Field Operations Manager

Have you successfully led supervisors or managers responsible for multiple field crews in a fast-paced operation ? Do you know how to build strong operational systems, clear expectations, and accountability that drive safe, efficient, and consistent field performance ? Are you the kind of operations leader who gets into the field, understands what is really happening, and turns those insights into meaningful operational improvements ? If so, we are looking for you!

About Us

MNL is a full-service ecological restoration company dedicated to Healing the Earth. Our services include native seed and plant production, shoreline and wetland restoration, prescribed burns, conservation grazing, vegetation management, and ecological consulting. We also support solar and infrastructure projects with pollinator-friendly practices and land stewardship expertise.

Our Vegetation Management (VM) team delivers a diverse range of field services across Minnesota and the surrounding states, including mowing, herbicide applications, invasive species management, prescribed fire, conservation grazing, and other specialized land management work. Our field operations span multiple crews, locations, service areas, and seasonal demands, requiring strong leadership, planning, coordination, and operational discipline to consistently deliver safe, high-quality work for our customers.

The Opportunity

MNL is seeking a Field Operations Manager to provide senior operational leadership across our Vegetation Management field organization. This is a high-impact role for an experienced field operations leader who knows how to lead through others, establish clear expectations, build accountability, and create the operational systems and discipline needed for teams to perform at a consistently high level.

You will have the opportunity to shape how VM field operations function as MNL continues to grow-developing strong leaders, building scalable processes, and driving greater productivity and consistency across the division. This is a hands-on leadership role that requires a strong presence in the field and a firsthand understanding of how work is being executed.

What You Will Do

Lead Leaders & Build a High-Performing Field Organization

• Lead, coach, and develop the operational leaders responsible for vegetation management, grazing, fire, and other specialty field teams.
• Establish clear leadership expectations and hold leaders accountable for safety, quality, productivity, employee performance, and operational results.
• Build leadership capability throughout VM field operations so supervisors and managers can independently lead strong, accountable teams.
• Address performance and accountability issues directly while creating an environment where expectations are clear and employees understand what successful performance looks like.
• Identify future leadership needs, strengthen succession planning, and help build the leadership bench required to support continued growth.

Build Scalable & Consistent VM Field Operations

• Establish and improve operational systems, standards, processes, and management practices that create greater consistency across VM crews, locations, and service areas.
• Identify operational inefficiencies and recurring challenges, determine root causes, and implement sustainable long-term solutions.
• Build greater consistency in how field work is planned, communicated, executed, and evaluated while recognizing the unique needs of different specialty services.
• Develop and improve standard operating procedures, best practices, and field expectations that support safe, efficient, and repeatable execution.
• Help shape a VM field operating model that can effectively support MNL's continued growth and changing business needs.

Drive Productivity & Operational Performance

• Evaluate field performance across the VM division and identify opportunities to improve productivity, workforce utilization, equipment utilization, quality, and overall operational effectiveness.
• Use operational metrics and firsthand field observations to identify performance gaps, make informed decisions, and hold leaders accountable for results.
• Maintain visibility into field execution by regularly visiting project sites, observing crews and leaders, and understanding the practical issues affecting performance.
• Support operational leaders in solving complex field challenges, resource conflicts, production issues, and other barriers to successful execution.
• Reinforce a culture of efficiency, ownership, follow-through, and continuous improvement without sacrificing safety or quality.

Plan Workforce & Resources for the Work Ahead

• Maintain a forward-looking understanding of workforce capacity, seasonal workload needs, operational capabilities, and anticipated constraints across VM field operations.
• Partner with Project Management, Resources, and operational leaders to align anticipated project demand with available labor, equipment, scheduling requirements, and service capabilities.
• Develop operational responses to capacity challenges, including staffing changes, cross-training, resource allocation, scheduling adjustments, or other solutions.
• Strengthen workforce flexibility and cross-functional capability so the VM Division can effectively respond to changing workload demands throughout the year.
• Partner with Resources and other operational teams to improve equipment utilization, project readiness, staging, mobilization, demobilization, and other processes that directly affect field productivity.

Strengthen Cross-Functional Execution

• Build strong working relationships with Project Management, Resources, Safety, Shop, HR, and other internal partners to ensure VM field teams have the information, resources, and support needed to succeed.
• Ensure field leaders communicate production results, delays, site conditions, scope concerns, and other important execution information early enough for Project Managers & Estimators to respond effectively.
• Help create alignment between project expectations and operational realities so customer commitments can be executed successfully in the field.
• Bring an operational perspective to planning and decision-making and ensure field implications are considered before commitments are made.

Champion Safety, Quality & Accountability

• Set a strong expectation that safety and quality are fundamental components of operational performance across the VM Division.
• Hold leaders accountable for consistent adherence to company standards, safe work practices, training expectations, and regulatory requirements.
• Identify recurring safety, quality, equipment-use, or damage concerns and ensure appropriate training, accountability, process changes, or other corrective actions are implemented.
• Use trends and performance information to drive improvements rather than treating incidents or operational misses as isolated events.

What You Will Need To Be Successful

• 7+ years of progressively responsible field operations experience, including at least 3 years leading supervisors, managers, or other field leaders.
• Demonstrated success leading multiple crews, locations, projects, or operational functions in a fast-paced, field-based environment.
• A track record of building and improving field operations, including establishing systems, increasing consistency, improving productivity or workforce utilization, and strengthening operational discipline.
• Demonstrated ability to develop leaders, set clear expectations, hold people accountable, and build high-performing teams.
• Experience leading organizational or operational change and implementing improvements that produced sustainable results.
• Strong operational judgment with the ability to identify root causes, prioritize competing needs, make decisions, and follow through to results.
• Experience with workforce planning, resource allocation, equipment-intensive operations, and managing changing or seasonal workload demands.
• Ability to use operational metrics and performance information to evaluate results, identify trends, and drive improvement.
• Strong cross-functional leadership skills and the ability to work effectively with project management, scheduling/resources, safety, maintenance, HR, and other business functions.
• Experience in vegetation management, landscaping, ecological restoration, construction, utilities, infrastructure, agriculture, environmental services, or another labor- and equipment-intensive field operation is preferred.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to effectively lead at multiple levels of an organization.
• Comfort using business technology, including Microsoft Office and ERP, scheduling, project management, or other operational systems.
• Ability to regularly travel approximately 20-30% of work time between MNL locations and project sites.

The pay range for this role is:

85,000 - 110,000 USD per year (Otsego Headquarters)