Director of Operations (Construction and Utilities Services)

Our client operates a portfolio of businesses that participate in and serve Canada’s energy and infrastructure marketplace. Their strong performance and continued success are a direct reflection of the ambitious, committed, and talented professionals they hire across Canada who make a positive impact to their clients and communities.

They have retained our services to source a Director of Operations for one of their growing businesses, who provides electrical, communication and civil construction services in the Ottawa area.

Mandate:

Your mandate will be to strategically lead and manage a highly engaged team, while ensuring balanced operational effectiveness, through analysis of key performance metrics and the implementation of KPIs. This role supports the senior management team in the communication, monitoring and governance of business policies, processes, and procedures that enables a streamlined customer focused operation.

This role is expected to have a meaningful business impact specific to people’s leadership, operational excellence, financial performance, and continued business growth. The position will focus on and commit to excellence; ensuring that key performance indicators are established, achieved, and analyzed for effectiveness with on time delivery and customer “obsession” at its core.

Key Responsibilities:

Operational excellence –a keen focus on customers and instilling a customer-oriented culture supported by flawless service delivery processes and a continuous improvement mindset.

Organization culture and capabilities - Leads and coaches through the company vision, mission, and core values, instilling the culture in all aspects of the operations.

Financial discipline – systematic pursuit of financial goals through effective planning and forecasting approaches, built on solid controls and clear financial accountabilities.

Health and Safety -Ensure statutory compliance with Health and Safety legislation; supervise the execution and analysis of risk assessments conducted annually and for all new business ventures or services and monitor health and safety performance to ensure compliance with company policy and procedure to minimize injury.

Administration -Accountable to manage the respective operational budget to plan and to identify through business case protocol all exceptional requirements for expense or capital funding.

Mitigation and Management -Contribute to the Enterprise Risk Management initiative championed by Energy and Infrastructure Services by identifying and mitigating risks inherent with the existing and/or planned expansion of business operations and/or services.

Effectiveness -Undertake an on-going evaluation of the effectiveness of both the organization and the company at large and provide recommendations and guidance to continuously enhance expectations to meet and exceed strategic objectives, corporate commitments, and contractual obligations.

Planning –Strategically creating and designing a process that proactively anticipates current and future hiring needs to ensure the organization has the resources needed to meet and exceed evolving business requirements.

Resource Management -In conjunction with the corporate Director, People and Growth undertake performance management that includes the establishment of objectives, performance management, annual reviews and succession planning initiatives.

Engagement, Recognition and Retention -Support HR strategies to optimize employee engagement and recognition through the implementation of existing programs to enhance effectiveness.

Reporting/Key Performance Metrics and associated Analytics -This role will contribute to the development of the appropriate key performance metrics and related management reporting that shall be communicated and utilized to ensure operational and strategic objectives are realized.

Business Planning –You will contribute to the development and communication of our client’s strategic business plan to meet business objectives.

Development -Ensure that strategic business objectives are realized – you shall support Business Development by building and enhancing a superlative rapport with existing and prospective customers.

Qualifications & Experience:

Degree, Diploma in engineering, or related field. P.Eng designation would be an asset.

Ability to influence across the organization at multiple levels, particularity around strategic issues and change management to bring structure to ambiguous environments.

Experience in a unionized field services environment, within the construction and utilities industry is a key requirement.

7+ years of expertise in a senior operational management role with proven experience leading a high-performance team.

Demonstrated experience with effective and impactful interactions with senior leadership, coupled with excellent leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills.

Proven ability to build and motivate high-performing teams.

Demonstrated strategic thinking and problem-solving abilities.

Commitment to safety, quality, and ethical business practices.

Willingness to travel on a frequent basis, as needed, to various project sites and stakeholder meetings.

Valid driver’s license with excellent driving record