Chief Operating Officer

About Us

J. Benton Construction, LLC is more than a construction company—we are a team of builders committed to delivering exceptional project experiences while giving back to the Virgin Islands community where we live and work. Our mission is to be recognized as one of the leading construction companies in the Caribbean through an unwavering focus on customer service, quality, safety, and continuous improvement.   

Since 2019, J. Benton has been in a strategic partnership with Consigli Construction Co., Inc., one of the Northeast’s top general contractors. This collaboration allows us to leverage shared expertise, complementary strengths, and national-level resources to deliver best-in-class projects throughout the region.  

We are proud to call the U.S. Virgin Islands our home and to build projects that make a lasting impact on our community—while offering our employees meaningful careers with opportunities to grow. 

Position Description

The Chief Operating Officer (COO) is responsible for leading day-to-day business and construction operations by strengthening operational execution, leadership accountability, safety, quality, financial performance, and project delivery. This role serves as a strategic partner to the President and works closely with senior leadership, operations, field, finance, safety, preconstruction, business development, and Human Resources teams to translate company strategy into consistent execution across projects, teams, and regions.

The COO must be a highly visible, hands-on executive leader who can balance strategic decision-making with direct operational support to the field. This role is expected to create structure, remove barriers, support growth, and ensure projects are delivered safely, on schedule, within budget, and to J. Benton Construction’s quality standards.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day construction operations across project management, field operations, district/regional leadership, and other operational business units.
• Serve as a strategic partner to the President on operational priorities, business performance, organizational structure, and long-term growth.
• Execute company strategy by translating business goals into clear operational priorities, measurable outcomes, and consistent field execution.
• Manage operational performance with a focus on safety, quality, schedule, cost control, client satisfaction, and overall project delivery.
• Monitor key project and operational metrics to identify trends, risks, barriers, and areas requiring executive support or intervention.
• Ensure operational systems, processes, standards, and best practices are consistently implemented across teams, projects, and regions.
• Support business growth by partnering with preconstruction, business development, and operations teams on major pursuits, client strategy, and market opportunities.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with clients, developers, partners, trade partners, consultants, and industry stakeholders.
• Lead, mentor, and develop operational leaders while strengthening accountability, communication, decision-making, and succession planning.
• Coordinate with Human Resources to support recruitment, retention, engagement, and development of high-performing operational talent.
• Manage operational financial performance, including budgeting, forecasting, margin improvement, cost controls, productivity, and P&L accountability.
• Identify and mitigate operational, financial, contractual, safety, quality, and reputational risks across the business.
• Ensure adherence to company policies, safety expectations, regulatory requirements, contract obligations, and quality standards.
• Partner with safety, legal, finance, and risk leadership on complex project issues, claims, disputes, and organizational risk matters.
• Maintain a visible, hands-on field presence to support project teams, reinforce expectations, remove barriers, and stay connected to project-level realities.

Essential Skills & Competencies

• Strategic thinking and execution
• Operational excellence and process improvement
• Financial acumen and P&L ownership
• Executive leadership and team development
• Construction operations leadership
• Safety-focused decision-making
• Quality-driven project execution
• Client relationship management
• Cross-functional collaboration
• Change management and organizational alignment
• Risk identification and mitigation
• Decision-making under pressure
• Clear communication and executive presence
• Accountability and performance management
• Growth mindset and entrepreneurial drive

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Construction Management, Engineering, or a related field.
• 15+ years of progressive leadership experience in construction or related industry
• Proven success managing large-scale, complex projects, or multiple business units.
• Demonstrated success in a senior executive role with full operational and financial accountability.
• Proven ability to lead teams through growth, change, and operational scaling.
• Strong leadership presence with the ability to influence at all levels.
• Deep understanding of construction operations, project delivery methods, and market dynamics

Preferred Experience (includes, but is not limited to):

• Advanced degree in Construction Management, Engineering, or a related field.
• Prior senior executive operations leadership in a role such as COO, EVP, VP of Operations, Regional Executive, or similar.
• Proven success scaling a growing construction company across teams, systems, regions, or markets.
• Background overseeing multiple operating units, districts, branches, or geographic regions.
• Involvement in major pursuits, client relationship management, and strategic business growth initiatives.
• Leadership experience in remote, island, logistically complex, or geographically dispersed construction environments.
• Familiarity with construction technology platforms such as Procore, Bluebeam, Primavera P6, or similar systems.
  

Compensation & Benefits  

The base salary for this position is one component of J. Benton Construction’s total compensation package. Actual compensation will be determined based on a variety of factors, including a candidate’s skills, experience, education, relevant qualifications, internal equity, and business needs.

J. Benton Construction offers a competitive benefits package designed to support your health, financial security, and work-life balance:

• Company paid Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance (employee-only coverage)  

• Paid Time Off 

• Paid Holidays (12) 

• 401(k) retirement plan with company match  

• Company paid Life Insurance 

• Company paid Short-Term Disability 

Equal Opportunity Employer 

J. Benton Construction is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We do not discriminate or retaliate against applicants or employees for discussing pay and provide reasonable accommodations as required.