Ground Operations Manager Jobs in Ames, IA (NOW HIRING)

Under the general direction of the UG Mine Manager, the UG Mine General Supervisor provides front-line leadership for safe, efficient, and productive underground mining operations. This role is responsible for leading crews, coordinating daily execution of development and production plans, maintaining compliance with MSHA, Nevada, environmental, and company standards, and building a culture where safety, accountability, communication, and operational excellence are consistently demonstrated. The UG Mine General Supervisor is expected to bring strong underground hard rock mining experience, sound judgment, effective employee leadership, and the ability to make timely decisions in a dynamic mining environment.

Contribute to and carry out a variety of tasks including but not limited to:

• Lead, coach, and direct underground crews to safely achieve daily, weekly, and monthly development, production, rehabilitation, and construction targets.
• Plan, prioritize, and assign work for underground activities, including drilling, blasting, ground support, bolting, scaling, mucking, haulage, ventilation, mine services, rehab, and general underground construction.
• Conduct effective pre-shift meetings, communicate daily objectives, review ground conditions and hazards, confirm equipment availability, and ensure crews understand the work plan before entering the heading.
• Coordinate closely with Mine Operations, Maintenance, Engineering, Geology, Safety, Mine Rescue, and other support groups to ensure work is completed according to mine plans, standards, schedules, and priorities.
• Verify that crews are trained, competent, properly assigned, and equipped for the work being performed, including task training, equipment authorization, and site-specific underground requirements.
• Maintain strong field presence in active work areas to inspect headings, observe work practices, reinforce standards, resolve issues, and support safe production.
• Identify, report, and mitigate hazards related to ground conditions, ventilation, mobile equipment, explosives, traffic management, utilities, water, confined spaces, and changing underground conditions.
• Ensure pre-operational equipment inspections are completed, deficiencies are documented and escalated, and equipment is used, maintained, and cleaned according to company expectations.
• Partner with Maintenance to prioritize repairs, manage equipment downtime, coordinate availability of mobile and fixed assets, and support efficient execution of the mine plan.
• Review and support compliance with engineered mine designs, ground support standards, ventilation requirements, barricading, signage, lockout/tagout, work permits, and standard operating procedures.
• Promote a proactive safety culture by encouraging hazard recognition, field level risk assessments, stop-work authority, employee engagement, near-miss reporting, and timely corrective action.
• Take immediate action to stop and correct unsafe conditions, non-standard work, procedural deviations, or behaviors that could impact the safety of employees, contractors, equipment, or the mine.
• Maintain accountability for crew performance, attendance, timekeeping, productivity, housekeeping, equipment care, and compliance with company policies and site expectations.
• Support employee development through coaching, performance feedback, skills progression, training follow-up, corrective action, and consistent application of workplace expectations.
• Prepare, review, and submit accurate shift reports, production updates, safety observations, incident information, equipment status, and other operational documentation as required.
• Maintain adequate inventories of underground supplies, consumables, ground support materials, tools, and safety equipment needed to support planned work.
• Respond to emergency situations, follow site emergency response procedures, communicate clearly during escalations, and support incident management as directed.
• Demonstrate professional leadership through clear communication, sound decision-making, integrity, accountability, and the ability to lead in a high-risk, fast-paced underground environment.
• Perform other duties as assigned to support safe and efficient underground operations.

The duties and responsibilities listed above are representative of the nature, and level of work assigned and are not necessarily all inclusive. Other duties and responsibilities will apply.

• Valid drivers license.
• High school diploma or equivalent required; technical training, associate degree, or bachelor’s degree in mining, engineering, construction management, or a related field preferred.
• Minimum of six (6) years of underground mining experience preferred, with at least three (3) years in a supervisory, lead hand, shift boss, foreman, or equivalent leadership role.
• Demonstrated experience leading underground crews in development, production, ground support, drilling and blasting, mucking, haulage, mine services, and/or rehabilitation activities.
• Strong working knowledge of MSHA requirements, underground mining regulations, Nevada mine safety expectations, company safety systems, and site-specific operating procedures.
• Current MSHA Part 48 Underground training required or ability to obtain before beginning work underground; annual refresher and task training must be maintained as required.
• Strong understanding of underground mobile equipment, including LHDs, trucks, drills, bolters, scissor lifts, graders, telehandlers, service equipment, and support vehicles.
• Ability to interpret mine plans, ground support standards, workplace inspection requirements, shift priorities, procedures, and operational reports.
• Proven ability to lead safely, hold employees accountable, resolve conflict, coach performance, and build credibility with hourly employees, supervisors, contractors, and technical teams.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to conduct crew line-outs, document shift activity, prepare reports, and communicate effectively across shifts.
• Strong planning, organization, prioritization, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to make timely decisions under changing underground conditions.
• Computer proficiency required, including Microsoft Office and the ability to use mine planning, reporting, work management, or safety systems as assigned.
• Ability to work rotating shifts, nights, weekends, holidays, overtime, and extended schedules as required by underground operations.
• Must possess and maintain a valid driver’s license and an acceptable driving record if required to operate a company vehicle.
• Must be able to successfully complete pre-employment requirements, which may include background check, drug screening, physical capacity assessment, and other site requirements.
• Commitment to safe production, continuous improvement, respectful leadership, and maintaining a professional work environment.

Preferred Experience

• Experience in underground gold mining operations, including remote mine sites and rotational shift schedules.
• Experience supervising crews through ramp-up, transition, rehabilitation, or operational readiness phases of an underground mine.
• Working knowledge of short-interval control, shift handoff practices, work management systems, equipment utilization, and continuous improvement processes.
• Experience coordinating with contractors, technical services, maintenance planning, and mine rescue or emergency response teams.

• Demonstrate visible safety leadership and maintain the authority and responsibility to stop work, correct unsafe conditions, and ensure work is performed safely and efficiently.
• Comply with all applicable MSHA, OSHA, Nevada, environmental, company, and site-specific health and safety requirements.
• Ensure employees complete workplace examinations, field level risk assessments, task observations, pre-operational inspections, and other required safety documentation accurately and timely.
• Report unsafe acts, unsafe conditions, incidents, near misses, equipment damage, hazards, and environmental concerns promptly through the appropriate reporting channels.
• Ensure required personal protective equipment is worn and maintained, including hard hat, safety glasses, hearing protection, safety footwear, gloves, reflective clothing, respiratory protection, fall protection, and other task-specific PPE as required.
• Maintain working knowledge of Safety Data Sheets, lockout/tagout, barricading, signage, permits, emergency response procedures, and other critical risk controls.
• Promote a culture where every employee understands their right and responsibility to stop work when conditions are unsafe.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, national origin, disability or status. Must be able to provide proof of identity and legal right to work in the United States at time of hire.