Self-Perform Group Operations Manager

LiveWire Construction Inc.•Westmont, IL

1d•$155,000 - $175,000•Onsite

About The Position

This is a senior operating leadership role with direct accountability for the performance and profitability of the self-perform project portfolio and the team that delivers it. The Operations Manager establishes and enforces consistent preconstruction, project controls, reporting, contract administration, labor-productivity, and closeout practices; identifies risk early; and drives corrective action. The successful individual combines deep construction financial fluency with strong people leadership, sound judgment, field credibility, and a continuous-improvement mindset.

Requirements

10+ years of progressive construction leadership experience, including direct oversight of complex self-perform projects.
Proven experience managing project financials at a portfolio level, including WIP, earned revenue, forecasted margin, under/over billing, and cost-to-complete analysis.
Strong labor-management background with demonstrated proficiency in union labor environments and productivity analysis.
Demonstrated experience in contract review and administration, change-order management, claims awareness, and project risk management.
Track record of building, standardizing, or refining operational processes within a growing construction organization.
Experience directly managing, developing, and holding accountable Project Managers and project-management staff.
Strong written and verbal communication skills and the ability to present project and portfolio performance to executive leadership.
Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering, Construction Management, or a related field preferred; equivalent progressive experience will be considered.

Nice To Haves

Direct self-perform experience in concrete and/or fencing scopes, rather than general contracting oversight alone.
Experience scaling an operation through a significant revenue-growth period, such as $50M to $100M+.
Experience with Procore, Foundation, Sage 300 CRE, or comparable construction financial and project-management platforms.
Experience with certified payroll, prevailing wage, and Davis-Bacon compliance.
Demonstrated experience using operational and financial KPIs to improve project profitability and labor productivity.

Responsibilities

Lead preconstruction planning for concrete and fencing self-perform work, ensuring estimates, scope, means and methods, labor plans, schedules, equipment needs, and material logistics are stress-tested before mobilization.
Partner with estimating and business development to review contracts and bid assumptions before award, identifying scope gaps, exclusions, risk exposure, unfavorable terms, and execution constraints.
Establish project execution plans and clear handoff protocols between estimating, operations, project management, field leadership, accounting, and safety.
Participate in project kickoff and turnover meetings and confirm that budgets, cost codes, procurement plans, schedules, submittals, and reporting requirements are established before work begins.
Own the operational playbook for self-perform delivery, including standards for scheduling, forecasting, reporting, change management, documentation, quality, and closeout, and hold the PM team accountable to consistent execution.
Conduct regular portfolio reviews, project health reviews, and jobsite visits to confirm that project plans, financial forecasts, schedules, and field execution remain aligned.
Identify operational bottlenecks and process gaps and lead practical improvements that increase consistency, speed, accountability, and scalability.
Establish and monitor project-level KPIs and leading indicators; require timely recovery plans when performance deviates from expectations.
Coordinate across field leadership, estimating, accounting, safety, procurement, and executive leadership to resolve issues that affect cost, schedule, labor, customer commitments, or project risk.
Own monthly financial outcomes for the self-perform portfolio; reviewing earned revenue, cost-to-complete, forecasted margin, committed costs, and under/overbilling positions with the Controller and taking immediate corrective action as necessary.
Ensure project forecasts are timely, supportable, and based on current field conditions, labor productivity, procurement status, change exposure, and remaining work.
Identify margin erosion, cash-flow concerns, and unfavorable cost trends early and drive corrective action before isolated issues become portfolio trends.
Oversee contract administration throughout the project lifecycle, including notice requirements, change orders, claims exposure, schedule impacts, documentation, and closeout.
Ensure potential changes are identified, priced, documented, submitted, negotiated, and incorporated into project forecasts promptly.
Escalate significant commercial, contractual, schedule, customer, or financial risks to General Counsel and the President with recommended actions.
Support dispute avoidance and resolution by maintaining disciplined project documentation and timely communication with customers and internal stakeholders.
Maintain a high level of proficiency in labor management, including union labor agreements, crew composition, labor classifications, productivity benchmarking, and workforce planning.
Analyze labor productivity against estimates and production goals and drive field-level corrective action when performance trends off plan.
Partner with trade workforce leadership to forecast manpower demand, allocate resources across projects, and anticipate workforce constraints as the portfolio grows.
Ensure compliance with certified payroll, prevailing wage, Davis-Bacon where applicable, and collective bargaining agreement requirements.
Evaluate the operational impact of equipment, material, subcontractor, and staffing decisions and promote resource deployment that supports safe, profitable production.
Own the full employment lifecycle for the self-perform Project Management team, including workforce planning, hiring, onboarding, performance management, development, succession planning, and separation.
Set clear expectations, goals, and KPIs for direct reports and provide timely, direct, documented feedback consistent with company performance management standards.
Build a team capable of leading increasingly complex work as the portfolio scales toward $100M and beyond.
Coach and mentor team members in financial acumen, forecasting, contract administration, communication, customer management, planning, and field leadership.
Assess team capacity and capability against the forward project pipeline and proactively recommend hiring, development, or organizational changes.
Build productive relationships with key customers and support Project Managers in resolving issues while protecting BlackRock's contractual and financial interests.
Promote consistent quality planning and execution and ensure deficiencies, punch-list items, and closeout obligations are addressed promptly.
Champion safe production practices and partner with safety leadership to ensure growth in volume never comes at the expense of employee or jobsite safety.
Model and reinforce the LiveWire/SHONCO culture framework - Be Ready, Show Up - through preparation, communication, ownership, responsiveness, and follow-through.
Represent BlackRock and SHONCO professionally with customers, trade partners, labor representatives, vendors, and other external stakeholders.