Chief Plant Operator - Burnt Store Water

Salary: $27.76 - $45.80 Hourly

Location : 17429 Burnt Store Road Punta Gorda FL 33955, FL

Job Type: Full-time

Job Number: 2026-00105

Department: UTILITIES - BURNT STORE WTR OPERATIONS

Opening Date: 03/05/2026

FLSA: Non-Exempt

Bargaining Unit: NB

How You Can Help Us Make a Difference

Are you an experienced water treatment professional ready to lead critical operations that keep our community running? We are seeking a Chief Plant Operator to oversee the daily operations of our water treatment facility, ensuring safe, efficient, and reliable service. In this leadership role, you will guide plant operators and technical staff, manage complex treatment systems, and apply your expertise to maintain the highest operational and regulatory standards.

Education & Credentials That Power This Role

Education and Experience:

An equivalent combination of relevant training, education and experience:

High school diploma or equivalent:

Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) Operator Certification Program only accepts General Educational Development (GED) issued by the American Council on Education through an approved GED Administrator.

Five (5) years of experience in wastewater or water treatment facility operations, to include lead or supervisory experience.

Licenses and/or Certificates:

Must maintain a valid driver's license.

Depending on area of assignment, must possess and maintain a valid Florida Wastewater Operator "A/B/C" License for Domestic Wastewater Treatment or Florida Water Class "A/B/C" Operator License of Drinking Water Treatment.

Your Purpose & Day-To-Day Journey

The Chief Plant Operator leads the daily operations of water treatment facilities to ensure safe, efficient, and regulatory-compliant plant performance. This role supervises plant operators and maintenance personnel, assigning and prioritizing work while providing technical guidance, training, and oversight of treatment processes and equipment.

Responsibilities include monitoring plant operations, system flows, pressures, chemical feeds, and water quality to ensure optimal performance and compliance with local, state, and federal regulations. The Chief Plant Operator oversees preventative and corrective maintenance of treatment equipment, manages work orders, and ensures proper operation of systems such as injection wells, reclaimed water operations, biosolids processing, and disposal systems.

The position also maintains operational records, prepares regulatory reports, reviews permits and sampling schedules, and monitors inventory of equipment and supplies. The Chief Plant Operator participates in planning plant improvements, assists with budget preparation and monitoring, and supports staff development, safety compliance, and performance management.

This position requires strong leadership, technical expertise in treatment plant operations, and the ability to make operational decisions that maintain efficiency, safety, and water quality standards.

Extra Details You Should Know

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

Walking, sitting, grasping, hearing, seeing up close, seeing far away, talking, standing, finger movement, repetitive motions, depth perception. Occasional lifting up to 10-25 pounds.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

Work is primarily performed indoors but is exposed to temperamental changes (e.g., warehouses, covered loading docks, garages, etc.) or irate customers, extreme noise, odors, heights and/or dust.

RISK/SAFETY CONDITIONS

The position requires exposure to some risk related to physical and/or mental health and safety (e.g., exposure to environmentally hazardous material, heavy equipment, assault and battery, communicable disease, etc.).

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform the essential job functions satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the primary job functions herein described. Since every duty associated with this position may not be described herein, employees may be required to perform duties not specifically spelled out in the job description, but which may be reasonably considered to be incidental in the performing of their duties just as though they were actually written out in this job description.

Charlotte County is an Affirmative Action/ADA/Veterans' Preference and Equal Opportunity Employer. Women, Minorities, and Persons

with Disabilities are Encouraged to Apply.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE/RECOVERY ACTIVITIES:

All County employees are required to work before, during, or after an emergency as needed. This may include temporarily being assigned to work and performing duties outside of the normal scope of their position, location and work schedule to fit the needs of the County and its citizens.

Charlotte County is an Affirmative Action, ADA and Equal Opportunity Employer. Women, minorities, and persons with disabilities are encouraged to applyAs a veterans' preference employer, certain service members and veterans, and the spouses and family members of such service members and veterans, who claim and meet eligibility requirements of veterans' preference, receive preference and priority in employment and are encouraged to apply. In addition, certain servicemembers may be eligible to receive waivers for postsecondary educational requirements.

All positions with Charlotte County may be subject to drug testing in accordance with the Drug-Free Workplace Program and/or County policy.

Charlotte County Board of County Commissioners offers a comprehensive benefits package to regular full-time employees.