G.J. Gardner Homes Shoalhaven, Wollongong, Wilton-Appin, Southern Highlands

Are you a dedicated and driven individual with a desire to excel in the new home building industry? We are seeking a motivated Head of Operations to lead our dynamic production team.

About Us

As part of the renowned G.J. Gardner Homes network, we're more than just a construction company – we're a family dedicated to turning dreams into reality.

We pride ourselves on delivering quality homes and exceptional customer service, all while fostering a collaborative and supportive workplace culture. We have a strong track record of growth, and our group of franchises are now established across the Shoalhaven, Illawarra and Southern Highlands.

About the Role

As Head of Operations, you will have overall responsibility for the operational performance of our group, with accountability across construction administration, estimating, pricing, supplier relationships and process improvement.

Responsible for overseeing the day to day functional operation of the business, our administration and estimating teams will report to you, and you will lead them towards optimal productivity and efficiency.

You’ll also work side by side with our Sales and Construction Departments to support them in overall process improvement contributing to a better customer experience

This role is based out of our South Nowra Office Monday - Friday.

Key Responsibilities

- Own production across the group - set the pace, understand and improve process times, progress of every job from contract to site start
- Set the standard and lead the administration and estimating teams: workload, capacity, priorities, performance, team productivity and contract / documentation accuracy
- Drive pricing accuracy and integrity.



Estimating templates, rates, and tender turnaround times
- Own supplier and trade supply negotiations and relationships across the group - agreements, pricing schedules and accuracy, rebates and supplier performance
- Protect margin. Monitor cost movement, purchase order discipline and control any gap between estimate and finalisation
- Risk identification and mitigation, including WHS awareness and compliance
- Ensure effective handovers between Sales, Administration, Estimating and Construction to deliver a seamless customer journey
- Own our systems and maximise their potential
- Review and improve well established policies, procedures and processes to include building industry compliance
- Report to the General Manager on production volume, work in progress, pricing performance, supplier cost and risk
- Strategic leadership and business planning by contributing to business strategy and operational planning, identifying future operational requirements as the business grows and working with the General Manager on business performance and improvement
- Lead and implement operational change initiatives, ensuring new processes and systems are adopted consistently across the business

What We Offer

- A business committed to constant improvement of all staff, including training and ongoing professional development




- A supportive and collaborative team environment
- Opportunity to work with a company that values its employees
- Solid nationally recognised brand
- Work-life balance

About You

- Operations leadership experience. You've run a function or a department in residential construction, estimating, contract administration, procurement or operations. If you're a department manager ready to step up, we're interested
- A leader of people, not just process. You'll have teams looking to you for direction. You get results through them, and you're willing to work alongside them when necessary
- Comfortable with numbers and pricing. You can read an estimate, understand where the rates came from, and challenge a price that doesn't look correct. You know how margin is won and lost between estimate and finalisation
- A negotiator. You're confident holding a supplier to their agreement, and equally confident building a relationship worth keeping long term
- Systems and process minded. You'd rather build a process than firefight the same problem twice, and you're comfortable with digital systems and construction management software
- You do what you say you're going to do. Your teams, our suppliers and the rest of the business need to be able to rely on your word
- Calm under pressure and decisive. Volume, deadlines and competing priorities are the normal state of this role. You prioritise, decide, and move on
- Qualified. A qualification in building, construction management, estimating or business is well regarded. A trade or estimating background is a real advantage. What matters most is that you've done the work and know how a building business actually runs

#J-18808-Ljbffr

📌 Head of Operations (Nowra)
🏢 G.J. Gardner Homes
📍 Nowra