General Manager
Two different pathways: One unique general management opportunity
We are looking for either an extraordinary strategic leader with demonstrated experience who wants a larger team and more divisions to manage or an experienced engineer or surveyor already running his/her practice who wants to roll it up into a larger firm for greater scale and leverage.
If you see yourself in either of these two profiles, we want to talk to you.
If you can adapt to a fast-changing business environment and provide leadership to several dedicated specialist teams across multiple disciplines, then this opportunity could be the change you’ve been looking for.
If you’re the right candidate, you will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of one of Australia’s most respected civil and structural engineering and surveying firms. We currently dominate a very exclusive niche and are looking to expand and diversify our proven business model and collaborative company culture.
Since 1981, we have been developing engineering and surveying solutions across the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors. To date, we’ve completed over 40,000 projects.
Recently, we have experienced growth within our specialised divisions and now wish to expand into other adjacent and relevant sectors. To achieve this, we need an experienced General Manager to lead the various teams to accomplish the goals and vision set by our board.
While someone with an Engineering or Surveying degree or background is preferable, this is not mandatory. What is essential is an understanding of professional services and proven management experience that speaks for itself with tangible, documented and verifiable results.
Imagine leading our innovative company into new markets and opportunities leveraging our proven business methodology and corporate culture. Although the variety and various opportunities for personal and professional growth and advancement make this role attractive for an ambitious career person, it is not open to an up-and-comer who is trying to migrate from a technical career and move into management. Successful candidates must have established and proven management experience, financial acumen and general business nous.
This opportunity is perfect if you are sales oriented and marketing minded to delivering exceptional professional services efficiently and profitably. While driving new initiatives is an essential element to this new role, we’re looking for someone who can continue to provide service innovations focused on our current initiatives that centre on our clients’ most important needs and expectations.
The successful canidate is a team leader with charisma and personal presence and someone who leads with integrity and by example. Not only do you see uncertainty and ambiguity as opportunities, but you also recognise that others need your leadership and guidance to stay focused and on point. You’re capable of leading people under the pressures of deadlines and project delivery timelines while enforcing and maintaining honest, ethical and respectful behaviour in all interactions with all internal and external stakeholders.
You avoid self-serving behaviour and understand how to inspire people to maintain high levels of individual performance that contribute to team and divisional outcomes to produce an outstanding customer experience. You will need to be in tune with our people not only to motivate them to achieve our company vision but also identify any training opportunities required to succeed and be more productive and efficient as the company grows and expands into new areas of activity.
You’re skilled at providing timely and relevant feedback and coaching that is appropriately directed at people from diverse cultural and social backgrounds.
To be successful, you need to have a deep understanding of your strengths and weaknesses. You need to be willing and eager to share your leadership with those who have more expertise than you in certain situations and the drive to achieve outcomes in a team environment.
While having an engineering or surveying degree or background will be viewed as an advantage, we’re looking for a proactive individual who can occupy a managerial leadership position with confidence and replicate results of the past at the next level.
You’re either:
Being the proactive person that you are, you know you need to reinvent yourself and now is the time, when you are willing, capable and eager to give yourself this push.
The ability to multi-task and coordinate multiple business units is essential, our goal in hiring a general manager, is to launch two new divisions in the next two years. If you have the right set of sales, marketing and management skills and experience combined with a proactive attitude, the sky is the limit!
Autonomous and self-driven, it would be preferable if you had experience reporting to a board of directors, but if you haven’t, not to worry, you will be well supported with an active, competent and capable board.
You need to be proficient in reading financial statements, managing ratios, KPIs, and operational metrics. You know that while technical experience and ability counts for a lot, but the truth is it’s all about the numbers. If you have an MBA, that would be a plus, but is not mandatory.
In the course of your career ascension to management, you can demonstrate an ongoing effort to embrace and leverage technology in your daily usage and technical operations. Consequently, technology is not a threat to you, instead it’s a powerful tool to leverage and enhance human resource capacity, innovation while improving individual and team productivity and efficiency.
You are a mature individual without the personal baggage that might interfere with the running of the business. To thrive in this position you need to be present in the moment. If unresolved issues from your past tend to get in the way, sabotaging your success, then this offer is not right for you. For a role of this importance, we will undertake substantial reference checks.
While your level of experience will be reflected in your salary, ultimately the money you will make will be driven by the frequency, quality, and level of the contribution that you make to the bottom line. If you roll-up your existing practice, we will ensure that transition is a win-win proposition with all the upside to reward you for the successful integration.
