Operations Manager Jobs in Chanute, KS (NOW HIRING)

Role Summary 

The Self-Perform Operations Manager leads Koehn’s unified self-perform business unit, an approximately $7-10 million operation with 20–25 employees. The role is accountable for the people, estimating, procurement, production planning, financial performance, operating systems, and long-term strategy of the unit. This position leads the Self-Perform Estimator, Self-Perform Administrator, Senior Concrete Foreman, and Senior Civil Foreman while coordinating closely with Project Delivery to deliver each self-perform package as an accountable internal subcontract. 

Core Responsibilities 

LMA 

• Lead, manage, and hold the estimator, administrator, and Senior Foremen accountable for performance, priorities, and Koehn Way execution. 
• Build one unified self-perform culture across concrete, civil, and future scopes while maintaining clear technical leadership within each discipline. 
• Develop Senior Foremen as multi-crew leaders and ensure they effectively lead crew foremen, operators, and craft employees. 
• Own staffing plans, performance management, training, career development, succession planning, and coordination with HR and Safety. 

Estimating, Procurement & Work Acquisition 

• Lead the Self-Perform Estimator and ensure estimates include complete scopes, current costs, achievable production rates, indirect costs, equipment recovery, risk, and target margin. 
• Evaluate internal and external opportunities for capacity, schedule, strategic fit, risk, and expected financial return before committing resources. 
• Own procurement of materials, vendors, lower-tier subcontractors, and major purchase commitments within established authority limits. 
• Ensure complete estimate-to-operations handoffs and maintain accurate production-rate and cost history for future estimates. 

Production Planning & Resource Management 

• Own the rolling master schedule for self-perform crews, equipment, field leadership, and major resources across all projects. 
• Coordinate with Project Delivery to define scope, production plans, mobilization dates, sequencing, milestones, and required handoffs for each project. 
• Establish labor-hour, equipment, quantity, and productivity targets and ensure Senior Foremen translate them into weekly and daily work plans. 
• Resolve resource conflicts, identify constraints early, and adjust staffing, equipment, subcontracting, or sequencing to protect project commitments. 

Financial Performance & Operational Control 

• Own the business unit’s revenue, cost recovery, gross profit, overhead, budget, cash requirements, and overall financial performance. 
• Maintain accurate forecasts for every self-perform project using quantities, production rates, labor hours, equipment utilization, committed costs, and remaining risk. 
• Review project and crew performance routinely, identify cost or production variances early, and lead corrective action or recovery plans. 
• Ensure disciplined job-cost coding, time reporting, quantity tracking, purchasing, change documentation, and administrative closeout. 

Business Strategy, Systems & Continuous Improvement 

• Develop and execute the annual self-perform business plan, budget, capacity plan, equipment needs, and growth priorities. 
• Own self-perform processes, operating standards, reporting, administrative workflows, and integration with the Koehn Way. 
• Continuously improve safety, quality, production reliability, estimating accuracy, equipment utilization, cost recovery, and profitability. 
• Recommend which scopes Koehn should self-perform, subcontract, expand, standardize, or discontinue based on capability, demand, risk, and return. 

Key Measurables 

• Business-unit revenue, gross profit, cost recovery, and forecast accuracy 
• Estimated versus actual labor hours and production rates 
• Crew backlog, utilization, schedule reliability, and unabsorbed labor 
• Equipment utilization and cost recovery 
• Safety, quality, rework, and corrective-action closure 
• Estimate accuracy, procurement readiness, and estimate-to-operations handoff quality 

Qualifications 

• Education/Experience: Bachelor’s degree in construction management, Engineering, Business, or a related field preferred, with progressive experience leading multiple construction crews or projects. 
• Strong knowledge of concrete and/or civil production, estimating, scheduling, procurement, job costing, forecasting, equipment utilization, and related business systems. 
• Demonstrated ability to convert estimates and contract requirements into executable production plans with clear labor, equipment, schedule, quality, and financial targets. 
• Proven leadership of field teams, including developing Senior Foremen and crew foremen and coordinating effectively with Project Delivery, Pre-Construction, Fixed Assets, Finance, HR, Safety, and Survey/GPS. 
• Financial and business judgment appropriate for leading an approximately $10 million operating unit, including decisive problem-solving, risk evaluation, and timely escalation.