Current Opportunities

Senior Director of Operations | Gordon Russell Limited

The Organization

Gordon Russell Limited has been in operation for over 90 years. Their products reach nearly all Industries; Forestry, Marine, Mining, Agriculture, Railways, Oil & Gas and more. Representing industry leading manufacturer’s such as Eaton Airflex, Radicon, Bonfiglioli, Cone Drive and Trackmobile; Gordon Russell Limited has the inventory, service’s and product knowledge to support their customers.    Gordon Russell Limited is a family-owned Canadian business focused on the sale of engineered products to Industry in Western Canada and the US Pacific Northwest. The commitment to their customers and loyalty to their product brands have given them success in the market for over 90 years.

Gordon Russell Limited’s quality products can be found in essential application throughout Canada and USA’s Pacific Northwest resource based economy – from Railway, Marine, Forest Products, Transportation, Mining, Oil & Gas, Agriculture, Pharmaceuticals, Packaging and Food & Beverage. With Mechanical Power Transmission and Railcar Handling their proven strengths, other products that include Hoists & Winches, Linear Motion, and Radio Remote Controls help broaden their scope of customers and expertise.   Gordon Russell Limited provides Experienced Industrial Solutions.

Website:   www.gordonrussell.com

 

The Opportunity

Reports to:	Shareholders
Direct Reports:	4 – Director of Service, Director of Sales, Accounting Manager & Safety Advisor (internal and/or external)
Location:	Delta, BC

 

Mandate

The Senior Director of Operations will advance the strategic direction of Gordon Russell Limited as the operational lead for the company, providing the business and financial leadership the company needs to advance its growth objectives with sustained profitability.  The Senior Director will drive a unified commitment to operational excellence and accountability across regional offices and functions, from staffing and operational planning to the daily delivery of GRL’s services. The Senior Director will mentor and guide the GRL team in implementing systems and processes that will make the company more functional, responsive, and competitive. Additionally, the Senior Director will champion GRL’s safety program, fostering a culture of safety, efficiency, and quality.

Gordon Russell Limited’s core values are:

• Resourceful – Our efforts don’t stop until our customers and people are satisfied
• Teamwork – We win and lose together as a team
• Do the Right Thing – We put ourselves in the shoes of others, success and honest work isn’t easy

Gordon Russell Limited’s Purpose | Cause | Passion is:  “We keep customers moving forward”

 

Key Accountabilities

Business & Financial Planning, Reporting, Budgeting

• Together with the leadership team, drives the annual strategic planning process; based on EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System), develops quarterly goals and objectives and associated metrics for measuring results.
• Reports regularly to the shareholders on financial results and trend analysis, supported by comparative financial statements and summary reports and forecasts.

• Facilitates and directs the preparation of annual operating budgets (and capital requirements where needed) by coordinating the budgeting process and providing advice, analysis and assistance to the leadership team.
• Provides advice and direction to the shareholders in the review and refinement of policies and practices for pricing of services and equipment, ensuring healthy and desired profit margins are achieved on all proposals.
• Creates business cases required to analyze and assess feasibility of operational and/or capital plans and expansions along with appropriate business planning.

• Develops and implements risk management policies and plans that protect the company; including, but not limited to providing for appropriate insurance.

 Core Business Operations

• Brings quality controls and documentation to the order fulfillment process, ensuring standardized workflows deliver accurate, transparent tracking of all aspects of every sale, from proposal to invoicing and receipt of payment.

• Works with the Finance team to approve and support resolution of issues/discrepancies between invoice and order to facilitate on time payment to vendors and suppliers.
• Performs ongoing inventory planning and meets regularly with Service Managers to anticipate demand/supply changes and what needs to be ordered to maintain service levels and quantity pricing discounts across all locations.
• Ensures the procurement process is aligned with the overall accounting system and controls.
• Contributes to continuous improvement opportunities in all aspects of logistics and supply chain management (processes, relationships) across all company locations and facilities.

