Director of Operations - Existing Building (Licensed Architect)

Department: Repair & Modernization

Job Summary:

We are seeking a driven, hands-on Licensed Architect (AIA) with a strong entrepreneurial mindset for our Director of Operations position. This role is responsible for both leading a small technical team and actively participating in project work. The Director of Operations is not a purely administrative or oversight role. This position requires direct involvement in managing and executing projects while guiding team performance and development.

The Director of Operations owns, executes, and interprets policies to ensure the successful day-to-day operation of the business group. This role sets the tone and standard for core values, technical excellence, and best practices while driving performance toward defined goals and objectives. The Director is a strategic leader who maintains alignment with Lerch Bates company-wide objectives while standardizing processes across the department.

Project work is focused on the repair, investigation, rehabilitation, and modernization of existing buildings and structures, rather than new ground-up construction. If you are looking for a leadership role where you can lead people, solve complex technical problems, and remain deeply engaged in project delivery, this could be the role for you.

About Lerch Bates:

Lerch Bates (LB) is a global technical consulting firm focused on improving how buildings perform for owners, designers, and the people who use them every day. For more than 75 years we’ve partnered on some of the world’s most complex and high‑profile projects. Today we provide Total Building Performance expertise that pairs Building Science and Building Flow with one integrated team delivery. Our work spans design, construction, investigation, repair, management and modernization with one consistent goal: helping clients make confident, well‑informed decisions in an increasingly complex Built Environment.

We are each 100% equal owners in the LB ESOP, which drives our ownership mindset and shapes everything we do. At Lerch Bates, your expertise matters, your voice carries weight and your work directly contributes to our shared success as OneLB. We invest in professional growth, collaboration, and technical excellence, supporting challenging and meaningful work alongside people who care about getting it right. If you’re motivated by solving real problems, working on impactful projects, and being part of a team that truly owns both the work and the outcome, you’re ready to be more than an employee. You’re ready to be an employee-owner. 

What You’ll Do:

The duties listed below are intended only as illustrations of the various types of work that may be performed in this position. They are not intended to prescribe or restrict the assignments that management may make.

Leadership

• Leads and manages a small, in-office team
• Focuses on the team to identify and implement personal development opportunities, whether technical, project management, or personal.
• Leads, trains, and mentors team members by acting as Project Manager and technical contributors on select projects, while meeting individual utilization expectations.
• Facilitates monthly one-on-one meetings with each direct report using a standardized one-on-one meeting tool.
• Oversees Business Operations Specialist by ensuring contracts are added and updated, bi-weekly internal contracts meetings are held, and periodic client outreach occurs.
• Participates in company-wide initiatives as required

Operations

• Responsible for the successful coordination and hands-on execution of smaller, quick-turnaround projects and larger, highly complex, longer-cycle projects.
• Performs active project work related to existing building investigations, repairs, rehabilitation, and modernization efforts, not new building design or construction.
• Leads or co-leads scheduling resources to achieve individual and team utilization targets as well as revenue goals.
• Reviews Consultant and Specialist level deliverables for content, consistency, and compliance while ensuring reporting standards and delivery timelines.
• Evaluates the two-week lookahead to ensure the team is efficiently deployed and coordinated.
• Provides technical assistance and staffing input on proposals to the Market Development team.
• Creates draft and submits final invoices consistent with timelines provided by accounting.
• Provides high-touch engagement with clients on complex or sensitive projects.
• Builds and maintains strong working relationships with new and existing clients

Strategy

• Anticipates and communicates changes regarding clients, the local market, or industry.
• Develop plans to optimize opportunities or mitigate challenges.
• Generate revenue projections and provide status updates during operations huddles.
• Owns department-specific data updates in the Monthly Town Hall meeting.
• Facilitates monthly progress tracking meetings with the team and reviews progress to monthly goals and current staffing levels.
• Co-leads the annual planning cycle to include revenue and margin targets, service line or market expansion, necessary resources and training, and team development needs.

What You’ll Bring:

• Bachelor's Degree in an Engineering/Architecture-related discipline. 
• Active Architect license (AIA) required
• 8 years of experience in Engineering, Architecture, Construction Management, or Project Management in design, construction, or forensics.
• 2 years of Business unit leadership and management responsibility, including managing staff, group revenue responsibilities, growth strategy, hiring/firing, and business development.
• Understanding of the design and construction process from the cradle to the grave.
• Technically competent and able to effectively communicate and build rapport with and respect for team, clients, co-workers, and subcontractors.
• Ability to effectively coach, develop, and mentor the team.
• Ability to effectively accept coaching and mentoring.
• Must have a practical understanding of building structures.
• Anticipates and plans for changes in client needs, new technology, and industry conditions.
• Demonstrated ability to apply sound discretion and judgment in all situations.
• Excellent written/oral communication skills.
• Ability to read and interpret drawings.
• Flexible, responsive, and confident multi-tasker able to work independently, handle large amounts of information, multiple deadlines, and accommodate shifting priorities.
• High level of financial acumen.
• Must demonstrate a commitment to quality, organization, meticulous attention to detail, and consistency in work product.

Why work with Lerch Bates?

• Competitive Compensation
• Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance – Comprehensive coverage options
• Paid Time Off (PTO) – Includes vacation, sick leave, and personal days; starts at 17 days per year and increases with tenure
• Paid Holidays – 9 company-recognized holidays per year
• Retirement & Stock Programs – 401(k) with up to 6% employer match and 100% employer-provided Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP)
• Short- & Long-Term Disability, Life, and AD&D Insurance – Employer-paid coverage with voluntary options for additional protection
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) – Support for mental health and well-being
• Paid Parental Leave
• Charitable & Volunteer Time Off
• Incentive & Performance-Based Bonuses
• Education & Training Support – Tuition reimbursement and professional development opportunities
• Additional Perks – Birthday bonus, paid business travel, military leave, jury duty, bereavement leave, and optional accident/critical illness coverage

Be more than just an employee…

Lerch Bates is 100% employee-owned! Our employee-owners bring a distinct “we own what we do” brand of technical consulting to every project and partnership. When you work with us, you join a company with an ownership mindset. Expect responsibility, service, and performance in everything we do. So, what does that mean for you? After a certain service time, you are eligible for stock ownership, which essentially works as an additional wealth accumulation and/or retirement account! 

CORE Values: Ownership . Community . Integrity . Respect . Optimism

Working Environment:

This role involves both physical and mental demands and may be performed in various settings, including offices, construction sites, and confined spaces like elevator pits. Tasks often require frequent movement in multiple directions. Lerch Bates will provide reasonable accommodations upon request through Human Resources.

Physical Demands:

This role requires regular sitting, talking, and hearing in meetings and by phone. Employees must navigate tight spaces, climb ladders, move around construction sites, take measurements, and travel by car, air, or rail. Duties may involve working at heights and in confined spaces, using hands for tasks like typing and operating elevator components, and applying up to 30 lbs. of force. Close visual attention is also required.

Mental Demands:

This position requires strong written and verbal communication, problem-solving, and analytical skills. Employees must interpret complex information, apply mathematical and logical reasoning, quickly learn new skills, and manage detailed, multitask workloads under shifting deadlines. Regular interaction with executives, colleagues, clients, and external stakeholders is also expected.

Employment is contingent upon the successful completion of a pre-employment background check and drug test. The drug test includes screening for marijuana, regardless of state or local laws permitting its use. A conditional offer of employment will be rescinded if a candidate fails either the background check or the drug test. This requirement is mandated by federal regulations applicable to our government contracting obligations.

We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by law.