Installation & Project Operations Manager
Company: American Thermal Window Products, Inc.
Location: Niles, Illinois
Job Type: Full-Time
Reports To: Operations Director
FLSA Classification: Exempt, subject to final review based on duties and compensation
Department: Operations / Installation / Project Fulfillment
About American Thermal
American Thermal Window Products, Inc. is a family-owned window, door, and glass solutions company serving residential, commercial, and specialty customers throughout Chicagoland. The Company is committed to quality craftsmanship, dependable customer service, ethical business practices, and operational excellence.
As American Thermal continues to modernize its operations, we are strengthening our post-sale fulfillment process to ensure that every sold job moves through measurement, procurement, production tracking, warehouse readiness, installation, service, and closeout with accuracy, accountability, and clear communication.
Position Summary
The Installation & Project Operations Manager is responsible for leading the full post-sale operational process from accepted sales handoff through completed installation, customer closeout, and service transition. This role ensures that sold projects are properly reviewed, ordered, tracked, staged, scheduled, installed, documented, and completed to protect the customer experience, Company profitability, installer productivity, and operational consistency.
This is a hands-on operations leadership role. The successful candidate must be highly organized, process-driven, technically capable, and comfortable leading both office coordination and field execution. The role requires strong follow-through, documentation discipline, customer judgment, vendor coordination, and the ability to hold internal team members and installation crews accountable to clear standards.
Mission of the Role
The mission of the Installation & Project Operations Manager is to build and manage a predictable, accountable order-to-install operating system so that American Thermal can complete jobs safely, accurately, and profitably, with fewer delays, errors, callbacks, and owner-level interventions.
Key Responsibilities
1. Post-Sale Handoff and Project Readiness
- Own the operational acceptance process for sold jobs once they are submitted by Sales.
- Review sales packets for completeness before order processing begins.
- Confirm that contracts, measurements, detail sheets, product selections, pricing assumptions, customer expectations, deposits, and installation requirements are aligned.
- Identify missing, conflicting, or unclear information and return incomplete packets to Sales with clear written requirements.
- Establish and enforce a job readiness checklist for every project.
- Identify job complexity, risk factors, permit or HOA needs, access issues, building requirements, installation constraints, and customer-specific expectations.
- Ensure Sales, Field Measurement, Procurement, Installation Coordination, Warehouse, and Service functions are aligned before jobs proceed.
2. Procurement Oversight and Orderability Control
- Oversee the product procurement workflow for all installation projects.
- Partner with the part-time procurement support function and/or designated procurement point person to ensure product orders are accurate, timely, and properly documented.
- Ensure each job is orderable before product is purchased.
- Review or assign review of vendor quotes, customer contracts, field measurements, detail sheets, product specifications, and standard-size/cost-saving opportunities.
- Establish second-review controls for high-risk, high-dollar, custom, commercial, complex, or unclear orders.
- Ensure vendor acknowledgments are received, reviewed, logged, and filed.
- Monitor estimated delivery dates, backorders, delayed acknowledgments, manufacturer issues, and product substitutions.
- Ensure procurement issues are escalated promptly to the Operations Director, Sales, Field Measurement, or ownership when needed.
- Protect the Company from avoidable ordering errors, unnecessary material cost, margin leakage, and missed installation deadlines.
3. Installation Scheduling and Production Coordination
- Oversee installation scheduling based on product readiness, crew capacity, customer availability, job complexity, and business priorities.
- Ensure no job is scheduled before it passes the ready-to-schedule gate.
- Partner with the Installation Coordinator to maintain the installation calendar, daily installation sheet, and installer packet process.
- Assign or recommend appropriate installation crews based on skill, availability, job type, geography, customer needs, and project complexity.
- Confirm that installer packets include all required contracts, detail sheets, drawings, completion cards, invoices, warranty documents, special instructions, permits, building requirements, and jobsite notes.
- Ensure installers are informed of scope, customer expectations, job risks, change-order possibilities, and completion requirements before arriving at the jobsite.
- Monitor install-day progress and ensure issues are communicated and resolved promptly.
4. Warehouse, Receiving, Product Staging, and Material Readiness
- Own accountability for the warehouse readiness process, including receiving, verification, product location, staging, and install preparation.
- Ensure incoming product is checked against packing slips, order acknowledgments, and job records.
- Ensure damaged, missing, incorrect, or backordered materials are documented and escalated immediately.
- Ensure product is labeled, organized, and staged by job.
- Ensure next-day installation materials are pulled, verified, and ready before installers arrive.
- Coordinate with field, warehouse, installation, and procurement support to prevent installer downtime caused by missing product, unclear locations, or incomplete staging.
- Establish and maintain process standards for service parts, warranty parts, and installation materials.
5. Fleet, Tools, Equipment, and Field Readiness
- Oversee readiness of vehicles, tools, equipment, ladders, safety gear, and field materials required for installation and service work.
- Coordinate fleet maintenance, repair needs, vehicle readiness, and inspection expectations.
- Ensure vehicle, tool, and equipment issues are documented and escalated.
- Reinforce safe driving, vehicle use, load safety, tool care, and Company property standards.
- Coordinate with the Operations Director on recurring fleet, driver, or equipment issues.
6. Field Quality, Safety, and Site Audits
- Conduct periodic jobsite visits to inspect quality, safety, cleanliness, customer interaction, and adherence to American Thermal standards.
- Confirm that installation crews follow Company expectations, OSHA-related safety standards, customer property protection practices, and manufacturer installation requirements.
- Review jobsite issues such as water infiltration, alignment problems, capping concerns, product damage, access issues, or customer concerns.
