SumCo Eco-Contracting

DESCRIPTION

ZRG has been engaged to recruit a Chief Operating Officer for SumCo Eco-Contracting.  

For more details about this opportunity, please view the position profile by clicking on the cover image below. Note: A complete position description will be provided to interested and qualified candidates.

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POSITION DESCRIPTION:

The Chief Operating Officer (COO) will partner with ownership, executive peers, and operations staff to make SumCo Eco a best-in-class, self-performing ecological and resilience construction firm.  This will be achieved by optimizing systems and utilization, managing all company operations through rapid growth cycles, and supporting project teams through bid-manage-execute project delivery, freeing the CEO/Owner to focus on vision, client relationships, and growth.  The COO will:

• Provide strategic, C-suite view of company size, structure evolution, and performance management;
• Support business development;
• Own estimating, project management, project construction, and safety;
• Drive expanded utilization of HCSS HeavyBid, implement HCSSHeavyJob, and identify and implement additional efficiency tools;
• Team with Human Resources Director on recruiting, onboarding, training, workforce development, and employee success;
• Standardize company processes (SOPs).

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES:

Estimating & Pre construction

• Modernize and maintain HCSS HeavyBid: update code structures, cost databases, production rates, workflows, and other scale-appropriate best practices.
• Standardize bidding SOPs (overhead, add-ons, contingencies) to eliminate variation and ensure consistent margin targets.
• Own the end-to-end bid process: oversee bid packs, reviews, and on-time submissions.
• Manage current estimating and pre qualification Coordinator, and plan, hire and manage additional estimating staff as company requirements grow.
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Operations Management

• Oversee and support contracts management, including reviewing contracts, pre construction activities, submittals, change order management, claims and resolutions, and closeout.
• Lead weekly scheduling meetings; own resource allocation with the General Superintendent across crews, equipment, and sub contractors.
• Partner with the General Superintendent to ensure execution, schedule adherence, and field productivity.
• Own Safety with the General Superintendent:training cadence, self-inspections, compliance tracking, and continuous improvement.
• Track and optimize project delivery to maximize earned gross profit.
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Process & Technology Implementation

• Implement HeavyJob for integration withHeavyBid, field data collection, time/equipment capture, job-costing, and production review and management.
• Develop and enforce SOPs across Operations,Estimating, and Project Controls; audit adoption and outcomes.
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Human Resources & Training

• Partner with HR to build training pathways, define roles & responsibilities, establish mentoring, and integrateon boarding.
• Create competency matrices for estimators, project managers, superintendents, and foremen; link training to progression.
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Business Development & Client Relations

• Participate in Go/No-Go and Bid/ No-Bid decisions, proposal reviews, and debriefs; act as executive sponsor for key clients.
• Support market development: nurture repeat business, evaluate diversification opportunities, and represent the company in strategic pursuits and joint ventures.

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Financial & Performance Management

• Own operational KPIs and monthly reviews:safety performance, EBITDA, cash flow, revenue growth, margin, backlog, and bid-hit ratio.
• Establish project controls discipline: change management, cost-to-complete forecasting, earned value, and corrective actions.

Strategic Leadership

• Provide a strategic C-suite view on optimal company size, organizational design, and operating model; align annual plans with long-term objectives.
• Develop policy and implement strategic initiatives that enable growth without losing the existing entrepreneurial culture within the organization and Team Leads.
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ABOUT SUMCO:

SumCo Eco-Contracting is a specialized civil and ecological construction firm founded in 2006, servicing all of New England from their Wakefield, MA headquarters and servicing New Jersey, Delaware, and eastern Pennsylvania from their Jackson, NJ regional office. The company focuses on ecological improvement and environmental construction projects, serving public, private, and nonprofit owners in collaboration with engineers, scientists, regulators, and other stakeholders. Their core mission centers on building resilient, sustainable landscapes and infrastructure that benefit communities and natural systems alike, tackling work that restores, enhances, or protects ecological function.

