Director of Operations

On behalf of our client, a privately-held, Wisconsin-based design and engineering firm specializing in aquatics, we are seeking a Director of Operations responsible for providing strategic leadership across the organization by establishing collaborative relationships with Engineering, Technical Design, Administration and Production staff. This role will also provide cross-functional leadership support for Human Resources, Accounting & Finance and Administration. The primary goal is to drive operational excellence by ensuring teams meet organizational goals and exceed client/project expectations.

The Director of Operations partners with executive leadership to execute business strategies and foster a culture of continuous improvement, productivity and growth.

• Provide day-to-day leadership, guidance, and support to project management, creative, engineering, document production and other technical staff, fostering a collaborative, accountable, and high performing team environment.
• Establish clear roles, responsibilities, performance expectations, and workflows across operational functions.
• Identify staffing needs, capacity constraints and opportunities to improve resource allocation and team effectiveness.
• Promote effective communication and collaboration among staff, project teams, and company leadership.

• Collaborate and cooperate with all other staff teams such as administration, business development, and marketing.
• Lead and support organizational changes that improve the firm’s operational effectiveness, scalability, and ability to support its design and engineering practice.
• Assess the impact of proposed changes on staff, workflows, and business operations, and develop strategies to facilitate successful adoption.
• Communicate the purpose, benefits, expectations, and implementation requirements associated with operational changes, proactively addressing concerns through communication, training, and stakeholder engagement.
• Monitor implementation of changes and adjust as needed to ensure sustainable adoption and desired outcomes

• Serve as a central resource for staff and leadership, connecting organizational priorities with day-to-day execution.
• Facilitate communication and coordination across administrative, financial, HR & technical project teams.
• Build trust and accountability while encouraging staff to identify problems, propose improvements, and participate in implementing solutions.
• Support company leadership in translating strategic priorities into actionable operational initiatives.

• Management responsibility for all technical and document production staff.
• Identify staff needs and provide recommendations for change.
• Responsible for the effective coordination and delivery of project documents.
• Manage and coordinate workloads.
• Determine individual and team capacity, adjusting to effectively address the company document delivery schedule.
• Responsible for staff development and training, optimizing personnel skills sets and managing project costs.
• Coordinate and collaborate with the Director of Engineering, Administration and Human Resources staff.

• Bachelor’s degree in business, management, or a related field.
• Five to ten years of experience in operations or staff management.
• Experience in the AE industry is strongly preferred.
• Works independently on projects, exercising good judgement, decision-making, and when and where to engage others to successfully complete a project.
• Manages multiple priorities and deadlines in a faced-paced environment.
• Interprets and takes timely action on internal expectations and team needs.
• Above average verbal and written communication skills.
• Excellent detail orientation and time management skills.