Vice President Operations Jobs in Meridian, MS (NOW HIRING)

Job ID: 527813

CRH's Americas Materials business is the leading provider of building materials in North America. The aggregates, asphalt, ready mixed concrete, paving and construction services we deliver are critical to building our world. Our operations span 45 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces with over 30,000 employees across 1,700 operating locations.

Strategic Context

The APAC Mississippi/Tennessee HMAC business requires a President who can lead an integrated construction materials operation with the discipline of a business owner and the field credibility of an operator. This role is accountable for aligning asphalt production, paving execution, commercial strategy, equipment readiness, quality, safety, and financial performance into one high-performing operating rhythm.

The President will be expected to translate local market opportunities into profitable growth, strengthen margin performance, build durable customer and agency relationships, and develop leadership capability across the footprint. Success requires balancing daily execution with enterprise-level thinking: improving the business today while building the team, processes, and operating discipline needed for the next stage of growth.

Role Overview

The President, APAC Mississippi/Tennessee HMAC serves as the senior business leader for the HMAC platform across Mississippi and Tennessee. The role owns the performance of the business end-to-end, including safety, operations, construction execution, sales, financial results, customer relationships, quality, equipment utilization, and critical support functions.

This leader will set the strategic direction for the business, establish clear expectations, allocate resources effectively, and ensure teams deliver safe, high-quality, profitable work. The President will create alignment across plant, paving, construction, commercial, finance, and functional leaders while building a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, inclusion, and strong employee engagement.

Key Responsibilities

Safety, People & Culture

• Champion a safety-first culture where leaders actively identify risk, reinforce safe behaviors, and ensure every employee returns home safely.
• Set the tone for leadership, accountability, teamwork, and respect across all operating locations and field teams.
• Build, develop, and retain a high-performing leadership team with clear succession plans, strong coaching, and a disciplined talent review cadence.
• Create a field-connected culture that values employee engagement, transparent communication, and practical problem solving close to the work.

Business Strategy & Financial Performance

• Own full business performance for the Mississippi/Tennessee HMAC platform, including revenue growth, EBITDA, margin performance, working capital discipline, and return on capital.
• Develop and execute annual operating plans, capital plans, and longer-range strategies that improve market position, asset utilization, and profitability.
• Analyze operational and financial performance to identify root causes, prioritize improvement opportunities, and make timely course corrections.
• Lead budget development and performance reviews in partnership with finance, operations, commercial, and functional leaders.
• Drive disciplined capital allocation decisions across plants, equipment, fleet, and construction capabilities to maximize long-term returns.

Operations, Construction & Quality Execution

• Lead asphalt plant and paving/construction execution to ensure safe, timely, on-budget, high-quality work.
• Set consistent operating standards, maintenance discipline, and performance routines across the footprint.
• Ensure crews, plants, and equipment are staffed, trained, scheduled, and equipped to meet commitments and production goals.
• Partner with quality teams to maintain product quality, specification compliance, and continuous improvement.
• Resolve critical operational, customer, agency, or project issues quickly, with clear corrective action.

Commercial, Customer & Market Leadership

• Lead commercial strategy across public and private markets, balancing volume, margin, backlog quality, customer satisfaction, and long-term market share.
• Build and maintain trusted relationships with key customers, agencies, contractors, suppliers, industry partners, civic leaders, and policymakers.
• Support bid strategy, pricing discipline, proposal development, and contract risk reviews to ensure profitable, executable work.
• Identify growth opportunities across the Mississippi/Tennessee footprint, including market expansion, operational synergies, strategic partnerships, and potential M&A or greenfield opportunities.
• Represent the business professionally in the market and serve as a visible ambassador for CRH values and operating expectations.

Operating Discipline, Continuous Improvement & Functional Alignment

• Establish a KPI-driven operating cadence with clear safety, production, construction, quality, equipment, commercial, and financial metrics.
• Champion continuous improvement initiatives that reduce waste, improve productivity, increase equipment availability, and lower cost per ton or cost per project.
• Align support functions around business priorities, ensuring finance, HR, safety, environmental, quality, equipment, procurement, IT, and legal support are integrated into operating decisions.
• Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local safety, environmental, employment, transportation, accounting, and regulatory requirements.
• Model leading performance by applying technical understanding, disciplined process, sound judgment, urgency, and follow-through.

Qualifications & Experience

Required Experience

• 10+ years of progressive leadership experience in construction materials, asphalt, paving/construction, aggregates, heavy civil construction, manufacturing, or a related industrial environment.
• Senior management experience with responsibility for delivering earnings, managing operating budgets, and improving financial performance.
• Demonstrated success leading complex, multi-site operations with significant field, equipment, safety, quality, and customer-service requirements.
• Experience managing P&L accountability and using financial data to make operating decisions, allocate resources, and improve profitability.
• Proven record of building effective teams, developing leaders, and holding teams accountable for measurable results.
• Experience partnering with commercial teams on bid strategy, customer relationships, market growth, and margin improvement.
• Strong understanding of safety, environmental, regulatory, and compliance expectations in a field-based industrial business.

Preferred Experience

• Direct experience in asphalt production, HMA construction, paving operations, or vertically integrated construction materials businesses.
• Experience leading through organizational change, acquisition integration, operating model shifts, or performance improvement efforts.
• Experience engaging with Departments of Transportation, municipalities, agencies, contractors, developers, and industry associations.
• Background managing equipment-intensive operations, fleet utilization, maintenance strategy, and capital planning.
• Experience with continuous improvement systems, KPI dashboards, ERP/reporting tools, and structured operating reviews.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Construction Management, Engineering, Business, Operations, or a related field preferred; equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered.
• Advanced degree or executive leadership development preferred.

Work Requirements

• Must be willing and able to travel across the Mississippi/Tennessee footprint and work outside standard business hours as business needs require.
• Must maintain consistent and reliable attendance and be available for critical operational, customer, safety, or project matters as needed.
• Must demonstrate excellent interpersonal, written, verbal, listening, presentation, and constructive feedback skills.
• Must be able to work independently and with groups, under time constraints, and in a fast-paced operating environment.
• Must comply with company safety, environmental, ethics, employment, and regulatory requirements and successfully complete applicable pre-employment requirements.

Physical Requirements & Work Environment

• Ability to stand, walk, sit, talk, hear, use hands and fingers, and safely drive a vehicle for extended periods as business requires.
• Vision abilities, with correction if needed, include close, distance, peripheral, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.
• Role includes a mix of office, plant, field, customer, agency, and construction-site environments. Noise levels and conditions may vary by location.
• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

Why This Role Matters

This role is the senior leadership seat for a business that depends on safe execution, operational reliability, customer trust, and disciplined financial performance. The President, APAC Mississippi/Tennessee HMAC will shape the culture, build the leadership bench, and set the operating rhythm that allows the business to grow profitably while protecting what matters most: employees, customers, communities, and the reputation of CRH.

The ideal leader will bring the presence of a President, the instincts of an operator, and the mindset of a builder: someone who can lead through the field, partner across the enterprise, create clarity in complexity, and deliver sustainable results across a large, fast-moving construction materials business.

What CRH Offers You

• Highly competitive base pay
• Comprehensive medical, dental and disability benefits programs
• Group retirement savings program
• Health and wellness programs
• An inclusive culture that values opportunity for growth, development, and internal promotion