RT Hood Operations Manager

R&T Hood and Duct Services, Inc., a trusted and reliable 38-year-old company, services and protects Western Washington’s industrial kitchen grease hood fire prevention systems. More broadly, the company services the commercial fire suppression systems requirements of 4,000+ trusting customers. Due to growing business demand, RT Hood seeks to attract and onboard a difference-making Operations Manager to help the company scale and reach next-level growth, performance, process, and professionalism. 

Operations Manager
R&T Hood and Duct Services, Inc.
6100 12th Ave. S.
Seattle, WA 98108

About R&T Hood and Duct Services, Inc.:

R&T Hood and Duct Services, Inc. (rthood.com) designs, installs, and services fire suppression protection solutions for commercial kitchen grease exhaust systems for kitchens requiring regular service, hood cleaning, and pre-engineered fire suppression testing to prevent fire hazards.  RT Hood’s core values are Community, Accountability, Respect, and Safety.  RT Hood provides four core services:

1. Grease exhaust system service (e.g., design, build, and maintenance services)
2. Pre-Engineered Fire systems upgrades and repairs
3. Automatic fire suppression systems (e.g., design, build, and maintain fire sprinkler systems and other approved fire suppression systems)
4. Fire extinguishers (e.g., sales, inspection, and service)

We are looking to add to our team an outstanding Operations manager that gets people, how to hire, motivate, manage, and get the best from people. And in our search, we are looking most for an Operations Manager with three essential qualities: humility, grit, and emotional intelligence. 

Operations Manager Position Description

The Operations Manager role will support will direct operations under the leadership of the CEO. The Operations Manager reports to the CEO and will work collaboratively with the financial controller to manage 45+ team members. he OPERATIONS MANAGER is responsible for onsite management of operations in Seattle, WA, and will support all field design, installation, and service operations throughout Western Washington from this location. RT Hood's goal is to become truly indispensable to its clients as their trusted fire suppression systems service provider. 

Behavioral Characteristics we are looking for in our Operations Manager

Motivations
- Achiever; you compete, complete, and win routinely.
- Growth; you grow people, processes, and organizations (e.g., $10 million to $30 million growth cycle, etc.).
- Producer; you deliver on time and budget.
- Personal Responsibility; you self-manage your time wisely and take responsibility for results.
- Mission of Service; you value serving others and enjoy helping clients achieve their mission;

Modes of Thinking
- Lifetime learner; you read, discover, explore, and constantly improve your skillsets.
- Innovator; you are creative, resourceful, and imaginative.
- Problem solver; you have a curious mind, analyze issues, and enjoy solving problems, and putting processes into placed to prevent future problems.
- Discerner; you have demonstrated discernment, good judgment, and are viewed as a reservoir of wisdom and “uncommon” sense.
- Decision Maker; you make decisive decisions after gathering and analyzing facts.
- Low drama; you are a thinker, when issues arise, you share information quickly, calmly and swiftly identify problems to be solved, and you accurately, consistently, methodically work to resolve issues without high emotion or disruptive and distracting drama.

Modes of Acting
-  Grit; you have the persistence, stick-to-it-ness, and integrity to do the right thing (even when unpopular or potentially costly).
- Negotiator; you look for win-win solutions, and routinely use negotiation to help the company meet its objectives.
- Proactive Problem Solver; not all the problems of the world are known, and you have the resourceful capabilities to research, assess, and either develop or adapt solutions to solve dynamic problems;
- Strategist; you are a planner, strategist, and look for ways to win the end-game, not just the current battle before you.
- Technical Mastery; whatever you work on, you seek to become an expert. You have the learning skills to turn knowledge into wisdom.
- Player-Coach; you have the ability to lead from the front, as a servant-leader. You have the discipline and skills to build your team members as a coach and mentor.

Modes of Interacting
-    Humble; you operate with a high degree of business ethics toward your work and your team.
-    Transparent; you are straight-forward and upfront with information.
-    Honest; you care about the truth, and own up to problems without ditching or dodging responsibility
-    Inclusive, bridge-builder; you have the ability to work effectively with a variety of cultures, customers, team members, and situations.
-    Communicator; you listen well, and are well versed in communication skills.
-    Motivator; you motivate. Your team follows you, not through compulsion, but rather they love working for you, as you are inspiring, and help them accomplish their goals
-    Persuader; you are emotionally intelligent and can persuade others to follow you.
-    Fun to work with.

Position Description, Goals, and Objectives:

The Operations Manager reports to the CEO of RT Hood and is a key member of the Executive Committee (comprised of the CEO, Controller, and Operations Manager).

