Universal Business Team
Operations Director (Construction Projects)
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About the Role
Our client is a profitable, owner-managed contractor delivering interior fit-out and modular new-build projects, principally for the private education sector. Under a new CEO, the business is building the leadership team and operating disciplines required to scale materially over the next five years, including delivery of large modular new-build schemes alongside a growing fit-out portfolio internationally.
They are now seeking an Operations Director to help make growth successful both in the UK and overseas. You will be based in their offices in Hemel Hempstead, with regular UK travel.
Responsibilities
The Operations Director owns delivery across the whole portfolio, from pre-construction through to handover and final account. The role carries full accountability for cost, programme, quality, safety, and, critically, for the margin the business actually realises versus the margin it tenders.
Delivery and Programme
- Portfolio ownership: Accountable for the safe, on-time, on-budget delivery of every live project.
- Programme control: Own the master portfolio delivery programme; ensure realistic, resourced, and sequenced individual project plans, with early identification of slippage and clear recovery actions.
- Seasonal planning: Plan supply chain, resource, labour, and materials around the summer delivery peak.
- Pre-construction: Input into buildability, method, programme, and risk at bid stage; ensure what is sold can be built at the price it was sold for.
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Commercial and Financial
- Margin protection: Own tendered and realised gross margin. Drive a rigorous monthly CVR process; understand and explain every movement between tendered and forecast margin.
- Cost control: Robust control of subcontractor packages, procurement, variations, and preliminaries.
- Change and claims: Ensure client and subcontractor variations are captured, priced, agreed, and billed.
- Cash: Drive timely valuations, applications, and final accounts; manage certification and retention.
- Forecasting: Provide reliable, supply chain input, and evidenced cost-to-complete forecasts.
Leadership and People
- Team: Lead, develop, and where necessary strengthen the operational and site teams.
- Standards: Set and enforce the delivery standard.
- Supply chain: Build and manage a supply chain capable of supporting significant growth.
- Leadership team: Contribute as a peer to the CEO, CFO/finance, and commercial leadership on strategy, capital allocation, and growth planning.
Safety, Quality, and Compliance
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- Health, safety, and environmental performance: Own health, safety, and environmental performance across all sites.
- Quality and snagging performance: Own quality and snagging performance; drive down defects and rework.
- Compliance: Ensure full compliance with CDM and all relevant regulation, including the specific requirements of working on and around school sites.
Requirements
- Experience working on projects both in the UK and overseas.
- Substantial senior operational experience within a refurbishment or interior fit-out main contractor.
- Demonstrable track record of delivering concurrently a combined portfolio of individual fit-out and new-build projects across design, pre-construction, build, and maintenance period stages.
- Strong commercial acumen. Fluent in CVRs, contract management, cost-to-complete forecasting, valuations, variations, retentions, and final accounts.
- Evidence of protecting or improving margin on live projects, not just delivering them on time.
- Proven leadership of multi-site, multi-project delivery teams.
- Strong H&S record and a genuine safety-first mindset.
Compensation
- Salary bracket: £90,000–£120,000
- Performance bonus
- Car allowance and benefits package, with longer-term incentives available
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