Operations Manager

Firstcall Mechanical Group Llc; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company vehicle or allowance

Phone allowance

Uniforms and work boot allowances

Career growth programs

Job summary

FirstCall Group is seeking an Operations Manager in Boston to own the projects book end to end, from estimating handoff to closeout. You will manage gross margins, run monthly WIP reviews, and lead a growing project management team with a focus on accuracy, safety, and accountability.

You will report to the Branch President and collaborate with estimating, service operations, and finance to deliver on-time, on-budget projects. A hands-on leader with strong cost discipline is essential.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in commercial mechanical project delivery with leadership responsibility.
• Experience leading a project management team and managing a book of projects.
• Fluent in job cost, WIP, and estimate at completion concepts.

Responsibilities

• Own the project book revenue, gross margin, and WIP for all work at the branch.
• Oversee the estimate-to-execution handoff and ensure fully loaded labor costs.
• Lead the PM team, assign workloads, and develop advancement paths.
• Manage safety plans and site compliance across active projects.
• Close jobs with punch, final billing, and retainage collection on schedule.

Skills

Project management

Leadership

Budgeting & cost control

Schedule & resource planning

Tools

BuildOps

Procore

Job description

OPERATIONS MANAGERLocation: Boston, MAWHO IS FIRSTCALL GROUP?LC Anderson is a commercial HVACR company based in Boston. Founded in 1943, LC Anderson services various customers across the greater Boston area. Founded in 1943, LCA partnered with FirstCall Mechanical in 2025FirstCall Group is a commercial and industrial HVAC, building controls, electrical, and plumbing services company. We serve commercial and industrial customers, including distribution centers, cold storage facilities, food manufacturing facilities, universities, and other commercial properties. FirstCall has approximately 290 employees and operations across Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Texas. We are actively growing our operations across the country.FirstCall Mechanical not only partners with companies to nurture growth in the market, but also provides equal focus on employee growth and development as well. We believe when YOU succeed, we all succeed, so we strive to be the first call for talented team members who want a career, not just a job.BENEFITS OVERVIEWFirstCall Mechanical values our employees' well-being, growth, and success! Employees are offered a robust benefits package, including:Competitive Weekly PayComprehensive Healthcare Coverage - Medical, Dental, Vision, + More (Includes some 100% Company-paid plans)Financial Resources - 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan with a 5% match, Life Insurance, Short & Long-Term DisabilityTime-Off & Holidays - Up to 4 weeks of Paid Off, 9 Paid Holidays + Veterans Day for VeteransCareer Growth & Development- Company-sponsored education and career advancement programs like the FirstCall Academy, the Learning & Education Assistance Program (LEAP), and the FirstCall Progression ProgramGenerous Referral Bonus of $2,500 per referralRole-Specific Perks - Company vehicle or allowance, mobile phone or phone allowance, uniforms, and work boot allowancesThe OpportunityWe are seeking a Projects Operations Manager to own the projects book end to end, from the handoff out of estimating through job close. This is a hands-on operating role, not an administrative one. You will own gross margin on every job, run the monthly WIP and job-cost review, lead and develop the project management team, and make sure no job starts without a defensible cost behind it. You will report to the Branch President and work closely with estimating, service operations and finance.Key ResponsibilitiesOwn the project book. Revenue, gross margin, and work in progress for all quoted, modernization, and construction work at the branch.Own the estimate-to-execution handoff. Every job starts with a baseline the team agrees to. The estimate is what the job gets measured against, and nothing is released to the field without a fully loaded labor cost behind it.Run the monthly job cost and WIP review. Current estimate at completion on every active job, cost to complete, billing position, and a written explanation of anything that moved. Underbillings and unapproved change orders are identified, aged and worked, not discovered at close.Lead the project management team. Assignment, workload balance, standards of practice, and a development path for PMs and assistant PMs. Build and recruit the bench.Own schedule and resource planning. Manpower loading across concurrent jobs, coordination with service operations when field labor is shared, and realistic completion dates the branch can commit to.Own safety on every site. Site-specific plans, toolbox talks, subcontractor compliance, and incident follow-through. No exceptions on project work.Manage change orders and claims. Identify scope change early, price it, get it approved before the work is performed, and protect the branch's position on documentation and retainage.Own purchasing and subcontractor performance. Buyout against the estimate, vendor and subcontractor accountability, and material flow that does not stall the field.Carry customer relationships through delivery. Be the operational face of the branch to owners, general contractors, and engineers once the job is sold.Close jobs properly. Punch, closeout documentation, final billing and retainage collection on a schedule, not when someone asks.QUALIFICATIONS10+ years in commercial mechanical, HVAC, or building-systems project delivery, with progressive leadership responsibility.Direct experience leading a project management team, with accountability for a book of projects and its gross margin.Fluent in job cost, work in progress, percentage of completion, and estimate at completion. Able to explain a margin movement without help from finance.Strong command of the estimating-to-execution handoff, buyout, change order management and closeout.Demonstrated ownership of field safety on active job sites.Comfortable operating in a structured, accountable, professionally managed environment with real reporting discipline.PreferredExperience with BuildOps, Procore or a comparable project and job-cost platform.Self-perform mechanical, sheet metal, controls or electrical background.Design-build and plan-and-spec delivery, including CAD and BIM coordination.Construction management, mechanical engineering or a trade-to-management career path.What Success Looks Like in the First Six to Twelve MonthsEvery active job has a current estimate at completion and a named owner and is updated weekly.The monthly WIP review runs on a fixed date, and the numbers hold up to challenge.No job is bid or released without a fully loaded labor cost behind it.Underbilled work and unapproved change orders are visible, aged and being worked.Project management workload is balanced, and every PM has a development plan.The branch delivers its project’s gross margin plan.Estimate reviews on projects over $100KFirstCall does not accept unsolicited resumes, employment applications or inquiries from recruiters, employment agencies or individual job seekers. Applicants who are selected to proceed to the next stage of FirstCall’s process will be contacted directly by a member of our team. Please note that we are unable to provide individual feedback to all applicants. Applications will stay active in our system for 60 days, and after 60 days applicants will need to reapply for the role.