CONSTRUCTION OPERATIONS DIRECTOR

ABOUT OVID GROUP

OVID Group is one of Ethiopia's premier construction and development conglomerates, driving large-scale infrastructure, real estate, and national development projects. As part of our 2026 strategic transformation, we have established a new, centralized Project and Performance Council (PPC) to enhance governance, performance monitoring, and execution excellence across our six key subsidiaries: OVID Construction, OVID Real Estate, Kavod Commercial, OVID Road, OVID Aluminum Formwork, and OVID Respan Design. The Council operates with 65 professionals across Leadership, Construction Operations Directorate, and Engineering Services Directorate, including a state-of-the-art Project Control Situation Room. We are seeking highly skilled professionals to join this new council and help us deliver projects that shape the nation.

ABOUT THE JOB:

The Construction Operations Director is a pivotal leadership role within the newly formed Project and Performance Council, reporting directly to the Deputy CEO - PPC. You will be responsible for the hands-on oversight of construction execution and operational performance across OVID's entire portfolio of projects, valued at over 100 Billion ETB. Your primary mandate is to ensure that all projects are delivered on time, within budget, and to the highest quality and safety standards by directly monitoring site activities, coordinating operational efforts across six subsidiaries, and driving systematic productivity improvements.

Job Summary

Location: Addis Ababa, with frequent travel to project sites

Deadline: March 19th, 2026

Career Level: Executive / Director

Employment Type: Full-time

Number of People Required: 1

Reports to: Deputy CEO - Project and Performance Council

Supervises: Project Performance Monitoring Manager, Site Monitoring Team Leader, Lean Construction Manager

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Strategic Operational Leadership:

• Translate the strategic objectives of the Deputy CEO and Group CEO into actionable operational plans for the Construction Operations Directorate, comprising three units with 44 personnel.

• Develop and implement standard operating procedures for construction execution, monitoring, and reporting across all subsidiaries to ensure consistency and best practice sharing.

• Chair regular operational coordination meetings with project managers and subsidiary construction heads to review progress, address bottlenecks, and align resources.

• Provide strategic input into the annual and quarterly business planning process, particularly regarding construction capacity, resource forecasting, and operational risk.

• Participate in the 17-member Executive Management Team, contributing operational expertise to group-wide strategic decisions.

2. Site Performance Management & Oversight:

• Lead and direct the Site Monitoring and Field Coordination Unit, including direct supervision of the Team Leader and oversight of 31 Field Monitoring Engineers (Council Delegates) deployed across all active projects.

• Establish and enforce a rigorous site monitoring protocol that ensures independent, accurate, and real-time verification of physical progress, quality, and safety.

• Personally conduct regular, unannounced site visits to high-priority or troubled projects to assess conditions firsthand and validate reports from the field team.

• Analyze consolidated site reports to distinguish between isolated project issues and systemic operational problems requiring group-level intervention.

• Ensure that the Council maintains "eyes-on" capability for every project, eliminating reliance on potentially biased project-level reporting.

3. Operational Bottleneck Resolution:

• Proactively identify operational bottlenecks, resource conflicts (e.g., formwork, equipment, labor), and coordination challenges that span multiple projects or subsidiaries.

• Lead a "tiger team" approach to resolving critical bottlenecks, convening the necessary experts and decision-makers to rapidly deploy solutions.

• Interface directly with subsidiary CEOs to resolve cross-company dependencies and ensure seamless collaboration on shared projects.

• Escalate unresolved, high-impact operational issues to the Deputy CEO with clear recommendations for executive action.

• Maintain a central log of operational issues and track the effectiveness of resolution efforts.

4. Productivity & Lean Construction:

• Oversee the Construction Productivity and Lean Management Unit, setting ambitious but achievable productivity improvement targets for the portfolio.

• Champion the adoption of Lean Construction principles (such as the Last Planner System, 5S, and root cause analysis) across all projects, moving from theoretical knowledge to practical, on-site implementation.

• Review productivity analyses from the unit to identify the most impactful areas for intervention and authorize pilot programs for new construction methods or workflows.

• Drive a culture of continuous improvement by sharing productivity success stories and lessons learned across the organization.

• Set annual productivity improvement goals and track performance against industry benchmarks.

5. Performance Reporting & Accountability:

• Consolidate and validate operational data from the Project Performance Monitoring, Site Monitoring, and Lean units to prepare comprehensive weekly and monthly operational reports for the Deputy CEO.

• Present operational performance findings, including progress against targets, key deviations, and root cause analyses, during executive performance review meetings with subsidiary CEOs.

• Hold project teams and subsidiary construction heads accountable for implementing corrective actions and improvement plans mandated by the Council.

• Contribute operational expertise to the development of key performance indicators (KPIs) for the construction function.

• Ensure that all operational reporting is accurate, timely, and aligned with the requirements of the Project Situation Room.

Job Specification

Educational Qualifications

• MSc or BSc in Civil Engineering, Construction Management, or a related field.

Professional Experience

• Minimum of 15 years of progressive experience in large-scale construction projects, with at least 5 years in a senior operational leadership role overseeing multiple projects simultaneously.

• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.

• Experience with Lean Construction, TQM, or other productivity improvement methodologies.

• Proficiency in project management softSituatione (e.g., Primavera P6, MS Project).

• Experience in the Ethiopian construction market.

Core Professional Skills

• Technical Skills: Deep understanding of all phases of construction, project planning and controls, cost management, quality assurance, and safety systems.

• Leadership: Proven ability to lead large, diverse teams, manage conflict, and drive performance in a high-pressure environment.

• Communication: Exceptional communication, negotiation, and presentation skills, with the ability to interface effectively with site foremen, project managers, and C-suite executives

ABOUT YOU:

You are a seasoned construction veteran with a proven track record of managing complex, multi-site projects worth billions of Birr. You possess a sharp eye for detail and are relentless in your pursuit of operational excellence. You are a natural leader who can command respect from site teams and subsidiary CEOs alike, driving accountability and ensuring that strategic directives are translated into tangible results on the ground. You are not just a manager; you are a field commander who thrives on solving problems and getting things built.

How To Apply

Interested and qualified applicants are required to submit the following documents:

• A Cover Letter
• An Updated Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• Clear scanned copies of supporting documents

All documents must be enclosed into a single PDF file.
Please ensure that the title of the position is clearly written in the Subject Line of your application email as: Subject: CONSTRUCTION OPERATIONS DIRECTOR

Applicants may apply through Ethiojobs or via the company email: [email protected] or Gerji Ovid Park, block 5, floor number 6