Please be assured we will give you the freedom and flexibility you need to make your own decisions and to run operations efficiently, as you see fit.
We advocate an ‘open door’ work policy between all employees to eliminate office politics and bureaucracy. It is one of our enduring cultural policies we want to ensure carries on. Even though everyone is accessible and open to honest and regular communication, we keep staff to a minimum, leveraging online group collaboration tools.
All of our people are honest, hard working, dedicated to their craft, caring, and professional. Our diverse group of people from different backgrounds, gives us our competitive edge.
As technical specialists in a variety of fields, our attention to detail contributes to our unique work culture. Benefits like social club activities, group BBQs, lunches, morning tea, trivia nights and the comedy chat room on HipChat creates a work-life balance culture staff have come to value and appreciate with a very high retention rate and low turnover.
Because we pay attention to the small things, we know they make a big difference. You will also have access to The Library of Donovans where you can grow your personal and professional dimensions. Paying attention to details, we know that by helping you develop your skills beyond work will help you grow as an individual so that together we can provide exceptional value to clients.
Our office is located centrally in Parramatta; a 5-minute walk will take you to the nearest train or bus stop and we we also offer ample on-site parking completely free of charge!
Our hiring process
At this stage, you have realised that this is not an ordinary job ad and you like that. You’re intrigued, even excited to think of what this could mean for you career and quality of life.
If this ad speaks to you and you think you have what it takes, we want to get to know you and discuss the opportunity in more detail.
To apply for this position, we invite you to contact us via careers@donovanassociates.com.au and include the following:
If your message is compelling, then we’ll send you a personality profiling test which takes less than 20 minutes. If your profile is deemed appropriate, we will proceed to the interview stage.
Until we are both convinced that you’re a good fit for this position, we’ll keep your communication regarding this role confidential. This is to protect your privacy as you might like to keep it that way until we are both comfortable in your going forward. We look forward to hearing from you. However, please keep in mind that since we expect to see many applicants applying for this role, your message needs to stand out. Otherwise, we’ll stop there.
You must be either an Australian citizen or a holder of an Australian permanent residency visa to be eligible to apply for this position.
We are looking for either an extraordinary strategic leader with demonstrated experience who wants a larger team and more divisions to manage or an experienced engineer or surveyor already running his/her practice who wants to roll it up into a larger firm for greater scale and leverage.
If you see yourself in either of these two profiles, we want to talk to you.
If you can adapt to a fast-changing business environment and provide leadership to several dedicated specialist teams across multiple disciplines, then this opportunity could be the change you’ve been looking for.
If you’re the right candidate, you will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of one of Australia’s most respected civil and structural engineering and surveying firms. We currently dominate a very exclusive niche and are looking to expand and diversify our proven business model and collaborative company culture.
Since 1981, we have been developing engineering and surveying solutions across the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors. To date, we’ve completed over 40,000 projects.
Recently, we have experienced growth within our specialised divisions and now wish to expand into other adjacent and relevant sectors. To achieve this, we need an experienced General Manager to lead the various teams to accomplish the goals and vision set by our board.
While someone with an Engineering or Surveying degree or background is preferable, this is not mandatory. What is essential is an understanding of professional services and proven management experience that speaks for itself with tangible, documented and verifiable results.
Imagine leading our innovative company into new markets and opportunities leveraging our proven business methodology and corporate culture. Although the variety and various opportunities for personal and professional growth and advancement make this role attractive for an ambitious career person, it is not open to an up-and-comer who is trying to migrate from a technical career and move into management. Successful candidates must have established and proven management experience, financial acumen and general business nous.
This opportunity is perfect if you are sales oriented and marketing minded to delivering exceptional professional services efficiently and profitably. While driving new initiatives is an essential element to this new role, we’re looking for someone who can continue to provide service innovations focused on our current initiatives that centre on our clients’ most important needs and expectations.
The successful canidate is a team leader with charisma and personal presence and someone who leads with integrity and by example. Not only do you see uncertainty and ambiguity as opportunities, but you also recognise that others need your leadership and guidance to stay focused and on point. You’re capable of leading people under the pressures of deadlines and project delivery timelines while enforcing and maintaining honest, ethical and respectful behaviour in all interactions with all internal and external stakeholders.
You avoid self-serving behaviour and understand how to inspire people to maintain high levels of individual performance that contribute to team and divisional outcomes to produce an outstanding customer experience. You will need to be in tune with our people not only to motivate them to achieve our company vision but also identify any training opportunities required to succeed and be more productive and efficient as the company grows and expands into new areas of activity.
