Executive Search Success Story: Building the HR Leadership Bench for a Fast-Growing Construction Enterprise

How JRG Partners delivered a confidential, multi-role HR leadership search for a multi-billion-dollar North American construction and infrastructure company.

The Challenge

A multi-billion-dollar North American construction and infrastructure company faced significant workforce and leadership challenges during rapid growth. After winning large commercial, industrial, transportation, and public-infrastructure projects, and completing acquisitions, the company lacked the HR leadership required to sustain execution. Executive leadership identified several key people and structural pressures:

• Persistent labor and skill shortages across project and field operations
• High turnover among critical field leadership and specialized project staff
• Intensifying competition for project managers, superintendents, and estimators
• Inconsistent HR practices, payroll, and compliance models across operating regions
• Lack of integrated strategic workforce planning to project and deploy project crews efficiently
• Limited internal development programs, creating leadership pipeline and succession gaps
• Need for modernized HR executives to support geographic expansion and acquisition integration

The board and Chief Executive Officer determined that a full modernization of the HR infrastructure was required. The confidential multi-role mandate covered Chief Human Resources Officer, VP Human Resources, VP Talent Acquisition, VP Organizational Development, Director of Talent Management, Director of Workforce Planning, and Labor Relations leadership over a 24-month horizon. The company required an executive search firm with construction-sector expertise and deep networks across human resources leadership.

Why They Chose JRG Partners

After reviewing several executive search firms, the client chose JRG Partners based on four clear criteria.

Deep construction, infrastructure & HR specialization

JRG Partners maintains dedicated practices focused on commercial construction, heavy civil infrastructure, industrial contracting, engineering, project management, and corporate leadership functions. Our search team understands project P&Ls, labor scheduling models, union and non-union field dynamics, and multi-jurisdictional compliance.

Access to passive construction HR talent

The high-performing human resources leaders capable of scaling an enterprise are rarely scanning job boards. JRG Partners utilized industry relationships, networks, and targeted intelligence to source and secure passive leaders from competitive major contractors, engineering networks, and related industrial corporations.

Confidential search execution

Several searches involved sensitive leadership successions and organizational realignments designed to strengthen the business. JRG Partners managed the multi-role outreach program with absolute anonymity, protecting internal morale, union relationships, and bidding operations during the transition.

Comprehensive multi-market scale

The company’s growth strategy called for talent situated across primary economic and logistics hubs, demanding an executive search partner with an established network across the United States and Canada.

The Search Strategy

Phase 1: Needs Analysis

Our consultants partnered with the CEO, board members, and operations executives to evaluate current project pipelines, labor utilization models, union risks, regional compliance variations, and cultural objectives. We developed candidate success profiles tailored to the physical scale, geographic coverage, and operational demands of the organization.

Phase 2: Market Mapping

JRG Partners initiated a market mapping process across top ENR (Engineering News-Record) contractors, infrastructure developers, heavy industrial construction firms, and multi-regional engineering businesses to locate professionals with proven records managing large labor platforms.

Phase 3: Direct Recruitment

Using a research-driven methodology, our consultants engaged passive human resources professionals who demonstrated success in:

• Talent acquisition optimization within construction and skilled trades
• Strategic workforce planning and project crew forecasting
• Employee retention, career pathway design, and field engagement
• Labor relations, union negotiations, and employment compliance
• Post-merger corporate and field integration
• Organizational development and leadership training

Phase 4: Evaluation and Presentation

Candidates were assessed for business advisory acumen, operational capability, leadership effectiveness, understanding of construction risk, and cultural alignment. Final profiles were delivered with objective assessment reports.