The breadth of services offered by SumCoEco-Contracting spans ecosystem restoration and mitigation, dam removal and river restoration, coastal stabilization, infrastructure and resiliency, marine dredging and construction, park development, native plant community establishment, and site remediation.

These services reflect the firm’s emphasis on nature-based solutions and environmentally focused construction, from fresh water wetlands and salt marsh projects to boardwalks, bridges, storm water systems, and contaminated soil remediation. Their crews are largely self-performing, meaning SumCo directly executes much of the construction work, sub contracting commoditized sub trade work (paving, CIP concrete, electrical, trucking, etc.) and partnering with engineering and consulting firms for permitting and design.

Over the years, SumCo Eco-Contracting has expanded its capabilities and reach, including through strategic additions of experienced ecological construction teams such as NETCO and The DawsonCorporation, which broadened their expertise in coastal and habitat restoration services. The company has completed hundreds of projects—such as dam removals, wetland restorations, river connectivity work, and infrastructure improvements—that underscore its commitment to enhancing environmental resilience and functional landscapes.

SumCo’s work has earned industry recognition and reflects a sustained focus on collaborative, high-impact ecological construction throughout the region.
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LOCATION:

Wakefield, MA
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QUALIFICATIONS:

•  Organizational Effectiveness: maximize profitability without compromising safety or quality; re-engineer processes and resource allocation.
• Strategic Proficiency: plan and execute short- and long-term business plans; strong judgment, technical skills, and operational focus.
• Business Development: Partner with Chief of Partnerships & Project development to identify and pursue opportunities in core markets; serve as key client contact and liaison during major pursuits.
• Leadership Ability: decisive, motivational coach who excels at hiring, developing, and retaining talent; strong communication and presentation skills.
• Technical Aptitude: project review expertise; project controls, data analysis, and Microsoft Office proficiency; ability to diagnose and solve operational challenges proactively.
• Experience with HCSS HeavyBid and HeavyJob, and implementation of job-costing and estimating integrations.

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EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Construction Management, or a related technical discipline; Advanced degrees (MBA, JD, Masters, etc.) are beneficial.
• 10–15 years in civil/heavy civil construction with at least 5 years in a executive operations leadership or divisional leadership role; prior company-wide or business unit P&L responsibility.
•  Demonstrated safety leadership and a track record of progressive field and executive operations responsibility.

TRAVEL EXPECTATIONS

• Based at headquarters inWakefield, MA, with regular travel to job sites, clients, and partners; approximately 25–40% daytime travel as required.

PERFORMANCE METRICS:

• Scheduling efficiency and resource utilization across projects.
• Successful implementation and adoption of HeavyBid/HeavyJob; accurate job-costing and forecasting.
• Standardized and audited bidding SOPs; improved estimating consistency and bid-hit ratio.
• Safety training completion, inspection cadence, and incident rate improvement.
• EBITDA, cash flow, revenue growth, margin, backlog, and other strategic metrics aligned with annual plans.
• Talent development: training pathway adoption, competency advancement, retention.

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REPORTING RELATIONSHIPS

• Direct Reports may include:Estimating/Pre construction Lead, General Superintendent, Health & Safety staff, and Team Leads; close partnership with HR.
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OTHER THEMES & LANGUAGE THAT RESONATES

• Critical role for company maturing from a founder-led organization to anExecutive-managed organization, resulting in a sustainable group independent of the founders and owners.
• Preference for an Operations person who has contributed to a company’s growth with a similar scope (self-performing civil, infrastructure, highway, marine, etc. heavy construction) from SumCo’s current size and state to their future size and state.
• Central Services / Coaching culture for the Team “clients” vs. a top-down“boss” / “Director” culture.
• “Hands-on and elbow-deep” in company and systems growth.
•  Participates in strategic planning and company goal setting as a member of the Executive Management Team.

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