Business Operations Manager, Architecture & Interior Design

As a Business Operations Manager at Ware Malcomb, you will serve as a trusted partner to office and studio leadership, helping drive the success, growth, and operational excellence of the practice. You will provide strategic and day-to-day support across team management, staffing, project delivery, and business operations, ensuring the office is positioned to meet both current and future goals. Leveraging your expertise in business management and project operations, you will collaborate with leaders and multidisciplinary teams to foster an engaged, high-performing environment while contributing to the overall success of the office and firm.

Your Role

• Partners with the office and studio leader(s) when assessing business operations based on a sound comprehension of the office financials, project portfolio, and practice fundamentals.
• Partners with the office and studio leader(s) to develop an org chart and discusses future position movements, hiring needs, or staffing loans to define each org’s road map based on the office financials, skill sets, and project types.
• Partners with the office and studio leader(s) to vetting candidates, interviewing, and hiring.
• Collaborates with the regional leader and regional business manager to create the weekly forecast update and action plan to business management leadership.
• Reviews all proposals and pursuits in collaboration with the office and group leaders and maintains the opportunity forecast to monitor incoming work. Business operations managers ensure project fees are both competitive with market rates and the scope is achievable via work plan in Project Planner that’s agreed upon by all parties involved.
• Works in tandem with the regional business operations manager to reassign staff to other offices and/or assist the office/group leader for staffing adjustments to achieve a balance forecast.
• Reviews and stamp and sign construction documents in the office.
• Reviews the billing drafts completed by the project managers and compares against the forecasts, prior to submitting to accounting.
• Ensures work plans in Project Planner are being developed by project managers and studio leader(s) leader while generating proposals, and monitors the Project Planners so that staffing correlates with revenue to maintain a minimum of 15% profit margin.
• Conducts weekly meetings with all project managers to review the Project Planner, Forecast updates, QA/QC process, project awareness reports, accounts receivable progress on any invoices over 80 days, client or consultant issues, and resource team status
• Develops and monitors a strategic business plan.
• Builds strong relationships and regularly utilize and connects with corporate enterprise team leaders (TPS, architecture design, interior design, accounting, marketing, IT, etc.), to discuss project performance to deliver the best service results.
• Responsible for ensuring a high level of client service that results in repeat business by implementing an effective QA/QC process for every project.
• Be a technical resource to staff.
• Be alert for HR issues and discuss with your office and group leader.
• Foster a strong team atmosphere with a positive attitude and good morale.
• Responsible for all training across the office including technical, processes, software, financial management, and project management.
• Attends the annual Business Management Summit and disseminates the information to office staff.
• Discusses any liability concerns on projects with office and studio leaders.

Qualifications

• Preferred equivalent of a bachelor’s degree in architecture, interior design, or civil engineering
• 8 years of practice experience and two years of project management experience leading successful project teams, inclusive of resource teams or equivalent business operations experience.
• Excellent communication skills