Director of Field Operations @ QH&A

Job Description

Job Description

Recruiter Notice: We respectfully ask external recruiters and staffing agencies to refrain from submitting candidates for this position. We only accept direct applications from individuals.

Company Background:

QH&A is part of 30+ market-leading operating companies within Kelso Industries that deliver unmatched HVAC, mechanical, refrigeration, plumbing, and electrical solutions. We are actively building the nation's preferred technical service partnership for commercial MEP+ ecosystems, empowering industrial, commercial, and institutional clients—including Fortune 500 companies and other industry leaders across the United States—with reliable, innovative service. Learn more about us at  

 

Position Summary

The Director of Field Operations is responsible for the overall performance, coordination, and productivity of Quality Sheet Metal's field operations. This position provides direct leadership and oversight to all Field Superintendents and is accountable for ensuring that manpower is properly allocated across all active projects based on workload, schedule, budget, and project requirements.

A primary responsibility of this role is to ensure that projects are neither overmanned nor undermanned and that field labor hours are managed in accordance with the original estimated and budgeted hours. The Director of Field Operations will work closely with Superintendents, Project Managers, and company leadership to identify productivity concerns early and take corrective action before they negatively impact project profitability.

The position is also responsible for identifying and documenting field changes, additional work, scope changes, and other conditions that may result in change orders so the company is properly compensated for work outside the original contract scope.

Key Responsibilities

Field Leadership and Superintendent Oversight

• Provide direct leadership and oversight to all Field Superintendents and establish clear expectations for manpower management, productivity, scheduling, communication, and accountability.
• Regularly review the performance and manpower requirements of all active projects with each Superintendent.
• Ensure Superintendents are effectively managing Foremen and field crews and are proactively addressing productivity, staffing, and performance issues.
• Serve as the senior field operations resource for major project challenges that cannot be resolved at the Superintendent or Foreman level.

Manpower Planning and Allocation

• Maintain an accurate understanding of manpower requirements across all active projects.
• Coordinate with Superintendents and Project Managers to determine appropriate staffing levels based on project schedules, remaining scope, estimated labor hours, and field conditions.
• Allocate and reallocate manpower between projects as necessary to maximize productivity and avoid unnecessary labor costs.
• Prevent projects from becoming overmanned while also ensuring critical projects have sufficient manpower to meet contractual schedules.
• Anticipate upcoming manpower needs and reductions so staffing decisions can be made proactively rather than reactively.

Labor Hour and Estimate Accountability

• Monitor actual field labor hours against the original estimated and budgeted labor hours for each project.
• Require regular reporting of hours used, hours remaining, percentage of work completed, and anticipated manpower needs.
• Identify projects that are consuming labor hours faster than the percentage of work being completed.
• Investigate the causes of labor overruns and develop corrective action plans with the appropriate Superintendent and Project Manager.
• Hold field leadership accountable for managing projects within established labor budgets while recognizing and separating legitimate additional work from base-contract performance.
• Provide executive management with early warning when a project is trending toward a labor overrun.

Field Change and Change Order Identification

• Ensure that field changes and work outside the original contract scope are identified immediately.
• Train and hold Superintendents and Foremen accountable for recognizing potential change-order work before or as the work occurs.
• Coordinate with Project Management to ensure field changes are properly documented with photographs, daily reports, labor hours, material usage, correspondence, and other supporting documentation.
• Ensure additional work is not absorbed into the base contract without proper review and authorization.
• Maintain communication between Field Operations and Project Management so potential change orders do not fall through the cracks.

Major Field Issue Resolution

• Act as the primary senior field resource for troubleshooting significant installation, coordination, scheduling, manpower, and productivity issues.
• Visit projects experiencing major operational problems and work directly with Superintendents, Foremen, Project Managers, General Contractors, and other stakeholders as appropriate to develop solutions.
• Identify the root cause of recurring field problems and implement corrective processes to prevent similar issues on future projects.
• Assist with resolving conflicts involving drawings, coordination, fabrication, installation sequencing, access, and other conditions affecting field productivity.

Project Planning and Execution

• Participate in project turnover and preconstruction meetings to understand the estimated labor hours, project assumptions, schedule, scope, and major risks before field installation begins.
• Ensure the Superintendent responsible for each project understands the labor budget and manpower plan.
• Establish manpower and labor-hour expectations at the beginning of each major project and monitor performance throughout construction.
• Coordinate with Project Management, Fabrication, CAD/BIM, and other departments to ensure field crews receive the information and materials necessary to remain productive.

Key Performance Expectations

Success in this position will be measured by the ability to:

• Maintain appropriate manpower levels across all active projects.
• Reduce unnecessary labor and project overmanning.
• Prevent manpower shortages from negatively affecting critical schedules.
• Improve field productivity and labor-hour performance.
• Keep projects within or as close as reasonably possible to their original estimated labor-hour budgets.
• Identify labor overruns early enough for corrective action to be taken.
• Ensure additional and changed work is identified, documented, and communicated for potential change orders.
• Improve accountability among Superintendents and Foremen.
• Resolve major field operational issues quickly and effectively.
• Provide management with accurate and timely information regarding field performance and manpower requirements.

Authority and Accountability

The Director of Field Operations has authority to recommend and direct manpower transfers between projects in coordination with company management and Project Management.

The position is expected to challenge unnecessary staffing levels and require justification when project manpower exceeds the established plan.

The Director of Field Operations is accountable for ensuring that Field Superintendents actively manage labor hours, manpower, productivity, and field change documentation.

The position must immediately escalate significant projected labor overruns, major manpower concerns, and unrecognized additional work to executive management.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in commercial sheet metal and HVAC construction.
• Strong understanding of field installation, fabrication, project sequencing, and manpower planning.
• Previous experience managing Superintendents, Foremen, and large field workforces.
• Ability to understand project estimates, labor budgets, and productivity reports.
• Strong ability to identify work that falls outside the original contract scope.
• Proven ability to troubleshoot complex field and construction issues.
• Strong leadership, communication, and accountability skills.
• Ability to travel regularly between active project sites.

Why Join Us?

We're committed to attracting talented individuals who seek a company with a strong foundation of success and an outstanding culture. We proactively provide competitive compensation, comprehensive benefits, and clear pathways for career advancement with autonomy and flexibility in an entrepreneurial environment.

Learn more about us at  

We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We do not discriminate in any aspect of employment on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, age, veteran status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local employment discrimination laws where Kelso does business.