• Lead, manage, and direct the operations of the RT Hood's headquarters fire suppression and prevention business units,  with full lifecycle management of marketing, sales, operations, client management, testing, quality assurance, and service fulfillment, and nonfinance department personnel.
• Support the CEO in all areas by driving business results, determining the current state of operations, and preparing improvement plans, budgets, and timetables for improvements;
• Manage onsite and remote information technology requirements, and work with the Controller to exceed client expectations by overseeing the timely delivery of field data, financial information and results.
• Determine team member capabilities, skills, etc., and a create a development plan to help the team reach higher performance to meet manufacturing goals and objectives;
• Drive accountability for operational and customer results related to the financial performance of company operations;
• Participate in master planning and share in the development of future strategy and operating plans for the business;
• Develop operations budgets for marketing, sales, service, installation, system design, test/quality assurance, and growth-related capital expenditure plans;
• Support the CEO with direct sales process support in terms of RFP response, proposal writing, client development, client-focused operations demos and tours, and client-centered operations that win the respect and admiration of our clients;
• Work with the CEO and other Executive Committee members to increase the number of team members with industry certifications, training, etc., to ensure that the company meets the current and future needs of our clients;
• Create team member accountability regarding the implementation of defined business plans (e.g., Balanced Scorecards, quarterly goals, etc) and deliver results;
• Establish and maintain relationships with customers and industry experts in the professional fire protection, suppression, and life safety communities; develop a keen understanding of the competitive landscape and opportunities for growth within the company’s markets;
• Lead coordination efforts between company and clients to drive company results;
• Coordinate efforts of operations team by establishing state-of-the-art standard operating procedures for all aspects of the company under operations span of control.;
• Coach and mentor operations team leaders and members;
• Identify and lead the adoption of industry best practices and standards throughout the companies; review standard operating procedures, and routinely update processes to keep the company leading-edge;
• Assure the safety of operations procedures are routinely followed to safeguard our team members, company, and customers.;
• Drive internal accountability for results related to operations; institutionalize benchmarking and monitoring results for performance;
• Drive business excellence in LEAN management improvements to reduce waste throughout the operation;
• Aggressively manage and drive cost reduction roadmaps for company operations;
• Influence change management through team building, collaboration, development, and monitoring of metrics;
• Use expertise and people skills to spot, reduce, and mitigate conflict situations; maintain an environment that fosters sustainable organizational development;
• Foster innovative solutions creating best-in-class results through continuous improvement (Kaizen)
• Evaluate, develop, and nurture the team.
• Other duties as may be assigned from time to time by the CEO.

Technical Qualifications and Requirements:

1. We have a preference for those candidates with prior fire protection industry experience (e.g., commercial grease hood cleaning, fire suppression systems maintenance, etc), however we will consider any operations professional that has demonstrated an ability and track record in leading, managing, building and documenting best practices into processes, and who has built and managed a high performing service organization.
2. Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
3. Demonstrated experience in understanding, interpreting, managing, and driving positive operations results on the Company P&L, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow Statements.
4. We prefer candidates with BS in Fire Science, Fire Science Management, Fire & Emergency Services, Fire and Safety Engineering Technology, Industrial Safety, Occupational Safety, Organizational Behavior; additionally, we will consider candidates with general education, Psychology; Business Administration, Management, Engineering, Operations, etc, 
5. We prefer candidates that have earned their MBA, or Masters Degree in Engineering, Management, Industrial Organization, or Operations Management degree; though a master’s degree is not required for this position.
6. Minimum 10+ years supervisory operations management services work experience with increasing responsibilities for management and support of information systems and systems integration projects.
7. Minimum 5+ years in customer-site located service delivery, managing and scheduling teams to provide services to your customers; must have outstanding references of customer appreciation and applause.
8. Preferably 2+ years in commercial grease hood cleaning, fire systems design, installation and/or service, life safety delivery systems or other technical support operations related positions. However, we will consider candidates that have learned and implemented strong ‘operations’ and field ‘customer service’ that believe they can achieve expertise in our fire-life safety industry within 6 months of employment.
9. Working knowledge of MS Office (e.g., MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access), CRM, MS Project, Visio, and other business productivity tools and software is helpful.
10. Must possess a proven track record of progressively improving and automating operations management; analyze information, identify opportunities and make improvements to operations standard operating procedures to increase reliability, performance, and profit.
11. Experience with managing projects using small teams with distributed operations;
12. Experience with LEAN manufacturing principles, and demonstrated experience applying LEAN to a business setting. There are opportunities to design and redesign operations to make more efficient and reduce waste.
13. Develop effective talent hiring and development plans to recruit, develop and mentor a cadre of outstanding operations management team members to maintain profitable and resilient operations.
14. Demonstrated ability to accept responsibility; be self-governing, proactive, and responsible for the accomplishment of the company mission in alignment with the CEO’s vision, and the company’s strategic plan, directives, operations mandate, and mission of the company, without the need for daily coaching or prompting from the CEO.
15. Demonstrated history of good employee relations in past position a must.
16. Ability to deliver results working through others, and motivate a team culture that is respectful and supports the company values of excellence, integrity, and quality experience for our customers.
17. Must possess strong problem solving and creative skills, the ability to exercise sound judgment, and make decisions based on an accurate and timely analysis.
18. The position is a key management position and a time demanding position. The candidate must demonstrate that they understand the requirements of the position, the time required to complete the required duties, and a willingness to be flexible and work the required time-sensitive projects impacting the service delivery of the company.
19. Periodic business travel required, though the Operations Manager role will be to the full-time onsite executive at RT Hood's headquarters operations.
20. MUST be willing to relocate to the company’s headquarters located in Seattle, WA, or live within a 45-minute drive-time radius of our headquarters operations.

COMPENSATION:

Salary is negotiable and commensurate with ability and experience. Benefits package is typical of other benefit packages for chief executives in Seattle.

TIMING:

The Operations Manager position is available immediately with an expected start date on or before December 1, 2018.

OTHER:

In addition to this Operations Manager position, the company has an open VP Operations position (that remains unfilled). It is possible that the Operations Manager may be so skilled and productive that the VP Operations position may remain open, providing future upward mobility for the Operations Manager.