At first glance, Haskell’s openings for International Superintendents conjure images of exotic projects in glamorous locales, and that would be halfway correct. But while the company’s efforts building temples for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (JCLDS) across several continents produce stunning facilities, the work is hard, and the locations are somewhere this side of cosmopolitan.
“It's not like we're sending people to Paris or London,” said Tyler Christensen, a Director of Project Development in Haskell’s Religious & Cultural Division. “It’s more likely to be an island in the middle of the South Pacific. One thing that's fairly unique about these is that they are difficult. They're typically in difficult countries. They are complex projects. So, the draw has to be unique.”
For the right people, though, great investment can lead to great reward.
Haskell now has 14 projects on the books stretching from Africa to South America to Asia-Pacific. Three currently are underway in the Philippines.
Mike Woods, now President of Haskell’s Consumer Packaged Goods Group, had the experience of leading a project in the Asia-Pacific Region years ago and credits it for helping shape his career.
“The Philippines is a tough spot to go,” Woods said. “It's a really less mature market, so it's hard to get the performance out of it. But if somebody is able to go to that market and drive success for that project, for that location, for that country, it'll be recognized. It’ll be recognized by the customer, and it'll be recognized by the organization, and that can absolutely slingshot a career.”
The position requires a professional who understands construction means and methods and who has experience with high-end finishes.
“The most complex portion of these projects is getting the finishes right,” Christensen said. “There's a lot of coordination. We're talking Level5 Drywall, marble floors in every room and high-end mill work. It's a five-star hotel lobby, but it's the whole building.”
Adding to the complexity is the need to produce that glimmering level of workmanship with workers who are generally less skilled than their U.S. counterparts. Organizational skills and the ability and willingness to train are vital on crowded sites teeming with many times the number of trades and laborers as on a traditional U.S. location.
For some, it might be an opportunity for career growth. For others, Christensen said, it is a calling. More than a few international leaders are JCLDS members.
“One candidate we’re talking with has lived in the Philippines for two years a number of years ago,” he said. He said, ‘I love the Filipino people. I want to give back. I want to spend time there.’ A lot of times, it’s something that speaks to you. A lot of the people who come are church members who are at the right place in their life to make it work, and this seems like a way to give back. They can build something that's of spiritual significance because it's part of their religion.”
Whatever the motivation, Haskell team members overseas have carried with them a culture of safety and quality that has dramatically elevated performance on jobsites and in the communities where they’re located.
“The team in the temple program is elevating the performance level of a large segment of the Philippine architecture, engineering, and construction industry more than anyone ever has, outside of the oil and gas industry in that part of the world,” Woods said.
Haskell operates with the direction of six strategic pillars, the first of which is to “Provide Team Members the BEST Job of Their Lives.” Team members receive full health and insurance plans, wellness resources and meaningful work/life balance solutions, including paid time off, a 401k match and an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), which creates stock ownership for everyone who is full-time.
View the full job description and apply.
