Job Description: Self-Perform Group Operations Manager
Position Summary
This is a senior operating leadership role with direct accountability for the performance and profitability of the self-perform project portfolio and the team that delivers it. The Operations Manager establishes and enforces consistent preconstruction, project controls, reporting, contract administration, labor-productivity, and closeout practices; identifies risk early; and drives corrective action. The successful individual combines deep construction financial fluency with strong people leadership, sound judgment, field credibility, and a continuous-improvement mindset.
Key Responsibilities
Preconstruction, Planning & Project Startup
- Lead preconstruction planning for concrete and fencing self-perform work, ensuring estimates, scope, means and methods, labor plans, schedules, equipment needs, and material logistics are stress-tested before mobilization.
- Partner with estimating and business development to review contracts and bid assumptions before award, identifying scope gaps, exclusions, risk exposure, unfavorable terms, and execution constraints.
- Establish project execution plans and clear handoff protocols between estimating, operations, project management, field leadership, accounting, and safety.
- Participate in project kickoff and turnover meetings and confirm that budgets, cost codes, procurement plans, schedules, submittals, and reporting requirements are established before work begins.
Project Execution, Process Discipline & Accountability
- Own the operational playbook for self-perform delivery, including standards for scheduling, forecasting, reporting, change management, documentation, quality, and closeout, and hold the PM team accountable to consistent execution.
- Conduct regular portfolio reviews, project health reviews, and jobsite visits to confirm that project plans, financial forecasts, schedules, and field execution remain aligned.
- Identify operational bottlenecks and process gaps and lead practical improvements that increase consistency, speed, accountability, and scalability.
- Establish and monitor project-level KPIs and leading indicators; require timely recovery plans when performance deviates from expectations.
- Coordinate across field leadership, estimating, accounting, safety, procurement, and executive leadership to resolve issues that affect cost, schedule, labor, customer commitments, or project risk.
Financial Management, WIP & Profitability
- Own monthly financial outcomes for the self-perform portfolio; reviewing earned revenue, cost-to-complete, forecasted margin, committed costs, and under/overbilling positions with the Controller and taking immediate corrective action as necessary.
- Ensure project forecasts are timely, supportable, and based on current field conditions, labor productivity, procurement status, change exposure, and remaining work.
- Identify margin erosion, cash-flow concerns, and unfavorable cost trends early and drive corrective action before isolated issues become portfolio trends.
Contract Administration, Change Management & Risk
- Oversee contract administration throughout the project lifecycle, including notice requirements, change orders, claims exposure, schedule impacts, documentation, and closeout.
- Ensure potential changes are identified, priced, documented, submitted, negotiated, and incorporated into project forecasts promptly.
- Escalate significant commercial, contractual, schedule, customer, or financial risks to General Counsel and the President with recommended actions.
- Support dispute avoidance and resolution by maintaining disciplined project documentation and timely communication with customers and internal stakeholders.
Labor, Productivity & Resource Management
- Maintain a high level of proficiency in labor management, including union labor agreements, crew composition, labor classifications, productivity benchmarking, and workforce planning.
- Analyze labor productivity against estimates and production goals and drive field-level corrective action when performance trends off plan.
- Partner with trade workforce leadership to forecast manpower demand, allocate resources across projects, and anticipate workforce constraints as the portfolio grows.
- Ensure compliance with certified payroll, prevailing wage, Davis-Bacon where applicable, and collective bargaining agreement requirements.
- Evaluate the operational impact of equipment, material, subcontractor, and staffing decisions and promote resource deployment that supports safe, profitable production.
Team Leadership & Development
- Own the full employment lifecycle for the self-perform Project Management team, including workforce planning, hiring, onboarding, performance management, development, succession planning, and separation.
- Set clear expectations, goals, and KPIs for direct reports and provide timely, direct, documented feedback consistent with company performance management standards.
- Build a team capable of leading increasingly complex work as the portfolio scales toward $100M and beyond.
- Coach and mentor team members in financial acumen, forecasting, contract administration, communication, customer management, planning, and field leadership.
- Assess team capacity and capability against the forward project pipeline and proactively recommend hiring, development, or organizational changes.
Customer, Quality, Safety & Culture
- Build productive relationships with key customers and support Project Managers in resolving issues while protecting BlackRock's contractual and financial interests.
- Promote consistent quality planning and execution and ensure deficiencies, punch-list items, and closeout obligations are addressed promptly.
- Champion safe production practices and partner with safety leadership to ensure growth in volume never comes at the expense of employee or jobsite safety.
- Model and reinforce the LiveWire/SHONCO culture framework - Be Ready, Show Up - through preparation, communication, ownership, responsiveness, and follow-through.
- Represent BlackRock and SHONCO professionally with customers, trade partners, labor representatives, vendors, and other external stakeholders.
Leadership Expectations
- Operate as an owner of outcomes by eliminating obstacles, resolving issues, and holding others accountable for commitments.
- Use sound judgment and data to make timely decisions while recognizing when significant risk requires executive escalation.
- Maintain composure and objectivity when projects are under pressure and keep teams focused on the intended business and project outcomes.
- Communicate directly, professionally, and consistently with field and office teams and executive leadership.
- Balance standardization with practical field execution; improve processes without creating unnecessary administrative burden.
- Build credibility through preparation, responsiveness, consistency, financial command, and visible engagement with active projects.
Required Qualifications
- 10+ years of progressive construction leadership experience, including direct oversight of complex self-perform projects.
- Proven experience managing project financials at a portfolio level, including WIP, earned revenue, forecasted margin, under/over billing, and cost-to-complete analysis.
- Strong labor-management background with demonstrated proficiency in union labor environments and productivity analysis.
- Demonstrated experience in contract review and administration, change-order management, claims awareness, and project risk management.
- Track record of building, standardizing, or refining operational processes within a growing construction organization.
- Experience directly managing, developing, and holding accountable Project Managers and project-management staff.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills and the ability to present project and portfolio performance to executive leadership.
- Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering, Construction Management, or a related field preferred; equivalent progressive experience will be considered.
Preferred Qualifications
- Direct self-perform experience in concrete and/or fencing scopes, rather than general contracting oversight alone.
- Experience scaling an operation through a significant revenue-growth period, such as $50M to $100M+.
- Experience with Procore, Foundation, Sage 300 CRE, or comparable construction financial and project-management platforms.
- Experience with certified payroll, prevailing wage, and Davis-Bacon compliance.
- Demonstrated experience using operational and financial KPIs to improve project profitability and labor productivity.
Measures of Success
- Standardized preconstruction, project controls / reporting, change-management, and closeout processes are consistently followed across the portfolio.
- Project forecasts are timely, accurate, and defensible, with fewer late financial surprises and earlier identification of margin risk.
- Project profitability and labor productivity demonstrate measurable improvement, and corrective action is taken promptly when performance deviates from plan.
- The team demonstrates stronger accountability, financial acumen, planning discipline, and independent decision-making.
- BlackRock maintains the leadership capacity, operating systems, and project controls necessary to scale responsibly from $65M+ toward $100M+.
- Safety, quality, customer commitments, and company culture remain strong as volume and organizational complexity increase.
Compensation & Benefits
- Base Salary Range: $155,000 - $175,000 annually, commensurate with experience, qualifications, and demonstrated capability.
- Standard company benefits apply, including health benefits, 401(k) match, vehicle allowance, and paid time off.
