There's more than one path to leadership in the construction industry — but behind every high-performing company is a strong Director of Operations. This role offers a unique opportunity to shape strategy, align teams and processes, and drive performance across projects. But how does someone go from managing individual projects to leading an entire division's operations?

As career advisors across every sector of the construction industry, we've seen firsthand the many ways professionals advance. Our executive recruiters are committed to helping candidates reach their goals — whether they're advancing from the field, progressing along a project management track, or setting their sights on the C-suite.

That's why we created our Career Pathways Series, where industry experts share their unique perspectives and practical advice for professionals pursuing specific roles. Previous articles have explored becoming a Senior Estimator, Senior Project Manager, and Project Executive.

For this article, we sat down with Mark Jones, Executive Vice President and National Sales Manager at Kimmel & Associates, to discuss career advice for those seeking to become a Director of Operations. Here's what he told us:

Let's start with the basics: Is there a "normal" pathway from an early construction career to a Director of Operations role?

Mark: There are two common paths: going to school or wearing the tools.

If you get a degree in a relevant field – construction, engineering, etc. – you usually start as a Project Engineer or Assistant Project Manager. From there, you float to Project Manager, Senior Project Manager, and sometimes Project Executive, but not always. Senior Project Managers can jump straight to Operations Manager roles when they've had oversight over multiple Project Managers and multiple projects. That's somewhat tangential to what operations folks do.

Generally, preconstruction, estimating, and business development are separate from operations.

"Wearing the tools" means coming up through the field, progressing from Apprentice to Journeyman, Foreman, Superintendent (open shop or union), and finally into Director of Field Operations – which is basically a General Superintendent role on steroids. So, that's still an operational role, but being in the field doesn't necessarily limit you to always being on that side of the operational aspects of the organization. You can make the move into a general Director of Operations role from there.

What kind of timeline do those pathways take?

Mark: It's about the same for both – I'd say a median of 15 years. As always, there are exceptions to that, but as a general rule, with wearing the tools you're looking at about 5 years until you become a Foreman, a few more to Superintendent, a few more to General Superintendent, and then a few more until you reach the operations level. With the school path, it's usually at least 2 years at the Project Engineer or APM level, then maybe 3 to 4 at PM, and at least 4 at SPM, so even if you skip the Project Executive role and move straight to Director of Operations from SPM, that's pushing 15 years.

Is one path better or more sought-after than the other?

Mark: It's honestly a flip of the coin as to whether a degree is "nice to have" or "must have" with our clients. As a general rule, if the company is public, that increases the need for a degree in operations leaders. Once you get past the Senior Project Manager, degrees do become more desirable – but there are also CEOs of billion-dollar companies who started out wearing the tools, so there are exceptions to that. So I'd say the degree route is usually better, but you can absolutely get to a Director of Operations role without a degree.

In your experience, what are the most important qualifications or experiences that hiring managers want in a Director of Operations candidate?

Mark: There are basically four things:

1. Project Types: The short answer is, hiring managers want someone who has built what the company builds. So a candidate needs to have project types in their background that are directly relatable to the target company's area of expertise, whether that's healthcare, schools, waste/wastewater, pharma, etc. You're not really going to see someone bring in a Director of Operations with high-rise condos in their background to oversee pharmacy plants, because that person would have a harder time commanding respect from the guys in the field without a detailed knowledge of what they're building.
2. Project Size: In the same vein, companies want someone who has built projects of similar sizes to their sweet spot. So a company that does work in the $2.5 million to $6 million range is going to be looking for someone with experience in that range, while a company that builds $50 million to $100 million projects isn't going to want someone who's only been building in the single digits. I've heard a lot over the years, "It's all the same process – a $100 million build is as easy as $10 million." And that may be true – I'm not a builder – but I can tell you, that's just not how our clients think.
3. Company Size: Similar to the previous points, companies want an operations leader with a background in a similar-sized company. There can be some discrepancy in size, but a $2 billion company isn't going to want someone without experience at or close to that level. Fair or not, a $200 million company isn't going to want someone coming in from a $20 million company – they view it as apples and oranges.
4. Solid Career Progression: The last thing is a solid career progression – they want to see steady growth. For example, it might hurt you if you were in a Senior Project Manager role and then make a career move and step back to Project Manager. There are absolutely legitimate reasons where that might happen – new ownership, a move to a much larger company, etc. But at a minimum, it'll raise questions that the candidate should be prepared to address about what happened there.

So, what advice do you give someone early in their career (on either career path) who has their eye on a Director of Operations role in the future?

Mark: Start by having a clear idea of where you want your career to go: Director of Operations is a lofty goal but it's not the end of some people's career potential. Then ask yourself three very important questions:

1. Can I get there?
2. How do I get there?
3. Do I want to get there here?

Be honest with yourself and assess your current situation carefully. Are you happy at your current company? What is it about that company that makes you feel (or not feel) that you can meet your career goals there? Then identify any glass ceilings in your way: For example, are you a Senior Project Manager currently but the Director of Operations is two years older than you, or that person is the son of the founder? There are a hundred reasons why there could be a glass ceiling blocking your path, so be aware of those.

If you do feel like you're in a place where you can see yourself reaching your goals, talk to your direct supervisor or someone at the Vice President level or above. Be direct with them: "I'm at this level [whether that's APM, Superintendent, etc.], and I don't want to end my career here. I think this is a great organization, so what do I need to do? Do I need to go back to school? Do I need to have some initials after my name – PE, CPM, etc.? What helps me grow in this organization?" You can also look at the LinkedIn profiles of people who are at the level you aspire to – what's in the background? What path did they take to the Director of Operations role?

Keep in mind, this process requires a lot of self-awareness about your own goals and your current organization.

What about candidates who don't see a future with their current organization, or who just want to keep their options open?

Mark: You can't grow your career if you're not happy. So keep your options open. Pursue relationships outside of your company but within your industry. Join associations, get to know people at your competitors – you can even meet people at bid meetings or golf outings. There are endless ways to connect with new people. Build those relationships.

And then have conversations, and don't be shy about connecting with someone whose career you admire. Find out how they managed their careers: "You've done a really nice job in your career – how did you get there?" And then listen carefully and store all of that information in your memory bank. It never hurts to have conversations and build relationships in the market, regardless of whether you end up staying in your current organization or pursuing other opportunities.

We are grateful to Mark for sharing his insights on career pathways to Director of Operations in construction. We'll be back soon with more of our Career Pathways series. Let us know if you have specific construction careers you'd like to learn more about!