 People Leadership

• As the leader of the senior management team, coaches, mentors, and fosters alignment of the team with corporate vision, goals, and values. Facilitates effective team meetings with a clear process for agenda setting, accountability for action items, and follow up.
• Acts as the “running mate” to the shareholders and Directors, fostering a collaborative relationship that provides cohesive leadership and decision making for the organization, and facilitates the smooth transition/exit of senior shareholders.

• As branch liaison, actively supports the successful functioning and self-direction of all GRL teams; works to prevent and solve problems that may arise from working relationships among individuals and/or teams or locations.

• Supervises and mentors the administration team, meets with them regularly to address issues and concerns, promote team work, conduct process reviews, and goal setting; ensures resources are in place for successful performance of the work.
• Develops and maintains effective relationships with external parties as needed such as external accountants, financial institutions, insurance underwriters, consultants, suppliers and other providers of external services

Human Resources Management

• Works with the Leadership Team to evolve the organizational structure for business growth. Ensures the hiring process is effective in sourcing and screening for best-fit candidates and that new hires are supported by an effective onboarding process. Ensures that required terminations are handled properly and fairly.
• Leads the company’s staff planning and forecasting activities and develops an ongoing recruitment strategy that ensures all teams and offices are appropriately staffed to meet growing business needs.
• Ensures all GRL employees receive regular performance feedback, and have meaningful conversations with their manager/supervisor on their progress and satisfaction at work, goal setting, and skill development.
• Works with the Directors to identify and implement training and development activities and channels that facilitate learning of required skills at the mastery level required.
• Ensures human resource policies and procedures are reviewed and updated regularly or as needed.

Technology and IT Systems

• Leads the evaluation of IT infrastructure systems and the core business software required to achieve efficiency and effectiveness of company operations.
• In consultation with the Directors, IT Applications Support, and external IT provider, ensures technology management and decision-making is optimized to best support operational effectiveness, financial management, and business growth.
• Ensures user security practices are customized to provide appropriate levels of information access.

Safety Leadership

• Manages and upholds all aspects of the company safety program in-house or through external safety advisors. Enrols all staff in the importance of maintaining a zero-loss time safety environment by communicating safety success, near misses, observations, and trends.
• Ensures that “housekeeping” disciplines are maintained and improvements are made where necessary.
• Ensures that company rules and procedures regarding behaviour, quality, shipping and receiving and health and safety are adhered to and if necessary, applies appropriate disciplinary procedures to resolve.

Facilities Management

• Ensures all physical facilities, offices, and shop are optimally maintained and that plans and budgets are in place for ongoing upgrades and improvements.
• Administers building leases, insurance, and building maintenance services (groundskeeping, janitorial, HVAC, etc).

 

First Year Deliverables / Measures of Success

By the end of the first month:

• Understands the Gordon Russell Limited business, its philosophy, corporate structure, key drivers, the sales cycle and how business is conducted.
• Familiar with the EOS process and status of current “rocks”, goals, near term objectives and long term goals.
• Established working relationships with the shareholders and administration team, understands their work and work flow, has set up ways of communicating between them that is building trust and confidence.
• Conducted a complete review of the company’s accounting and administrative operations; making initial recommendations for streamlining processes.
• Assessed current IT infrastructure and made recommendations for ongoing IT support, upgrades and improvements where needed.

By the end of month three:

• Implementation of order fulfillment procedures is well underway; the administration team are being trained and mentored in using new procedures to be more efficient and effective.

• Reporting to the Leadership Team on monthly financial statements/results.
• Creating reports for ownership to better manage the business, such as reports for sales, rentals, inventory, and identifying areas for improved measurement and control.
• Completed assessment of individual branch operations, facilities, staffing requirements.
• Safety program implementation in process with identified resources

 By the end of month six:

• Significant improvements have been made to the financial reporting, and a plan is in place for continuous improvement based on new reporting tools available.
• Leading weekly/monthly meetings with the leadership team, including reporting and analysis of financial results, administrative and customer service operations.

