Manager, Projects Vendor Management (HVAC / Refrigeration)

Vixxo is seeking a full-time Manager, Projects Vendor Management (HVAC / Refrigeration) to be based in our Dallas office.

Position Summary

The Director / Manager, Projects Vendor Management (HVAC / Refrigeration) owns the contractor/vendor network that executes HVAC and refrigeration work for Vixxo project teams — finding, vetting, educating, assigning, and managing installing contractors so project managers can focus on managing projects. This role is the in-house technical authority on applicable client Scopes of Work (including Walgreens FY’26 Reach-In and Walk-In Refrigeration Capital Program SOWs and related reactive program requirements) and the primary translator between those requirements and field contractors. By separating vendor engagement from project management, the role removes the bottleneck where PMs spend hours sourcing coverage, chasing no-shows, and answering field SOW questions — improving survey and dispatch speed, quality, and customer confidence. This position is dedicated exclusively to HVAC / Refrigeration vendor management and supports any Vixxo project team that needs that capability.

Key Responsibilities

Contractor Network Development & Assignment

• Establish and maintain a nationwide network of reliable, trusted HVAC / refrigeration contractors capable of survey, reactive, and capital install work.
• Source and vet contractors for coverage gaps (including hard-to-serve geographies); maintain readiness so incoming service requests and project stores have an assignable contractor quickly.
• Own the contractor recommendation/assignment handoff to operations so work can be dispatched without PM-led vendor hunting.
• Hold contractors accountable for commitments: acceptance, show rates, survey completion, install quality, and documentation; escalate and replace underperformers.
• Track network capacity, specialty (reach-in vs. walk-in, refrigerant types, crane/roof work, etc.), insurance/compliance readiness, and geographic coverage.
• Actively manage contractor relationships through proactive outreach and performance follow-up.

SOW Authority, Field Support & Contractor Education

• Know applicable HVAC / refrigeration program SOWs forward and backward — including Walgreens FY’26 Reach-In and Walk-In Refrigeration Capital Program SOWs — and apply them to capital and reactive work.
• Act as the first-line technical/SOW help desk for contractors on site (e.g., controls, CMS, piping, electrical interfaces, start-up, documentation) so issues are resolved without defaulting every question to the client.
• Train and coach contractors on client expectations: surveys, BOM accuracy, demo/install standards, refrigerants (including R-290 / R-454A transitions), pressure/vacuum/start-up, asset tagging, closeout packages, go-backs, and store-impact rules.
• Partner with client engineer-led trainings while owning ongoing Vixxo-side reinforcement and translation of SOW requirements into contractor-ready guidance.
• Support quality outcomes that protect customer confidence (complete surveys, correct photos/docs, fewer rework loops, cleaner closeouts).

Program Enablement (HVAC / Refrigeration)

• Partner with PMs, trade specialists, and dispatch/assignment owners across any Vixxo project team so vendor coverage never becomes the reason a site sits without a survey or technician.
• Help drive survey and dispatch cycle-time improvement by ensuring pre-vetted contractors are ready before work is released.
• Coordinate with project delivery on readiness for capital installs: contractor understanding of survey → BOM → procurement → install → start-up → closeout flow.
• Collaborate on field data capture tooling used by contractors (e.g., FastField / survey & closeout workflows as adopted) so vendor documentation meets program standards — without owning product build or IT procurement.

Performance, Relationships & Continuous Improvement

• Establish simple vendor scorecards: responsiveness, show rate, survey turnaround, punch/go-back rate, documentation completeness, and SOW compliance.
• Build trusted working relationships with key contractor principals and field leads.
• Surface SOW, process, and tooling friction to the VP, Projects and program stakeholders with recommended fixes.
• Remain dedicated to HVAC / Refrigeration vendor management while supporting whichever project teams require that capability.

Qualifications

Required:

• Deep hands-on or supervisory HVAC and commercial refrigeration experience (not surface-level familiarity).
• Proven success building and managing a distributed contractor/subcontractor network for multi-site retail or facilities programs.
• Ability to read, interpret, and teach detailed mechanical Scopes of Work to field contractors.
• Strong relationship and coverage hustle: sourcing vendors under time pressure and holding them accountable.
• Clear communicator who can translate between engineering SOW language and technician/contractor language.
• Comfort supporting both reactive service dispatch patterns and capital project install cycles.
• Willingness to be the field-call technical escalation contact when contractors are stuck on site.
• Working proficiency with Microsoft 365 and common project management platforms; training provided for Vixxo proprietary systems.

Preferred:

• National retail refrigeration program experience (drugstore, grocery, C-store, or similar).
• Familiarity with A2L refrigerants (e.g., R-454A), R-290 self-contained cases, and OEM start-up practices.
• Experience with mobile survey/closeout platforms (FastField or similar) and coaching vendors to document correctly the first time.
• Prior work in a facilities services / national account / project delivery organization.

Key Competencies

• Nationwide vendor network building and relationship management
• Technical credibility in HVAC / refrigeration
• SOW fluency and field coaching
• Urgency and coverage problem-solving
• Clear handoffs with PMs and operations
• Customer-protecting quality mindset

Why Vixxo:

At Vixxo, we are an equal opportunity employer. We seek to create diverse and inclusive teams that reflect the variety of the clients and communities we serve, and we believe this is our competitive advantage. Therefore, we do not discriminate on race, color, gender, illness, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, national origin, familial status, military status, or religion.