Area General Manager

Integrated Power Services•Burlington, CO

22d•Onsite

About The Position

The Area General Manager leads the Burlington (Southland) site, one of the largest and most strategically important service centers in Integrated Power Services’ Power Management Division. The site brings together Southland Electrical Supply, Industrial Panel Co., Southland Automation, Charter Contact and Supply, Southland Electrical Rentals, and the Burlington Field Service team. It employs more than 100 people across circuit breaker remanufacturing, low-voltage switchgear and switchboards (UL 891), motor control centers, panel shops, skids, surplus distribution, and field service. The role has full profit and loss accountability for the site and responsibility for safety, people, customers, operations, and commercial execution. Burlington serves as the Southeast Center of Excellence for circuit breakers and motor control centers and the East Center of Excellence for skids and eHouses. The leader will contribute to the growth of these product lines and to the division’s organic and acquisition growth. This is a hands-on, floor-present leadership role requiring credible knowledge of breakers and electrical gear. The General Manager is expected to lead from the shop floor and foster a culture where employees are recognized, developed, and heard. The position is based on site in Burlington, North Carolina, with estimated travel of 10 to 15 percent for customer visits, leadership meetings, and collaboration with other service centers. The General Manager must be reachable after hours.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Electrical preferred), Business, or a related field, or equivalent technical and leadership experience in electrical equipment service.
At least 10 years of progressive leadership experience in electrical distribution equipment service, repair, or manufacturing, with hands-on knowledge of low- and medium-voltage circuit breakers, switchgear, switchboards, and motor control centers; candidates with 5 to 6 years of directly relevant, high-caliber experience may also be considered.
At least 5 years in a role with full P&L ownership and budget management for a service center, plant, or business unit of comparable scale (75 or more employees and $25 million or more in revenue).
Demonstrated success driving revenue growth and margin improvement through pricing discipline, quote velocity, and operational execution.
Direct people-management experience leading technicians, supervisors, and managers, with a floor-present, servant-leadership approach and strong coaching, motivational, and communication skills.
Experience leading safety programs and continuous improvement systems in a way that earns technician buy-in.
Operational rigor, a sense of urgency, and comfort presenting business plans and investment cases to senior leadership.
Ability to be on site in Burlington daily and be reachable after hours.

Nice To Haves

Background in industrial service center operations, including breaker remanufacturing, retrofit, panel shops, or field service, in addition to new equipment sales or distribution.
Familiarity with UL 891, UL 508A, NEMA, IEEE, and NETA standards and certifications.
Experience leading a business through a leadership transition or cultural turnaround, with measurable improvement in retention and engagement.
Experience managing surplus and distribution inventory, including e-commerce channels.
Experience operating in a multi-site Center of Excellence or shared-services model, or integrating acquired businesses.
OEM or OEM aftermarket experience with major electrical equipment manufacturers such as Schneider Electric, ABB, Siemens, Eaton, or GE.

Responsibilities

Own full P&L responsibility for the Burlington site, including revenue, job margin, operating expenses, working capital, and capital requests.
Build and manage the annual operating plan, monthly forecasts, site A3, and X matrix; report performance and recovery actions to division leadership.
Set and enforce pricing discipline for retrofit, remanufacturing, and new equipment work; ensure technician sign-off on scope and conduct monthly win/loss reviews with root-cause analysis.
Drive inventory and purchasing excellence through accurate physical counts and costing, disciplined surplus purchasing, and clear purchasing authority processes.
Develop and present capital investment cases.
Lead the site HSE program, including technician-informed 2MD, JSA, and JHA tools that fit the work and meet customer requirements.
Lead the Continuous Improvement Process System with the team, including co-designed time studies, reporting results to the floor, and progression through CIPS phase gates.
Drive consistent quality, on-time delivery, utilization, and first-pass test yield across the site’s buildings and field team; maintain consistent standards for equipment, climate, and support across locations.
Standardize circuit breaker offerings around IPS ReCert, ReCon, and ReMan scopes with documented test reports, and establish work plan versus actual job profit reviews.
Ensure employees have the tools, equipment, technology, and infrastructure needed to work safely and effectively.
Own the Burlington customer experience, including responsive support, after-hours coverage, and escalation processes.
Establish Burlington as the quoting Center of Excellence for motor control centers and circuit breakers, targeting a 24-hour quote turnaround.
Partner with the Commercial Team and Circuit Breaker and Apparatus Sales Manager on account strategy, major proposals, Southeast switchgear coverage, and cross-selling with Dallas and Tampa.
Grow the surplus distribution business through distribution inventory visibility on IPS e-commerce and inventory aging control.
Own the Burlington Field Service business, maintain customer continuity, and capture circuit breaker and switchgear service expertise in standard operating procedures.
Retain and develop a multi-generational technician team, including succession planning for technicians approaching retirement.
Execute Burlington’s elements of PMD circuit breaker and apparatus strategies, including its Southeast circuit breaker and MCC CoE, East CoE for skids and eHouses, UL 891 work with Tampa, and engineering capability for DC and SF6 high-voltage breakers.
Operate within the One IPS model, using shared SOPs, centralized supply chain, regional Centers of Excellence, and a consistent customer experience standard.
Identify adjacent growth opportunities and build their business cases.
Engage employees across the site and promote recognition, accountability, communication, trust, and respect.
Unify SES, SER, IPC, and Field Service into one Burlington team with one leadership standard.
Maintain a communication cadence with monthly town halls and open questions, weekly department huddles, and an anonymous question channel with full responses.
Design and administer a site incentive plan tied to shop and field results within the operating budget, and recognize credentials with differentials.
Build career paths for team leads, planners, and subject matter experts; partner with HR on workforce planning, succession, and retention of mission-critical talent.
Coach and develop the Operations Manager, Team Leads, and department leaders; reinforce consistent standards of accountability, professionalism, attendance, and conduct.