Director - Material Strategy

Role Overview We are seeking a systematic, analytical, and organized Material Strategy Director to develop, coordinate, and support states in implementing material-specific strategies, under the direction of the VP of End Markets, for reduction, reuse, recyclability, and compostability from the stage of material design to end markets. The ideal candidate will bring both a familiarity with compliance and sustainability objectives of relevant EPR laws as well as operational experience in materials recovery systems.

The Material Strategy Director will collaborate with CAA’s national materials teams, including circularity and packaging design, collection and processing, and end markets, and work closely with state teams to develop consistent state-specific approaches that support cost-efficient extended producer responsibility services through scale of operations, harmonization of service delivery, and program planning consistency across states wherever possible. The Director will facilitate stakeholder collaboration, collect and analyze relevant data, and provide evidence-based recommendations to inform CAA’s material strategies. In addition, this role will work closely with regulatory teams to develop, submit, track progress, and partner with the materials team to deliver the Unique Challenge Exemption Applications for California.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain material-specific strategy recommendations and implementation plans that secure reliable, responsible outlets for recovered materials and support EPR requirements for recyclability, recycled content, and compostability.

• Facilitate cross-functional planning and execution among circularity and packaging design, collection and processing, and end markets teams to align material-specific priorities and support integrated program planning outcomes.

• Collaborate closely with collection and processing teams to align sortation, bale quality, and contamination interventions with end market specifications, ensuring recovered materials meet buyer requirements and support program value and performance objectives.

• Partner with circularity and packaging design teams to translate end market realities into design-for-recyclability strategy, providing analysis and recommendations on which materials, formats, and components have viable markets and where gaps exist.

• Partner with state teams to ensure that state-specific material activities and plans align with the strategies and fall within established organizational goals and escalate material differences or risks for leadership decision, leveraging program scale, operational efficiencies, and consistent service delivery wherever feasible.

• Partner with compliance and regulatory affairs teams to assess alignment of material strategies with applicable EPR legislative and regulatory requirements and future EPR states, and recommend adjustments to key national strategies as needed.

• Plan and facilitate stakeholder engagement and consultation activities with producers, service providers, government entities, and other interested parties to inform strategy development and implementation.

• Develop and apply robust data collection, performance measurement, and evidence-based decision-making processes to support material strategy development, documentation, and leadership reporting.

• Manage the development and ongoing maintenance of critical materials documents, including Unique Challenge Exemptions (UCEs), and partner with Data & Analytics and modeling teams to align metrics and plans with approved program plans. Track performance against UCEs, identify variances, and recommend updates and intervention\s needed in coordination with compliance and regulatory affairs teams.

• Prepare decision-ready analyses, implementation updates, risk escalations, and recommendations for the VP of End Markets and other internal leaders.

• Other job-related duties as assigned.

Skills & Competencies

• Robust knowledge of mater...