You’re skilled at providing timely and relevant feedback and coaching that is appropriately directed at people from diverse cultural and social backgrounds.
To be successful, you need to have a deep understanding of your strengths and weaknesses. You need to be willing and eager to share your leadership with those who have more expertise than you in certain situations and the drive to achieve outcomes in a team environment.
While having an engineering or surveying degree or background will be viewed as an advantage, we’re looking for a proactive individual who can occupy a managerial leadership position with confidence and replicate results of the past at the next level.
You’re either:
- In mid-career, looking for the next challenge to stretch yourself and spread your wings. Perhaps your current job does not challenge you anymore, and while you are not necessarily looking for greener pastures, you’re looking for an opportunity to apply and challenge yourself at a renewed level.
- Running your own practice and topped out with what you can accomplish on your own. You know you can handle more responsibility to flex your management skills. Rolling up your current practice into a larger team will reward you for all the hard work you’ve put in and leverage it at the next level of performance.
Being the proactive person that you are, you know you need to reinvent yourself and now is the time, when you are willing, capable and eager to give yourself this push.
The ability to multi-task and coordinate multiple business units is essential, our goal in hiring a general manager, is to launch two new divisions in the next two years. If you have the right set of sales, marketing and management skills and experience combined with a proactive attitude, the sky is the limit!
Autonomous and self-driven, it would be preferable if you had experience reporting to a board of directors, but if you haven’t, not to worry, you will be well supported with an active, competent and capable board.
You need to be proficient in reading financial statements, managing ratios, KPIs, and operational metrics. You know that while technical experience and ability counts for a lot, but the truth is it’s all about the numbers. If you have an MBA, that would be a plus, but is not mandatory.
In the course of your career ascension to management, you can demonstrate an ongoing effort to embrace and leverage technology in your daily usage and technical operations. Consequently, technology is not a threat to you, instead it’s a powerful tool to leverage and enhance human resource capacity, innovation while improving individual and team productivity and efficiency.
You are a mature individual without the personal baggage that might interfere with the running of the business. To thrive in this position you need to be present in the moment. If unresolved issues from your past tend to get in the way, sabotaging your success, then this offer is not right for you. For a role of this importance, we will undertake substantial reference checks.
While your level of experience will be reflected in your salary, ultimately the money you will make will be driven by the frequency, quality, and level of the contribution that you make to the bottom line. If you roll-up your existing practice, we will ensure that transition is a win-win proposition with all the upside to reward you for the successful integration.
Please be assured we will give you the freedom and flexibility you need to make your own decisions and to run operations efficiently, as you see fit.
We advocate an ‘open door’ work policy between all employees to eliminate office politics and bureaucracy. It is one of our enduring cultural policies we want to ensure carries on. Even though everyone is accessible and open to honest and regular communication, we keep staff to a minimum, leveraging online group collaboration tools.
All of our people are honest, hard working, dedicated to their craft, caring, and professional. Our diverse group of people from different backgrounds, gives us our competitive edge.
As technical specialists in a variety of fields, our attention to detail contributes to our unique work culture. Benefits like social club activities, group BBQs, lunches, morning tea, trivia nights and the comedy chat room on HipChat creates a work-life balance culture staff have come to value and appreciate with a very high retention rate and low turnover.
Because we pay attention to the small things, we know they make a big difference. You will also have access to The Library of Donovans where you can grow your personal and professional dimensions. Paying attention to details, we know that by helping you develop your skills beyond work will help you grow as an individual so that together we can provide exceptional value to clients.
Our office is located centrally in Parramatta; a 5-minute walk will take you to the nearest train or bus stop and we we also offer ample on-site parking completely free of charge!
Our hiring process
At this stage, you have realised that this is not an ordinary job ad and you like that. You’re intrigued, even excited to think of what this could mean for you career and quality of life.
If this ad speaks to you and you think you have what it takes, we want to get to know you and discuss the opportunity in more detail.
To apply for this position, we invite you to contact us via careers@donovanassociates.com.au and include the following:
- A cover letter
- A current CV
If your message is compelling, then we’ll send you a personality profiling test which takes less than 20 minutes. If your profile is deemed appropriate, we will proceed to the interview stage.
Until we are both convinced that you’re a good fit for this position, we’ll keep your communication regarding this role confidential. This is to protect your privacy as you might like to keep it that way until we are both comfortable in your going forward. We look forward to hearing from you. However, please keep in mind that since we expect to see many applicants applying for this role, your message needs to stand out. Otherwise, we’ll stop there.
You must be either an Australian citizen or a holder of an Australian permanent residency visa to be eligible to apply for this position.
