Director of Civil Operations (Earthwork & Utilities)
EmergencyMD, fort smith, ar, United States
Job Title: Director of Civil Operations (Earthwork & Utilities)
Employment Type: Full-time, Exempt
Reports To: Owners
Comp: $135,000–$175,000 base + executive bonus; truck allowance; benefits
Location/Travel: Fort Smith HQ with regional day travel
Architect and run the operating system for Royal Ridge's civil business. Own the forecast, bidding discipline, manpower/equipment plans, and cadence that delivers on cost, schedule, safety, and quality. Lead senior supers and PMs; upgrade processes (precon handoff, change order velocity, cost-to-complete, WIP) and scale the division from ~$15–$20M to the next tier.
Core Duties
- Strategy & Planning : Annual ops plan, capacity modeling (crews/equipment), CAPEX planning, vendor partnerships.
- Precon Governance : Bid
o-bid, target margins, risk registers, VE options, win themes; final sign-off on estimates. - Delivery Excellence : Standardize look-ahead planning, constraint removal, earned value, and production tracking.
- Financial Leadership : WIP reviews; cash-flow/SOV; pay apps; CO capture; revenue recognition; divisional P&L.
- Talent & Org : Build a high-performing leadership bench (PMs/supers/estimators); training roadmap; performance management.
- Safety & Quality : Safety culture ownership; QC plans; utility conflict coordination; inspections.
- Client Development : Executive relationships with municipalities, GCs, and developers; nurture repeat work.
Minimum Qualifications
- 12+ years heavy civil/site utilities with 5+ years in multi-project leadership or operations director/DM role.
- Proven track record running $15M+ annual portfolios, improving bid-hit rates, and lifting margins.
- Strong financial acumen: WIP, cost codes, production rates, and CAPEX/overhead management.
- Systems: HCSS/HeavyBid, HeavyJob, Bluebeam, MS Project/Primavera; strong Excel.
Preferred
- PE or CM degree a plus; OSHA 30; T&E Competent Person; PMI-ACP or Lean/Last Planner exposure.
Compensation & Benefits
- Base $135k–$175k DOE; Executive Bonus up to 30% on margin, backlog growth, CO capture, safety, and client NPS.
- Vehicle program, fuel, mobile tech; full benefits & 401(k) match; PTO/holidays.
90/180/365 Expectations
- 90 days : Assess people, projects, and pipeline; publish "Operations Playbook v1".
- 180 days : Implement standardized handoff + weekly production dashboards; increase CO velocity and labor productivity by 5–8%.
- 365 days : Deliver plan margin; grow backlog to 10–12 months; reduce rework by 25%.