 By the end of the first year:

• The company’s financial and accounting practices are being managed in a way that complete, accurate and timely reporting is a regular occurrence, and that ongoing financial and operational needs are being met and long term financial and capital planning is in place.
• Communication with staff is clear, open, and frequent, and encourages discussion of ways to continuously improve the way the company operates.
• All members of the GRL team will have the training and resources to do their work at a high level, and are actively engaged in their work and aligned with the growth objectives of the company.

 

Candidate Profile

The successful candidate will be an accomplished operations leader with experience in a privately held, multi-branch service organization, reporting to ownership; experience in a product and service driven industrial-based business is a definite asset. Other elements of experience and attributes include:

Education:

• A post-secondary degree is required, preferably supported by ongoing professional development through professional associations or support groups, course work, conferences and the like.

 Experience & Qualifications:

• Driven by a proactive, can-do approach to operations that supports business growth. Able to develop the buy-in to implement changes needed to enhance operational performance.
• Well versed in creating annual plans and budgets and contingency plans to meet department goals.
• Experience in analyzing various business and financial requirements (P/L responsibility), highly skilled in developing and implementing metrics to measure, monitor, analyze and report on performance. Develops, analyzes, and creates insights from financial and operational data.
• A broadly skilled leader able to act as a “running mate” to ownership, fostering a collaborative environment that builds cohesion across the organization, including open and frequent communication at all levels.
• A bias for action and taking the initiative to move projects forward quickly.
• Technology savvy with extensive ERP experience.

Competencies and Attributes:

• Leadership: The willingness and proven ability to mentor peers and direct reports; fully engaged in working with and through others to achieve results. Demonstrated ability to interact with and influence a variety of cross-functional teams, customers and business partners. The ability to demonstrate equal amounts of big picture thinking with an appreciation for the front line and day-to-day operational issues and events; demonstrates sound judgment in determining what to focus on, how to respond, who to involve.
• Accountability and Performance Management: Understands the need to preserve the best of an entrepreneurial, relational, loyalty-based culture while bringing the benefits of strong leadership focused on performance and results; able to instill accountability across the organization.
• Communication Style: A skilled communicator who ensures information flows freely up, down, and across the organization, is open to feedback from all levels. Relational and at the same time fosters a culture of accountability and business discipline. Skilled in dealing with adversarial or confrontational situations; respectful of the views of others and able to interact constructively in tough settings.

Location & Travel

• Based out of the Delta, BC head office.
• Travel to Prince George and Red Deer locations at a designated frequency will also be required.

Key Relationships and Interactions

• Reports to the Shareholders
• Direct Reports include: Director of Service, Director of Sales, Accounting Manager, Safety Advisor (internal and/or external)
• Key internal interactions: administrative staff, shipping/receiving, Alberta Provincial Administrator, Prince George Branch Manager
• Key external interactions: external accountant, IT service provider, banks and other financial institutions, government entities (ex. WorkSafe in AB and BC), customers, suppliers, professional and industry contacts

 

The Compensation

An excellent compensation package awaits the successful candidate.

 

Equal Opportunity

Gordon Russell Limited is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion and recognizes that a diverse team benefits and is essential to service excellence.  Gordon Russell Limited welcomes applications from all qualified individuals and encourage women, members of racialized communities, indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, and persons of any sexual orientation or gender identity to confidentially self-identify at time of application.  In accordance with the provincial legislation, accommodation will be provided by Gallagher and Gordon Russell Limited throughout the recruitment, selection and/or assessment process, upon request, to applicants with disabilities. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply.

 

---

How to Apply:

Please send your resume in Word or PDF format to: vancouver@optimumtalent.com. Copy and Paste the following job title and code and place it in the subject line of your email so we can identify the job and confirm receipt of your application:
A026406 (AUFX-745787) Senior Director of Operations | Gordon Russell Limited - BC - Vancouver and Area (OTIAPPLY)

Please note that only those candidates meeting the selection criteria, established by our client, will be contacted further. Although we may not contact you directly for this particular role, all applications will be reviewed as we would like to consider you for future opportunities that may be appropriate. We encourage you to continue to visit our website at optimumtalent.com as our opportunities are updated on a regular basis.