Chief Operating Officer

About the Company

Our Client is a U.S.-based, privately held leader in commercial interior contracting, with a national footprint and a long-standing reputation.

About the Role

The Chief Operating Officer (COO) is responsible for the operational performance and execution of the organization, ensuring projects are delivered safely, profitably, on schedule, and in accordance with customer commitments and quality expectations. The COO provides executive leadership across Project Management, Engineering, Materials, Manufacturing, and Field Operations, creating an integrated operating model from project turnover through final installation and closeout. This position is accountable for translating the Company's strategic and financial objectives into operating plans, establishing clear accountability across functions and locations, and creating the systems, processes, leadership capability, and operating discipline necessary to support a complex, multi-location, engineer-to-order/project-based business.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Company’s operations across Project Management, Engineering, Materials, Manufacturing, and Field Operations, ensuring effective integration and safe, efficient, high-quality, profitable, and on-schedule execution.
• Own the enterprise operating plan from project turnover through installation and closeout, ensuring operational capacity and resources are aligned with backlog, project priorities, and customer commitments.
• Drive predictable project execution, margin performance, cash conversion, and customer outcomes.
• Translate company strategy, financial plans, backlog, and customer commitments into executable operating plans across six locations and a remote workforce.
• Ensure operating leaders maintain accurate forecasts of project schedules, costs, margins, risks, resource requirements, and completion.
• Identify operational risks early and drive corrective action to protect safety, quality, schedule, customer commitments, cash flow, and profitability.
• Establish executive-level project review, risk escalation, and recovery disciplines for high-risk and underperforming projects.
• Ensure operational capabilities, systems, and capacity support current backlog and future business requirements.
• Anticipate capacity constraints, resource conflicts, and operational bottlenecks and ensure appropriate mitigation and recovery strategies are implemented.
• Establish clear accountability, performance expectations, operating disciplines, and cross-functional alignment across the operating organization.
• Hold functional leaders accountable for safety, quality, productivity, capacity, schedule performance, financial results, and customer commitments.
• Drive cross-functional improvements that increase throughput, reduce rework and waste, improve scalability, and protect project margins.
• Build leadership capability and succession plans for critical operational roles.
• Partner with HR on talent assessment, workforce planning, succession, leadership development, performance management, and organizational design.
• Foster a culture of accountability, transparency, urgency, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Operations, Business, or a related discipline; equivalent significant industry experience may be considered.
• 15+ years of progressive operational leadership experience.
• Significant experience leading a complex project-based, engineer-to-order, construction, specialty subcontracting, or architectural products organization.
• Executive leadership experience with responsibility for multiple operating functions.
• Demonstrated ability to lead, develop, and inspire high-performing teams, with a strong focus on building leadership capability, developing talent, and creating accountability for results.
• Demonstrated responsibility for a substantial P&L or operating organization.
• Experience leading operations across multiple facilities or geographic locations a plus but not necessary.
• Demonstrated success improving profitability, schedule performance, productivity, and operational predictability.
• Strong knowledge of project financial management, including budgets, cost-to-complete, project cost forecast, margin management, and change management.
• Experience managing complex project schedules involving engineering, procurement, manufacturing, logistics, and field installation.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing operations and continuous improvement.