Operations Director (Construction Projects)

Universal Business Team; Hemel Hempstead; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Performance bonus

Car allowance and benefits package

Job summary

Universal Business Team is recruiting for an Operations Director based in Hemel Hempstead, with regular UK travel. You will own end-to-end delivery across a portfolio of interior fit-out and modular schemes, ensuring on-time, on-budget performance and robust margin management for both UK and overseas projects.

You will lead a senior team, shape pre-construction input, coordinate supply chain activity and drive cost-to-complete forecasting, with a strong focus on safety, quality and commercial

Qualifications

• Senior operational experience in refurbishment or interior fit-out main contractor.
• Track record delivering multi-site portfolios across design, pre-construction, build and maintenance.

Responsibilities

• Own delivery across the full portfolio from pre-construction to handover and final account.
• Drive margin protection with monthly CVR processes and cash management.
• Proactively manage cost control on subcontractors, procurement, variations and preliminaries.
• Lead, develop and strengthen operational and site teams; set and enforce delivery standards.
• Ensure health, safety and environmental performance across all sites and compliance with CDM.

Skills

CVR & margins

Cost-to-complete

Contract management

Leadership

Multi-site delivery

Job description

Our client is a profitable, owner-managed contractor delivering interior fit-out and modular new-build projects, principally for the private education sector. Under a new CEO, the business is building the leadership team and operating disciplines required to scale materially over the next five years, including delivery of large modular new-build schemes alongside a growing fit-out portfolio internationally.
They are now seeking an Operations Director to help make growth successful both in the UK and overseas. You will be based in their offices in Hemel Hempstead, with regular UK travel.

The Operations Director owns delivery across the whole portfolio, from pre-construction through to handover and final account. The role carries full accountability for cost, programme, quality, safety and, critically, for the margin the business actually realises versus the margin it tenders.

This is not a site-management role scaled up. It is a commercially literate leadership role. The successful candidate will be as comfortable interrogating a cost value reconciliation as they are ensuring efficient site operations, and will be capable of holding both the supply chain and the internal team to account on all Operational related matters.

Delivery and programme

• Portfolio ownership — accountable for the safe, on-time, on-budget delivery of every live project.
• Programme control — own the master portfolio delivery programme; ensure realistic, resourced and sequenced individual project plans, with early identification of slippage and clear recovery actions.
• Seasonal planning — plan supply chain, resource, labour and materials around the summer delivery peak
• Pre-construction — input into buildability, method, programme and risk at bid stage; ensure what is sold can be built at the price it was sold for.

Commercial and financial

• Margin protection — own tendered and realised gross margin. Drive a rigorous monthly CVR process; understand and explain every movement between tendered and forecast margin.
• Cost control — robust control of subcontractor packages, procurement, variations, and preliminaries.
• Change and claims — ensure client and subcontractor variations are captured, priced, agreed and billed.
• Cash — drive timely valuations, applications, and final accounts; manage certification and retention.
• Forecasting — provide reliable, supply chain input and evidenced cost-to-complete forecasts

Leadership and people

• Team — lead, develop and where necessary strengthen the operational and site teams
• Standards — set and enforce the delivery standard.
• Supply chain — build and manage a supply chain capable of supporting significant growth
• Leadership team — contribute as a peer to the CEO, CFO/finance and commercial leadership on strategy, capital allocation and growth planning.

Safety, quality and compliance

• Own health, safety and environmental performance across all sites.
• Own quality and snagging performance; drive down defects and rework.
• Ensure full compliance with CDM and all relevant regulation, including the specific requirements of working on and around school sites.

• Experiencie working on projects both in the UK and overseas.
• Substantial senior operational experience within a re-furbishment or interior fit-out main contractor
• Demonstrable track record of delivering concurrently a combined portfolio of individual fit out and new build projects across design, pre-construction, build and maintenance period stages
• Strong commercial acumen. Fluent in CVRs, contract management, cost-to-complete forecasting , valuations, variations, retentions and final accounts.
• Evidence of protecting or improving margin on live projects, not just delivering them on time.
• Proven leadership of multi-site, multi-project delivery teams.
• Strong H&S record and a genuine safety-first mindset.

• Salary bracket – £90,000–£120,000
• Performance bonus
• Car allowance and benefits package, with longer-term incentives available

IND25