high-performing agile team (required)
• Experience in the environmental industry or in industrial production and process industries (preferred)

Competencies:

• Demonstrated ability to diagnose and improve complex operating environments, including plants, service centers, and field-based operations, with a focus on throughput, utilization, labor productivity, and service reliability
• Strong ability to lead hands-on operational improvements, working directly with frontline teams to implement changes and sustain results
• Understanding of end-to-end service delivery and logistics models, including transportation planning, routing, asset utilization, and cost-to-serve dynamics
• Ability to translate operational strategy into executable changes, including process redesign, role clarity, resourcing models, and standard work
• Deep experience with and knowledge of building and operating metrics-driven performance management systems, including KPI definition, daily/weekly operating cadences, escalation routines, and accountability mechanisms
• Demonstrated success delivering measurable EBITDA impact through operational efficiency, cost reduction, margin expansion, and working-capital improvement
• Strong capability in business case development, including sizing value, pressure-testing assumptions, and tracking realized vs. planned benefits
• Advanced ability to work with large, imperfect, and fragmented operational data sets, identifying root causes and converting analysis into clear, actionable decisions
• High proficiency in analytical tools (Excel required); experience with advanced analytics or visualization tools (e.g., Power BI, R, Python)
• Ability to maintain a fact-based, independent perspective, validating stakeholder input against observed data and operational realities
• Proven ability to lead change in fast-paced, execution-heavy environments, including private-equity portfolio companies, transformation programs, or turnaround situations
• Strong capability to manage resistance, align stakeholders, and sustain momentum during implementation
• Comfortable operating with ambiguity and incomplete information, making pragmatic decisions and adjusting course as results and data evolve
• Ability to build credibility and trust with operators, functional leaders, and senior executives, grounded in operational fluency and delivery of results
• Effective at holding teams accountable while maintaining strong working relationships
• Clear, concise communication skills with the ability to translate operational detail into executive-level insights and recommendations
• Regular and predictable attendance to perform the functions and requirements of this role

Benefits, Compensation, & Workforce Diversity:
Arcwood offers competitive pay and bonus incentives. Benefits include choice of medical, dental, and vision plans, flexible spending or health savings accounts, employee and dependent life insurance, short and long-term disability, 401(k) savings plan with 7% company match, and tuition reimbursement.

Equal Opportunity Employer - Veterans & Disabilities

A post-offer drug screen and background check will be required.