Director of Operations

Coastal Linings; Wilmington (NC); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

None

Job summary

Coastal Linings in Wilmington, NC seeks an experienced Director of Operations to oversee daily operations at Wilmington and Greenville locations. This hands-on role ensures schedules, quality, and profitability, with accountability across teams and a focus on scalable processes.

Reporting to the Owner/President, the Director will lead Team Leads, optimize workflow, manage inventory, and partner with sales to deliver projects on time and to standard.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of operations, service, production, automotive, fleet, dealership, manufacturing or similar management experience.
• Experience directly managing employees and frontline supervisors.
• Strong scheduling and workflow-management skills.
• Experience holding employees accountable while maintaining a positive workplace.
• Strong organizational and problem-solving abilities.
• Working knowledge of inventory, purchasing, labor management and quality control.
• Ability to move between office and shop floor.
• Strong computer and business-management skills.
• Experience managing multiple locations preferred.
• Automotive accessory or vehicle upfitting experience helpful but not required.

Responsibilities

• Oversee daily operations of Wilmington and Greenville facilities.
• Manage workflow, scheduling, production capacity, and job prioritization across both locations.
• Ensure jobs move from sale → parts → scheduling → installation → QC → delivery.
• Identify bottlenecks and implement solutions.
• Balance workload and resources between locations when necessary.
• Directly manage and develop Wilmington and Greenville Team Leads.
• Establish expectations and accountability for technicians and shop personnel.
• Conduct regular operational meetings with Team Leads.
• Assist with recruiting, onboarding, training, and performance management.
• Build a culture of urgency, accountability, teamwork, and quality.
• Maintain efficient shop schedules and maximize bay/technician capacity.
• Coordinate larger commercial and fleet installations.
• Ensure jobs are staffed and parts available before production.
• Reduce downtime and scheduling delays.
• Track estimated versus actual installation hours.
• Establish and enforce consistent installation and QC standards.
• Ensure completed vehicles are inspected before delivery.
• Address installation problems, comebacks, and warranty issues quickly.
• Identify recurring issues and implement preventive processes.
• Maintain inventory levels for commonly used products and materials.
• Improve receiving, inventory control, and parts organization.
• Work with vendors to resolve shortages and delivery issues.
• Reduce lost/damaged/incorrectly ordered/obsolete inventory.
• Monitor labor efficiency, productivity, overtime, material usage, and costs.
• Develop and track operational KPIs and provide weekly performance view.
• Develop documented processes and SOPs to scale Coastal Linings.
• Standardize procedures between Wilmington and Greenville.

Skills

Team leadership

Scheduling

Problem solving

Inventory management

Multi-location management

Communication

Vendor relations

Recruitment/Onboarding

Job description

Director of Operations

Coastal Linings — Wilmington & Greenville, NC

Position Overview

Coastal Linings is seeking an experienced, hands‑on Director of Operations to oversee the day‑to‑day operations of our Wilmington and Greenville locations.

This is a leadership position responsible for ensuring both locations operate efficiently, jobs are completed on time and correctly, employees are held accountable, and our sales team can confidently sell work knowing operations can deliver.

The Director of Operations will report directly to the Owner/President and will oversee the Team Leads at both locations.

Key Responsibilities

Multi-Location Operations

• Oversee daily operations of the Wilmington and Greenville facilities.
• Manage workflow, scheduling, production capacity, and job prioritization across both locations.
• Ensure jobs move efficiently from sale → parts → scheduling → installation → quality control → delivery.
• Identify operational bottlenecks and implement solutions.
• Balance workload and resources between locations when necessary.

Team Leadership

• Directly manage and develop the Wilmington and Greenville Team Leads.
• Establish clear expectations and accountability for technicians and shop personnel.
• Conduct regular operational meetings with Team Leads.
• Assist with recruiting, interviewing, onboarding, training, and performance management.
• Build a culture of urgency, accountability, teamwork, and quality.

Production & Scheduling

• Maintain efficient shop schedules and maximize available bay and technician capacity.
• Coordinate larger commercial and fleet installations.
• Ensure jobs are properly staffed and parts are available before vehicles enter production.
• Reduce unnecessary vehicle downtime and scheduling delays.
• Track estimated versus actual installation hours.

Quality Control

• Establish and enforce consistent installation and QC standards.
• Ensure completed vehicles are inspected before customer or dealer delivery.
• Address installation problems, comebacks, and warranty issues quickly.
• Identify recurring issues and implement processes to prevent them.

Inventory & Purchasing

• Maintain appropriate inventory levels for commonly used products and installation materials.
• Improve receiving, inventory control, and parts organization.
• Work with vendors and suppliers to resolve shortages and delivery issues.
• Reduce lost, damaged, incorrectly ordered, and obsolete inventory.

Financial & Operational Performance

• Monitor labor efficiency, productivity, overtime, material usage, and operational costs.
• Work with ownership and accounting to improve gross profit and operational performance.
• Develop and track operational KPIs for each location.
• Provide ownership with a clear weekly view of shop performance, problems, and priorities.

Process Development

• Develop documented processes and SOPs that allow Coastal Linings to scale.
• Standardize procedures between Wilmington and Greenville.
• Improve communication between sales, administration, purchasing, and production.
• Help prepare the company for future locations and continued growth.

Ideal Candidate

We are looking for someone who has successfully managed people and production—not simply someone with an impressive title.

The ideal candidate will have:

• 5+ years of operations, service, production, automotive, fleet, dealership, manufacturing, or similar management experience.
• Experience directly managing employees and frontline supervisors.
• Strong scheduling and workflow‑management skills.
• Experience holding employees accountable while maintaining a positive workplace.
• Strong organizational and problem‑solving abilities.
• Working knowledge of inventory, purchasing, labor management, and quality control.
• Ability to move comfortably between the office and shop floor.
• Strong computer and business‑management skills.
• Experience managing multiple locations is highly preferred.
• Automotive accessory or vehicle upfitting experience is helpful but not required.

What Success Looks Like

Within the first 6–12 months, the successful Director of Operations will have:

• Both locations operating under consistent processes and expectations.
• Team Leads effectively managing their respective shops.
• Improved scheduling and technician productivity.
• Fewer installation errors and customer comebacks.
• Better visibility into job status and production capacity.
• Improved inventory and parts management.
• Clear operational KPIs reported to ownership.
• Less day‑to‑day operational involvement required from the Owner.
• An operating structure capable of supporting additional growth and future locations.

Reporting Structure

Reports to:

Owner/President

Direct Reports:

• Wilmington Team Lead
• Greenville Team Lead

Location:

Wilmington, NC, with regular travel to the Greenville location.