VP of Operations

Montana Construction; Lodi (NJ); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive health insurance

401K

Paid time off (PTO) and paid holidays

Job summary

Montana Construction, based in Lodi, NJ, is seeking a Vice President of Operations to oversee construction teams and enhance operational processes. The ideal candidate will collaborate with executives to ensure alignment across divisions and lead strategic initiatives to foster growth.

This leadership role requires a minimum of 5 years in senior management within the construction industry, excellent communication skills, and the ability to manage a diverse team of approximately 300 personnel.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 years of relevant work experience in a senior management role.
• Comfort with technical foundations and interacting across seniority levels.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Oversee company operations while balancing day-to-day and strategic efforts.
• Establish uniform performance standards across divisions.
• Mentor and train staff in leadership and functional abilities.

Skills

Leadership in a construction firm

Excellent organization skills

Analytic and complex problem-solving skills

Communication and relationship building

Talent acquisition and employee development

Change management

Job description

Company Overview

Montana Construction Inc. is a family‑owned and operated heavy construction company specializing in sewer, water, bridge, and emergency services for municipalities, utility authorities, and private entities across New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. We pride ourselves on delivering efficient, dependable, and quality service to every client. Our fleet is a critical asset in fulfilling that promise, and we are committed to keeping it running at the highest level of performance and safety.

Job Summary

The Vice President of Operations develops, implements, executes, and leads the operations of the company, balancing day‑to‑day management of the construction teams executing the work while looking to the future and building processes & capabilities to enable continued growth. This role leads initiatives across Construction teams to ensure a high degree of collaboration and consistency, with clear lines of communication and clearly aligned goals. The VP of Operations will direct operations, while collaborating with executives, finance, HR, and operations teams. They will report directly to the COO and President of the company.

Key Responsibilities

General

• Senior leader overseeing a significant portion of the company from a process, operations, and people management perspective.
• Provide leadership in a manner which will continue to ensure a cohesive and collaborative environment consistent with culture and values.
• Sets the tone for day‑to‑day operations workings, manages expectations of internal teams and clients, and ultimately ensures a positive, productive atmosphere.

Operations Standards & Consistency

• Establish and standardize processes across all divisions and departments to ensure uniform performance and accountability.
• Developing budgets & policies.
• Scoping and Staffing - Ensuring we have the right people and the right action plan in place for success.
• Scheduling & resource management.
• Delegation (in‑house & externally).
• Cross‑team & department collaboration & communication.
• Time & Budget Management - help model and train their team to identify and elevate issues to mitigate financial risk.
• Billing, Scope Creep, Change Orders.

Strategy

• Provide strategic input to the leadership team.
• Develop short and long‑term strategic plans and share ownership of performance against those plans.
• Define/refine operational KPIs that drive bottom line growth; drive accountability of performance against metrics.

Driving Execution

• Set priorities, gather quantitative and qualitative data, and review to guide decisions.
• Drive the team’s practices in a way that ensures profitability and best‑in‑class service.
• Developing, implementing, and overseeing operational excellence across the organization.

Process & Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

• These require a refreshed perspective to ensure all teams understand that strong standards lead to success. We need consistency and rigor, but also the ability to think creatively about improvements.
• Implement cross‑functional standard operating procedures (SOPs).
• Plan, develop, launch, and train new SOPs.
• Hold teams accountable for following SOPs.
• Provide mentorship on the governance of all work managed by the teams (i.e., ensuring compliance with company standards AND client standards).
• Set and execute all compliance and safety policies and procedures.

Communication

• Maintain clear communications with staff regarding operational practices, goals, and objectives, & performance.
• Liaison between the COO and Team Leads while maintaining a clear organizational reporting structure detailing the relationships and responsibilities of all departments and positions consistent with the strategic growth of the Company, while holding the team accountable for execution.
• Establish an effective daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual meeting rhythm to keep everyone in the loop.

Cross Function Collaboration

• Collaborate with the operations, accounting, and business development team leads, sharing knowledge and resources.
• Ensure seamless communication and clearly defined teamwork across departments.

Reporting

• Analyze a variety of operational reports to identify trends in all areas of the business to include market trends, financial reports, employee staffing levels, and organizational growth.
• Develop and implement processes to monitor and track overall portfolio status.

Training/Coaching

• Mentoring and training staff for all aspects of their function growing our team into strong leaders.
• Helping to expand the size and capabilities of the teams by building, training, and developing a team of A players in all levels of the teams.
• This includes talent acquisition, performance management activities, and ongoing career development.
• Observe managers’ performance using qualitative and quantitative measures.
• Identify high‑performing staff members and provide career path and advancement plans.
• Develop training programs for hard & soft skills.

Department Structure

Direct Oversight

• Safety
• Yard Ops
• Fleet
• Shop
• T.

Cross Department Support & Collaboration

• HR
• Estimating
• Construction
• Compliance
• Finance

Required Qualifications

• Leadership in a construction firm, personally supporting a team of 300 people.
• Balancing the coordination of fast‑paced daily priorities with important, longer‑term strategic efforts.
• Excellent organization skills.
• A successful track record in setting priorities; keen analytic, organization and complex problem‑solving skills which support and enable sound decision making, with the desire to brainstorm future‑thinking ideas.
• Assisting HR with hiring, developing, and retaining top talent.
• Coaching and giving feedback, developing employees’ hard and soft skills.
• A solid technical foundation. You feel comfortable diving into details and interacting with people at all levels of seniority as required.
• Excellent communication and relationship building skills with the ability to convey technical complexity to non‑technical team members.
• Ability to unlock insights into the organization’s capacity and demand, managing risks, and providing data informed analyses and issue resolution.
• Involvement with rolling out 3rd party construction software products or relationships.
• Minimum of 5 years of relevant work experience, including experience in a senior management role supporting teams.
• Soft Skills: Exceptional leadership qualities, including motivation, conflict‑management, & high EQ.
• Energized by change and change management. Ready to bring in new ideas and fresh perspectives on how we approach our work from initiation to execution.

Work Environment / Conditions

• On‑site position based at Lodi, NJ with regular interaction with employees.
• Fast‑paced construction office environment requires the ability to manage multiple priorities & deadlines simultaneously.
• Standard industry business hours, Monday through Friday, with additional hours as needed.
• Occasional Job site visits and travel to other company offices required.

Physical Requirements

• Ability to sit for extended periods while working at a computer workstation.
• Frequent use of keyboard, mouse, and other standard office equipment.
• Occasional standing, walking, and reaching within the office environment.
• Ability to lift and carry items up to 15 pounds occasionally (e.g., files, office supplies).

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this role, in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and applicable state laws.

Compensation & Benefits

• Competitive salary based on experience.
• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance plans.
• Paid time off (PTO) and paid holidays.
• 401K.