Summary

Reporting to the Senior Vice President of Sustainability, the Airport Environmental Director leads an internationally recognized aviation environmental program that boasts an ISO 14001-certified Environmental Management System (EMS) and is committed to strengthening its proactive management of all environmental issues. “Sustainability and Resiliency” are listed as guiding principles within our Vision 100 strategic plan, as we work to remain one of the most sustainable airports in the world on o

Description

About Our Job

With competitive pay, great benefits, and endless opportunities, working for the City and County of Denver (CCD) means seeing yourself working with purpose — for you, and those who benefit from your passion, skills and expertise. Join our diverse, inclusive and talented workforce of more than 11,000 team members who are at the heart of what makes Denver, Denver. Click here to find out about all the amazing benefits and reasons to work for CCD!

What We Offer

The City and County of Denver offers a competitive salary commensurate with education and experience. The salary range for this position is $122,009-207,415. New hires are typically brought into the organization between $160,000-185,000/year. We also offer generous benefits for full-time employees which include but are not limited to:

Competitive Medical, Dental, Vision Insurance (effective within 1 month of start date)
Pension Plan for Life (Employee contributes 8.45%, Employer matches at 17.95%)
457 (b) Retirement Plan (no early withdrawal fee!)
PTO (over 3 weeks in your first year) and 14 paid holidays
Merit Increases
STD, LTD, HSA, FSA, Life Insurance
CARE Bank, Family Leave Benefits
Employee Assistance Program, Employee Volunteer Program
Tuition Reimbursement (up to $2000/year), We Qualify for Student Loan Forgiveness Program
Learning and Development Opportunities; Courses and Career Development Resources
EcoPass (unlimited free RTD bus/train rides); Free Airport Parking

Location & Schedule

The City and County of Denver supports a hybrid workplace model. Employees work where needed, at a job site several days a week and off-site as needed. In this position you can expect to work 3 days per week on site at Denver International Airport, 8500 Pena Blvd. Denver, CO 80249. Business needs and initial onboarding may require additional days in the office. Employees must work within the state of Colorado on their off-site days.

Who We Are & What You’ll Do

Reporting to the Senior Vice President of Sustainability, the Airport Environmental Director leads an internationally recognized aviation environmental program that boasts an ISO 14001-certified Environmental Management System (EMS) and is committed to strengthening its proactive management of all environmental issues. “Sustainability and Resiliency” are listed as guiding principles within our Vision 100 strategic plan, as we work to remain one of the most sustainable airports in the world on our path to 100 million annual passengers.

In this position, you will lead a team of 16 highly effective environmental professionals focused on maintaining compliance with environmental regulations and accomplishing ambitious sustainability goals across programs such as air quality, climate, waste management, water quality, and environmental planning. You will have the ability and authority to develop and implement innovative programs in a fast-paced, complex, and expanding organization with significant support from the executive leadership team and city administration.

Key Responsibilities include:

Strategic management of the three units that make up the Environmental Services team (Air, Climate, and Waste; Water Quality; and Environmental Planning)
Engagement and leadership across DEN’s full span of regulatory partners, including the Federal Aviation Administration, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Metro Water Recovery, and Denver Department of Public Health and Environment, among others; including participating in regulatory processes and representing DEN in reviewing and responding to permit changes.
Lead implementation of DEN’s ISO 14001-certified Environmental Management System and promote continuous improvement across DEN’s environmental activities
Prepare, present, and manage a $6 million budget and advocate for needed capital infrastructure projects to ensure cost-effectiveness of operations and achievement of environmental outcomes
Support project and contract management to influence and resolve complex problems, identify and eliminate barriers, contribute creative solutions, and leverage support when needed to deliver on-time results
Function as an Environmental Subject Matter Expert (SME) to help DEN effectively manage spills, releases, and other unexpected environmental issues
Collaborate across all levels of DEN staff, senior leadership, and business partners to advance environmental work
Present DEN’s environmental accomplishments to internal and external audiences and professionally represent DEN on high-value boards, committees, and at relevant events
Track critical organizational and aviation industry environmental issues, determine applicability to DEN, and prepare airport response plans

What You’ll Bring

Our ideal candidate has some or all the following experience, skills, and characteristics:

Environmental regulatory experience that spans multiple levels of government (Federal, State, Local) and agencies (FAA, EPA, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, etc.)
Environmental Management System experience
Sustainability program implementation experience within a large and complex organization
Collaborative, approachable leader who is skilled at bringing teams together and strengthening team culture
Compliance-assistance mindset: partners with internal/external stakeholders and project teams to build a culture of compliance through coaching; ability to drive compliance through partnership
Relationship Building: Proven ability to build partnerships with internal stakeholders and external regulators/agencies; skilled at navigating complex, matrixed environments
Calm, sound judgement under pressure; handles incidents with composure, learning orientation, and continuous improvement.
Strategic problem-solving; finds creative paths forward, removes barriers, and keeps projects moving
Clear, transparent communication; sets expectations, listens well, and escalates appropriately
Strong people management capability: Supervises managers and guides multiple functional teams with empathy and respect; sets priorities, removes roadblocks, and develops talent

Required Minimum Qualifications

Education requirement: Bachelor's Degree in Environmental Science, Engineering, Law, Biology, Chemistry, Public Administration, Sustainability Management, or a related field.
Experience Requirement: Five (5) years of experience developing and managing environmental programs, which must have included management of subordinate supervisors.
Education/Experience Equivalency: Two (2) years of the appropriate type and level of experience may be substituted for each required year of post-high school education.
Additional appropriate education may be substituted for the minimum experience requirements.
Equivalency: Two years of the appropriate type and level of experience will serve as an equivalency to one year of education.

Application Deadline

To be considered for this position, you must include the following on your job application (upload the attachment(s) to the Resume/CV section on the My Experience tab):

Resume
Cover letter is strongly preferred, but not required

Please submit your application as soon as possible and no later than Monday, January 12, 2026, at 11:59pm to ensure consideration.

FBI Background Check: FBI criminal background check is required for all positions at Denver International Airport (DEN). Employees are also required to report any felony convictions and/or moving violations to maintain this clearance and be eligible for continued employment. By position, a pre-employment physical/drug test may be required.

Snow / Emergency Duties: Denver International Airport is a 24/7/365 team operation. If weather conditions warrant or an emergency crisis occurs, all DEN employees can be required to work extended hours and/or shifts. In this role as an Environmental Subject Matter Expert (SME) for spill and release response, you will be expected to serve as a back-up to occasionally respond to non-business hour spills and releases as part of the team’s on-call rotation.