- Document findings from field visits and follow up on corrective actions.
- Identify recurring quality issues and recommend training, process changes, installer changes, or vendor escalation.
7. Customer Communication and Problem Resolution
- Serve as an escalation point for complex installation-related customer issues.
- Ensure customers receive timely, professional updates regarding scheduling, delays, material issues, damaged product, backorders, and installation concerns.
- Protect receivables by proactively addressing customer concerns that may result in held balances.
- Coordinate with Sales, Service, Accounting, and ownership when customer issues require concession, credit, rework, or escalation.
- Maintain a calm, professional, solution-oriented approach with frustrated customers.
8. Service and Warranty Transition
- Oversee the handoff from installation to service when post-installation issues arise.
- Partner with the Service Coordinator to distinguish between recent installation issues, warranty claims, paid service, product defects, installation errors, and possible replacement opportunities.
- Ensure recent-installation service issues are documented, assigned, tracked, and resolved.
- Support the Service Coordinator with technical escalation, parts identification, field review, or installer accountability as needed.
- Review open service trends to identify recurring installation, product, vendor, or communication failures.
9. Team Leadership and Accountability
- Lead, direct, coach, and hold accountable office and field team members involved in installation, coordination, service, procurement support, warehouse readiness, and field execution.
- Set clear expectations for follow-through, documentation, timeliness, customer communication, safety, and teamwork.
- Lead daily or regular operational huddles to review current installs, procurement blockers, product readiness, schedule changes, service issues, and urgent escalations.
- Conduct regular pipeline and service reviews with the Installation Coordinator, Service Coordinator, procurement support, and Operations Director.
- Build a culture of ownership, professionalism, accuracy, and proactive problem-solving.
- Escalate performance, conduct, or process issues to the Operations Director with documentation and recommended corrective action.
10. Systems, Documentation, Reporting, and Continuous Improvement
- Ensure accurate and timely updates in CRM, job tracking systems, spreadsheets, folders, shared drives, or other approved systems.
- Ensure job records are organized, complete, and current.
- Create and enforce standard operating checklists for handoff, orderability, procurement, receiving, staging, scheduling, installation, closeout, and service transition.
- Track and report key operational metrics to the Operations Director.
- Identify bottlenecks, root causes, recurring errors, and process improvement opportunities.
- Help transition the department away from memory-based execution toward documented, repeatable operating discipline.
Key Performance Indicators
Performance may be measured through the following:
- Percentage of sales packets accepted on first submission.
- Number of unplaced orders and average order placement cycle time.
- Vendor acknowledgment timeliness and accuracy.
- Ordering error rate.
- Percentage of jobs with accurate expected delivery dates.
- Percentage of next-day jobs staged before installer arrival.
- Installation schedule adherence.
- First-time-right installation rate.
- Number of failed installs or repeat visits.
- Service issues caused by installation or ordering errors.
- Average time from product receipt to installation scheduling.
- Customer balance holds caused by installation or service issues.
- Open service backlog and aging.
- Job closeout timeliness.
- Installer downtime due to missing product, materials, or instructions.
- Field quality/safety audit results.
Required Qualifications
- 5+ years of experience in construction operations, remodeling, window and door installation, specialty trades, project fulfillment, field operations, or related industries.
- 2+ years of experience leading teams, coordinating field crews, managing subcontractors, or overseeing operational workflows.
- Strong understanding of residential and/or commercial construction processes, installation sequencing, field measurements, jobsite constraints, and customer-facing project execution.
- Demonstrated ability to manage schedules, materials, vendors, crews, service issues, and customer expectations.
- Strong organizational skills and proven ability to maintain accurate documentation.
- Ability to read contracts, measurements, work orders, product specifications, drawings, detail sheets, and vendor acknowledgments.
- Comfort using CRM, scheduling, spreadsheet, email, and job tracking systems.
- Valid driver’s license and acceptable driving record if driving is required.
- Ability to visit jobsites, warehouses, customer locations, and field crews as needed.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience in the window, door, glass, exterior remodeling, building products, or home improvement industry.
- Familiarity with product ordering portals, vendor acknowledgments, service parts, warranty processes, and manufacturer lead times.
- Experience with MarketSharp or similar CRM/project management systems.
- Experience working in a small or family-owned business environment.
- Knowledge of OSHA-related safety expectations, safe material handling, ladders, glass handling, fleet safety, and jobsite risk control.
- Experience managing subcontractor installers or mixed W2/subcontractor field teams.
Required Competencies
- Operational discipline and attention to detail.
- Strong written and verbal communication.
- Calm problem-solving under pressure.
- Process ownership and follow-through.
- Customer service judgment.
- Financial and margin awareness.
- Vendor and installer management.
- Team leadership and accountability.
- Ability to enforce standards respectfully but firmly.
- Strong documentation habits.
- Comfort working in a changing, improvement-focused environment.
Physical and Work Environment Requirements
- Work is performed in an office, warehouse, showroom, vehicle, and customer jobsite environment.
- Must be able to walk jobsites, inspect installations, climb stairs, enter warehouse areas, and occasionally lift or move materials within safe limits.
- Must be able to communicate by phone, email, CRM, and in person throughout the workday.
- May be exposed to construction environments, weather, dust, noise, glass, tools, vehicles, and active installation sites.
- Must follow Company safety rules and require others to do the same.
Pay: $75,000.00 - $95,000.00 per year
Benefits:
Experience:
- Construction: 5 years (Required)
- Leading a Installation team: 5 years (Preferred)
Ability to Commute:
- Niles, IL 60714 (Required)
Work Location: In person
