Vice President of Operations

Tempe Mechanical•Tempe, AZ

About The Position

The Vice President of Operations holds the Operations team accountable for delivering what Tempe Mechanical sells: every project safe, profitable, on schedule, and fully closed out. The VP leads the Directors of HVAC, Plumbing, and Specialty Operations, runs the operating rhythm that keeps customer commitments visible, and steps in when they slip. This is a leader-of-leaders role: the VP builds the system and the leaders who run jobs rather than running jobs directly. Tempe Mechanical is a self-perform commercial mechanical and plumbing contractor delivering new construction, special projects, service, JOC, and fabrication across the Valley.

Requirements

10+ years of progressively responsible operations leadership, including senior accountability for multiple teams, business units, or complex workstreams.
Proven record improving operating performance, implementing management systems, and scaling an organization.
Strong command of financial performance, forecasting, resource capacity, and risk management.
Experience leading leaders: building accountable Directors and Managers, not just managing tasks.

Nice To Haves

Commercial construction or specialty contracting experience (mechanical/plumbing a strong plus).
Background in field services, industrial services, manufacturing, or another execution-intensive environment.
Experience with service, maintenance contracts, JOC, or public-sector delivery.
Lean Construction, Six Sigma, or continuous improvement training.
OSHA 30, DBIA (Design-Build Institute of America), and/or PMP (Project Management Professional) certification.
Bachelor's degree in Construction Management, Mechanical Engineering, Business Administration, or a related field; Master's degree or MBA beneficial but not necessary.

Responsibilities

Own project safety across Operations and make it the first item in every review.
Run a weekly project health review with Directors covering schedule, manpower, cost, quality, and closeout.
Review job cost, WIP, and fade monthly with Finance; require recovery plans on any job trending below bid margin.
Drive change-order identification, pricing, and recovery.
Build and run an executive operating cadence with clear metrics, exception reporting, and verified action closure.
Set common expectations for turnover, startup, short-interval planning, procurement, closeout, and warranty.
Hold the team accountable for every commitment made to customers: owned, dated, and delivered or formally revised.
Review and approve rolling capacity forecasts and resource plans from Directors across field labor, PMs, service, and fabrication.
Hold Directors accountable for confirming capacity and coordinating shop and prefab needs with input from PMs.
Agree staffing commitments and execution plans with the VP of Revenue before contract, based on Director-confirmed capacity.
Hold the shop accountable for supporting field delivery through a dotted-line relationship.
Develop Directors and Managers who independently run their verticals and coach their teams.
Hold regular 1-on-1s, keep development plans current, and name successors for critical roles.
Stand up a Project Management Office as the company grows.
Step in on escalated customer concerns and hold leaders to fast, documented recovery.
Turn customer feedback, missed commitments, and Gemba observations into verified corrective actions.
Partner closely with Revenue, Finance, Engineering, People & OE, Safety, and Continuous Improvement.