What does an environmental manager do?
An Environmental Manager supervises the environmental performance of private, public, and voluntary sector organizations. They are employed by government agencies, non-governmental organizations, or commercial entities.
Environmental manager responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real environmental manager resumes:
- Manage training and execution of asbestos and lead abatement efforts while working with all state environmental agencies to ensure proper compliance.
- Manage sewage treatment plant direct discharge monitoring, operation, reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
- Assist in compliance inspections for air and water programs dealing with CAA, RCRA, and SARA.
- Act as contact point to environmental regulators (EPA, DEQ, DEC) and conduct quarterly audits for each facility.
- Ensure proper packaging, labeling, loading, transportation, and documentation of non-regulate as well as RCRA regulate hazardous wastes.
- Direct safety operations to meet OSHA regulations.
- Administer customer site-specific training programs and OSHA refresher training modules.
- Direct plant environmental personnel in implementing and maintaining EPA compliance programs.
- Consult with in-house staff, the applicant and/or their technical/legal representatives on NPDES permit documentation and information.
- Direct process modifications that significantly reduce the nitrogen concentrations of water discharge from the company's NPDES outfalls.
- Provide environmental engineering management oversight for tactical paramilitary infrastructure projects.
- Design and drafting on AUTOCAD, a computer assist design program.
- Assist McConway & Torley in labeling all panels, disconnects, and breakers with proper NFPA labeling and one line diagrams.
- Coordinate and conduct training for LOTO authorize personnel.
- Implement equipment specific LOTO procedures; JSAs with step by step photos and machine guarding assessments.
Environmental manager skills and personality traits
We calculated that 7% of Environmental Managers are proficient in Regulatory Agencies, Environmental Regulations, and Project Management. They’re also known for soft skills such as Leadership skills, Time-management skills, and Communication skills.
We break down the percentage of Environmental Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Regulatory Agencies, 7%
Assisted in implementing an Environmental Management System to track compliance issues and submit reports/conduct inspections as required by regulatory agencies.
- Environmental Regulations, 7%
Interpreted and assessed complex environmental regulations and issues, focusing on maintaining and enhancing the client's flexibility and business advantage.
- Project Management, 6%
Project Management which included data evaluation, scope development competitive bidding, contractor selection, budget forecasting and tracking.
- Oversight, 5%
Provided environmental engineering management oversight for tactical paramilitary infrastructure projects.
- Environmental Issues, 4%
Developed risk mitigation strategies, sustainable design initiative, recycling program, and employee engagement program for environmental issues.
- EPA, 4%
Acted as contact point to environmental regulators (EPA, DEQ, DEC) and conducted quarterly audits for each facility.
"regulatory agencies," "environmental regulations," and "project management" are among the most common skills that environmental managers use at work. You can find even more environmental manager responsibilities below, including:
Leadership skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for an environmental manager to have is leadership skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "natural sciences managers must be able to organize, direct, and motivate others." Environmental managers often use leadership skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "company leadership roles in company-wide marketing and business development activities and proposal preparation"
Time-management skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling environmental manager duties is time-management skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "natural sciences managers must be able to perform multiple administrative, supervisory, and technical tasks while ensuring that projects remain on schedule." According to an environmental manager resume, here's how environmental managers can utilize time-management skills in their job responsibilities: "completed annual environmental projects required by regulatory agencies on time completion; no environmental violations were received during the entire term. "
Communication skills. This is an important skill for environmental managers to perform their duties. For an example of how environmental manager responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "natural sciences managers must be able to communicate clearly with a variety of audiences, such as scientists, policymakers, and the public." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of an environmental manager: "performed public relations and due diligence activities through communications with corporate office and regulatory agency representatives. ".
Problem-solving skills. environmental manager responsibilities often require "problem-solving skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "natural sciences managers use scientific observation and analysis to find answers to complex technical questions." This resume example shows what environmental managers do with problem-solving skills on a typical day: "monitored, analyzed, and prepared commentaries on state and federal environmental policy development; facilitated the resolution of environmental issues. "
The three companies that hire the most environmental managers are:
- Meta59 environmental managers jobs
- Boeing32 environmental managers jobs
- Church & Dwight Co.14 environmental managers jobs
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Compare different environmental managers
Environmental manager vs. Microbiology laboratory director
A Microbiology Laboratory Manager is a leader who is in charge of the overall operations of a facility. Microbiology laboratory managers focus on the consistent implementation of the facility's procedures, business practices, and policies for employees. The manager's train lab assistants in facility procedures are complete regulatory reports. They coordinate with the microbiologists in checking or reviewing data to ensure timely data closeout and reporting. This job's necessary skills include people management, technical analysis, operations management, quality control/assurance, and project management.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of an environmental manager are more likely to require skills like "regulatory agencies," "environmental regulations," "project management," and "oversight." On the other hand, a job as a microbiology laboratory director requires skills like "microbiology laboratory," "gmp," "clinical microbiology," and "laboratory operations." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
The education levels that microbiology laboratory directors earn slightly differ from environmental managers. In particular, microbiology laboratory directors are 6.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than an environmental manager. Additionally, they're 17.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Environmental manager vs. Water team leader
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that environmental manager responsibilities requires skills like "regulatory agencies," "environmental regulations," "project management," and "oversight." But a water team leader might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "water quality," "safety policies," "water treatment plant," and "water systems."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Water team leaders tend to reach lower levels of education than environmental managers. In fact, they're 7.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 17.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for environmental managers in the next 3-5 years?
Andrea Welker Ph.D.
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, College of Engineering Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Villanova University
Environmental manager vs. Natural science curator
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, environmental managers are more likely to have skills like "regulatory agencies," "environmental regulations," "project management," and "oversight." But a natural science curator is more likely to have skills like "natural sciences," "csu," "organic chemistry," and "k-12."
When it comes to education, natural science curators tend to earn similar degree levels compared to environmental managers. In fact, they're 0.8% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 6.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Environmental manager vs. Microbiology laboratory manager
Even though a few skill sets overlap between environmental managers and microbiology laboratory managers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, an environmental manager might have more use for skills like "environmental regulations," "project management," "oversight," and "environmental issues." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of microbiology laboratory managers require skills like "qc," "fda," "microbiology lab," and "laboratory operations. "
The manufacturing industry tends to pay the highest salaries for microbiology laboratory managers, with average annual pay of $92,441. Comparatively, the highest environmental manager annual salary comes from the energy industry.microbiology laboratory managers reach higher levels of education compared to environmental managers, in general. The difference is that they're 7.3% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.5% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of environmental manager
Updated January 8, 2025
