Director of Operations

Our client is a growing industrial contractor based in Morrisville, NC, seeking a Director of Operations to help build the leadership systems and operational standards that support long-term growth. The ideal candidate for this role will have a strong background in operations leadership within a subcontractor or specialty trade environment, with a proven track record of coaching and developing frontline managers. This role offers significant influence over how the business runs day-to-day, from performance visibility to customer response standards. Job Responsibilities - Coach and develop regional service managers through structured feedback, defined expectations, and a consistent performance review cycle. - Identify and remove operational barriers, such as unclear ownership, missing information, and broken handoffs, that slow down field teams. -Partner with senior leadership to define and document operating standards, competency requirements, and consistent team expectations. -Build tracking systems for escalations, callbacks, and response times to create visibility into current performance. - Lead an effort to map company workflows from initial opportunity through final invoicing, identifying and resolving key bottlenecks. - Establish response standards for common customer needs, including emergency service and project inquiries, and train the team to follow them. - Own customer escalations, ensuring timely communication and resolution when service issues arise. - Monitor and support margin performance across service and project work, including rework and callback rates. Job Requirements - Proven experience in an operations leadership role within a subcontractor or specialty trade contracting environment (mechanical, HVAC, electrical, plumbing, roofing, or similar). - Demonstrated success coaching and developing frontline or regional managers into stronger leaders. - Experience leading a distributed, field-based team that works primarily at customer sites. - Track record of implementing operational processes and standards that held up after your direct involvement ended. - Experience embedding culture and values into daily business practices, including reviews and hiring decisions. - A systems-focused approach to problem-solving, rather than one centered on individual blame. - Comfortable using performance metrics as a coaching and development tool; willing to travel to job sites as needed (roughly four to five weeks per year). - Background in industrial refrigeration, experience in an employee-owned or ESOP company, or experience in a similarly sized organization is a plus.