Project Manager, Operations Manager, Business Development

Be part of a growing, successful company in an exciting and challenging field. Border States is 100% employee‑owned, which means you are empowered to make decisions, find solutions and receive rewards for your hard work.

This position will be located in: Maple Grove, MN;
Mankato, Rochester, Faribault

Final date to receive applications: Posted Until Filled

The Project Manager leads the strategic planning, coordination, and execution of complex customer projects, exercising independent judgement in interpreting specifications, determining material strategies, and resolving project‑critical issues. Serves as the primary decision‑maker for project scope, vendor alignment, pricing recommendations within established guidelines, and risk mitigation. Partners with internal and external stakeholders to ensure project profitability, compliance, and successful delivery. Actively participates in coordinating, analyzing, and acting upon information and feedback of customer needs, pricing, products, competition, and procedures.

• Collaborates with Account Managers, Business Development Managers, Demand Gen & Distribution Leaders, and sales staff to develop project execution strategies, establish priorities, and ensure alignment with sales and profitability objectives.
• Projects may deal with substations, power transmission, wind and solar energy, data Telco, HV industrial, commercial, or residential construction and industrial.
• Oversees customer support activities and provides direction on issue resolution, ensuring alignment with project requirements and business objectives such as expediting, pricing, follow‑up, returns, and other services.
• Provides customers with timely follow‑up on technical inquiries and requests.
• Develops and manages project schedules, ensuring adherence to specifications and proactively adjusting plans based on evolving risks and customer needs.
• Maintains a high level of teamwork and communication in ensuring a balanced workload within the team.
• Completes project group job form with customer information for each project handled.
• Actively participates in coordinating, analyzing, and acting upon information and feedback of customer needs, pricing, products, competition, and procedures.
• Evaluates product options, recommends sourcing strategies, and provides pricing guidance within established authority levels.
• Interprets bid requirements, resolves specification conflicts, material strategies, and determines project timelines that will meet customer's required deadlines. After bid date, follows up on quotations to clarify product specifications, assure outstanding issues are resolved, and develop schedules that will meet customer's required deadlines.
• Responsible for the completion of each assigned project.
• Obtains orders and provides order entry, expediting, pricing, follow‑up, and other value‑added services, as required.
• Coordinates with the Customer Financial Services staff to resolve customer‑billing problems resulting from errors in the quotations process, pricing, shipping, delivery, or other customer service/credit areas.
• In partnership with Demand Generation, organizes, plans, and schedules the start‑up and completion of assigned projects.
• Evaluates vendor performance, negotiates pricing and delivery terms within established guidelines, and escalates risks requiring leadership intervention.
• In partnership with Demand Generation, maintains job control to ensure cost and sell prices remain aligned with customer and vendor expectations.
• In partnership with Demand Generation, establishes goals and priorities for project execution.
• Manages all financials related to the project, ensuring alignment with profit margin goals.
• Monitors vendor performance and alerts appropriate stakeholders of potential problems.
• Works to gain cooperation from all project stakeholders.
• Responsible for planning, ordering, and managing high dollar, made to order products, ensuring accuracy and alignment with project specifications, timelines, and customer requirements.

• May develop quotations for customers within the company profit objectives and guidelines.
• Respon…