Chief Operating Officer

Introduction / Context
Monroe Consulting Group, an Executive Recruitment firm, is partnering with an organisation in the Industrial & Construction sector to hire a Chief Operating Officer (COO). This opportunity is based in Selangor, Malaysia.
Position Overview
Lead the overall business operations to drive sustainable growth, operational excellence, profitability, and customer satisfaction across the organisation.
Provide executive leadership in shaping operational and commercial strategies while ensuring profitable project delivery, strong governance, and long-term business competitiveness.
Key Responsibilities
Business & Strategic Leadership

• Develop and execute the company's operational strategy aligned with corporate vision and business objectives.
• Drive sustainable revenue growth, profitability, operational excellence, and market competitiveness.
• Lead annual business planning, budgeting, forecasting, and strategic initiatives.
• Identify new business opportunities, partnerships, and market expansion strategies.
• Provide strategic recommendations to the Group CEO and Executive Management on business performance and future direction.

Operational Excellence

• Lead the overall operations of the business, including Engineering, Project Management, Fabrication, Installation, Procurement and Logistics.
• Ensure projects are completed within budget, timeline, quality, and safety requirements.
• Establish operational governance, performance management systems, and business KPIs.
• Drive productivity improvement, operational efficiency, and cost optimisation initiatives.

Commercial & Financial Performance

• Own the overall Profit & Loss (P&L) performance.
• Drive business profitability through effective project execution, cost control, productivity improvement, and resource optimisation.
• Review tender strategies, project pricing, commercial risks, and contract negotiations.
• Monitor project profitability, cash flow, working capital, and operational budgets.

Project & Customer Delivery

• Provide executive oversight on all roofing, façade cladding, architectural metal, and steel structure projects.
• Ensure effective project governance from tender award through project completion.
• Resolve major project, contractual, commercial, or operational issues.
• Maintain strong relationships with key clients, consultants, architects, developers, contractors, and strategic partners.

Health, Safety, Quality & Compliance

• Champion a strong safety culture across workshop and site operations.
• Ensure compliance with CIDB, DOSH, ISO, and relevant regulatory requirements.
• Lead incident investigations and corrective action implementation.
• Drive quality management and continuous improvement programs.

Customer & Stakeholder Management

• Build strong relationships with clients, consultants, architects, developers, and contractors.
• Participate in project meetings and strategic customer engagements.
• Ensure high customer satisfaction through effective project delivery.
• Support business development initiatives by providing technical and operational expertise.

People Leadership

• Lead and develop project managers, engineers, supervisors, site teams, and support functions.
• Establish succession plans and capability development programs.
• Drive a performance-oriented culture with clear accountability.
• Foster collaboration across departments.

Strategic Growth

• Identify opportunities to expand operational capabilities and market presence.
• Evaluate new technologies, fabrication methods, and installation techniques.
• Support expansion into regional projects in line with company growth ambitions.

Key Requirements
Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor's Degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Project Management, Architecture, or related field.
• Possess at least 15-20 years of experience in construction, roofing, façade, cladding, steel structures, or building materials industries and minimum 10 years in a senior leadership position.
• Proven track record of managing full business operations with accountability for P&L, operational performance, and strategic growth.

Technical / Functional Expertise

• Demonstrated experience managing Engineering, Project Management, Fabrication, Installation, Procurement and Logistics functions.
• Strong commercial acumen with experience in tender strategies, project pricing, commercial risk assessment, and contract negotiations.
• Proven expertise in driving project profitability, cash flow management, working capital optimisation, and operational budget control.
• Experience establishing operational governance frameworks, performance management systems, and business KPIs.
• Strong understanding of roofing, façade cladding, architectural metal, and steel structure projects.
• Knowledge of CIDB, DOSH, ISO, and relevant regulatory requirements.
• Experience leading quality management, incident investigations, corrective action implementation, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Ability to evaluate and implement new technologies, fabrication methods, and installation techniques.

Soft Skills & Leadership Competencies

• Excellent command of English, with the ability to communicate and deliver presentations effectively.
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to lead both direct teams and cross-functional departments, integrating complex initiatives across multiple business areas.
• Exceptional organisational and time management skills, with high attention to detail and accuracy.
• Strong stakeholder management and relationship-building capabilities.
• Strategic mindset with the ability to drive business growth, operational excellence, and organisational transformation.
• Ability to foster collaboration, accountability, and a high-performance culture across the organisation.