Director, IT and Data Analytics

Company Overview

Upchurch is a rapidly growing , full-service building engineering company providing mechanical, plumbing, HVAC, and electrical services across the southeastern United States. Founded in 1970 and headquartered in Horn Lake, MS, Upchurch has grown through both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions , establishing a strong reputation for quality, reliability, and service excellence. We offer end-to-end solutions—from design and installation to ongoing maintenance and emergency support—helping clients maximize building performance, energy efficiency, and equipment lifespan .

Position Summary

The Director of Information Technology and Data Analytics is a visionary and operationally disciplined leader responsible for architecting a modern, AI-enabled technology ecosystem that drives growth, protects margins, and delivers exceptional customer service.

This leader will continue to evolve technology from a support function into a strategic engine—building a unified data architecture, deploying intelligent automation, strengthening operational visibility, and ensuring enterprise-grade reliability and security. The leader balances leading-edge innovation with predictable performance, ensuring that mission-critical systems remain stable, and secure.

Strategic Priorities & Core Responsibilities

1. Enterprise Data Architecture & Interoperability

Unified Data Layer

• Design and implement a centralized cloud-based enterprise data repository serving as the organization’s Single Source of Truth .

• Move beyond simple software synchronization to a governed, scalable, analytics-ready unified data architecture.

• Establish enterprise data governance standards for integrity, accessibility, compliance, and lifecycle management.

System Integration Architecture

• Architect enterprise-grade, real-time integrations between:

  • Sage Intacct (Accounting)

  • ADP (HR & Payroll Systems)

  • BuildOps (Field Service & Operations)

• Ensure seamless cross-functional data flow between finance, HR, field operations, and commercial teams.

• Reduce manual reconciliation, increase reporting accuracy, and enable real-time operational insight.

Due Diligence Readiness

• Structure enterprise data to meet modern AI and private equity due diligence standards.

• Position enterprise data as a strategic asset—clean, structured, auditable, and analytics-ready.

• Ensure financial, operational, and customer data integrity supports valuation, scalability, and potential acquisition scenarios.

2. Strategic AI & Automation Implementation

Back-Office Transformation

• Lead the transition to a “Touchless AP” environment leveraging:

  • Ottimate

  • Datarails

• Reduce manual invoice processing and headcount overhead through automation.

• Improve accuracy, approval velocity, and financial visibility.

Commercial Engine Enhancement

• Deploy AI-enabled tools within CRM systems to:

  • Automate proposal and scope generation.

  • Filter bid opportunities based on historical profitability data.

  • Maintain 95%+ pipeline data completeness and forecasting reliability.

• Enhance win rates while protecting margin discipline.

• Standardize commercial data capture to strengthen forecasting and revenue predictability.

Operational Margin Protection

• Develop real-time operational dashboards and “Margin Guardrails.”

• Monitor field labor, material usage, and subcontractor costs against project budgets.

• Identify project “fade” early through predictive reporting and automated alerts.

• Deliver actionable insights to project managers to protect gross margin and customer outcomes.

3. Strategic Leadership & Resource Management

Enterprise Technology Audit

• Conduct a comprehensive audit of the current technology stack.

• Eliminate subscription redundancy and “software bloat.”

• Ensure every technology investment delivers measurable ROI—either through cost reduction, billable efficiency, or risk mitigation.

• Establish disciplined vendor governance and contract optimization processes.

Executive Intelligence & Operational Visibility

• Implement automated AI tools to transform daily field notes into structured executive summaries.

• Deliver weekly leadership insights highlighting:

  • Site risks

  • Delays and schedule variance

  • Budget threats

  • Customer service impact

• Provide leadership with forward-looking intelligence rather than reactive reporting.

Security & Infrastructure Excellence

• Oversee investment in secure, scalable cloud infrastructure.

• Conduct comprehensive security audits and risk assessments.

• Implement proactive cybersecurity frameworks, endpoint protection, and monitoring systems.

• Ensure regulatory compliance and enterprise-grade data protection.

• Balance aggressive modernization with disciplined infrastructure reliability.

Data Ownership & Accountability

• Define clear data ownership across Finance, HR, Operations, Sales, and Field Service functions.

• Establish data stewards responsible for data quality, definitions, lifecycle management, and compliance.

• Implement cross-functional governance councils to standardize business definitions (e.g., revenue recognition, labor burden, backlog, pipeline stages).

• Eliminate conflicting metrics and reporting inconsistencies across departments.

Data Quality & Integrity

• Implement automated data validation, cleansing, and monitoring processes across systems, including:

  • Sage Intacct

  • ADP

  • BuildOps

• Establish measurable data quality KPIs (accuracy, completeness, timeliness, consistency).

• Reduce manual spreadsheet dependency and shadow reporting systems.

• Ensure financial and operational reports reconcile to the enterprise “Single Source of Truth.”

Master Data Management (MDM)

• Develop governance over key master data domains:

  • Customer

  • Vendor

  • Employee

  • Project

  • Chart of Accounts

• Standardize naming conventions, coding structures, and data hierarchies.

• Prevent duplicate records and fragmented customer views.

• Support scalable acquisitions and system integrations.

AI & Analytics Readiness

• Ensure structured, labeled, and governed datasets to support AI deployment and predictive modeling.

• Document data lineage and transformation logic for auditability.

• Align governance frameworks with modern AI due diligence standards.

• Position enterprise data as a valuation-enhancing asset in private equity or strategic buyer reviews.

Security, Privacy & Compliance

• Define data classification policies (public, internal, confidential, restricted).

• Establish role-based access controls and least-privilege frameworks.

• Conduct recurring security audits and vulnerability assessments.

• Ensure compliance with applicable financial, labor, and data privacy regulations.

• Implement retention and archival policies to reduce risk exposure.

Operational Transparency & Reporting Governance

• Standardize executive dashboards and operational reporting structures.

• Ensure margin guardrails, pipeline reporting, and labor tracking metrics are consistent and audit-ready.

• Create documented metric definitions for EBITDA drivers, project fade, and forecast accuracy.

• Eliminate “multiple versions of the truth” across leadership meetings.

Operational Reliability & Customer Service Commitment

The leader ensures that innovation never compromises stability.

• Maintain clearly defined service level objectives (SLOs) for uptime and performance.

• Strengthen disaster recovery and business continuity planning.

• Ensure frontline teams have reliable, intuitive tools that enhance customer responsiveness.

• Embed customer-experience principles into system design and reporting.

• Measure IT success through operational predictability, margin protection, and customer satisfaction.

Leadership Expectations

• Act as a strategic partner to the executive team.

• Translate business strategy into scalable technology capabilities.

• Manage a high-performance IT organization focused on accountability, service excellence, and innovation.

• Foster a culture of disciplined experimentation—pilot, measure, scale.

• Develop future-ready talent capable of managing AI-enabled enterprise systems.

• Provide oversight and coaching to team to support goals and objectives and career development.

• Participate in and develop cross-functional relationships across the organization to ensure collaboration and continuity.

Qualifications

• Experience: Proven track record in a Digital Transformation leadership role, preferably within the MEP, construction, or field service industries. 10+ years of experience in progressively higher leadership roles.

• Technical Proficiency: Deep experience with Sage Intacct, ADP, and BuildOps is highly preferred.

• Strategic Mindset: Ability to act as a "high-level architect" while building a team to handle the tactical execution with a focus on long-term departmental and company strategy top of mind.

• Data Expertise: Experience building unified data layers and utilizing advanced analytics tools like Datarails , experience building dashboards with tools like Power BI.

• Financial Literacy: Ability to align IT initiatives with EBITDA growth and financial transparency.

Benefits:

• Competitive salary based on experience.

• Health, dental, and vision insurance.

• Paid time off and holiday pay.

• Opportunities for professional development and certification assistance.

Equal Employment Opportunity:

Upchurch Companies provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any type based on race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.

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