Director of Operations

About Crisp Event Rentals

Established in 2017 in Columbia, South Carolina, Crisp Event Rentals was founded on a people-first mindset: treat employees with the same care given to the products and services delivered to clients. The company supports planners, venues, and hosts for weddings, corporate events, and major celebrations by managing deliveries, setups, and event details with a strong focus on professionalism and hospitality. Crisp emphasizes teamwork, honesty, accountability, and a commitment to exceeding expectations while continuing to grow.

About the Role

Crisp Event Rentals is seeking a Director of Operations to serve as a key partner to the President and the leader driving day-to-day execution. The role is central to supporting growth in Columbia and future expansion into new markets, ensuring events are delivered on time, within budget, and at a level that surprises and delights clients.

This leadership position spans Warehouse, Logistics & Delivery, Soft Goods, Customs, and Maintenance. The goal is to improve efficiency, reduce operating costs through stronger systems, and raise overall service quality. This role is ideal for someone who enjoys building scalable operations rather than simply maintaining them.

Key Responsibilities

The Director of Operations will lead operational execution across departments, strengthen logistics and inventory systems, support financial discipline, improve processes, and develop people and safety standards across the business.

Operational Leadership

• Guide managers and crews across Warehouse, Delivery, Soft Goods, and Maintenance, removing departmental silos and aligning everyone around shared goals.
• Oversee the full lifecycle of event execution, including pulling, preparing, delivering, setting up, and returning equipment so handoffs stay seamless.
• Work closely with the Sales team each day to keep operational planning aligned with revenue goals.

Logistics and Inventory

• Manage daily logistics, including route planning, fleet oversight, and crew scheduling.
• Control inventory from start to finish, including transfers, sub-rentals, cycle counts, quality checks, and organization, while minimizing loss, damage, and shrinkage.
• Implement quality checks so defective or damaged items do not reach clients.

Financial Stewardship

• Support operational budgeting with a focus on keeping variable costs under control, especially labor, fleet, and overtime.
• Use Point of Rental information to monitor utilization, return on assets, and equipment life cycles to decide when to repair, retire, or reinvest.
• Collaborate with leadership on equipment and capital purchase decisions based on data.

Systems and Process Improvement

• Position Point of Rental as the central system of record by reducing manual work and improving data reliability.
• Find inefficiencies, reduce risk, and create repeatable processes that can scale smoothly into additional locations.

Safety and Compliance

• Promote a safety-focused culture in the warehouse and on the road, ensuring compliance with OSHA, PPE, and relevant DOT standards.
• Handle fleet compliance, documentation, and incident follow-up with preventative action where needed.

People Development

• Hire, train, coach, and hold teams accountable while helping department leaders grow into stronger managers.
• Build staffing plans that balance a core team with flexible support to manage peak season workloads without exceeding labor budgets.
• Forecast labor needs weeks in advance using booking trends and business volume.

What the Company Is Looking For

Crisp is looking for a proven operations leader who can improve performance, work comfortably with data, and build a culture of accountability and service. The company prefers candidates with relevant experience in event rentals, logistics, hospitality, or supply chain.

Requirements

• At least 5 years of operations management and leadership experience, or 7 to 10 years of equivalent hands-on experience.
• Background in event rentals, logistics, hospitality, or supply chain is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated success in improving efficiency, quality, and team performance.
• Comfort analyzing utilization reports, labor forecasts, and profit-and-loss statements.
• Experience with Point of Rental or a similar rental/ERP system is a strong advantage.
• Working knowledge of OSHA safety standards and DOT requirements for commercial fleets, or the ability to learn them quickly.
• Servant-leader mindset with the ability to make independent decisions and maintain high accountability.
• Valid driver's license and a driving record that meets company standards.
• Availability to work as needed by the business, including some nights and weekends during peak event season.
• Bachelor's degree in business, operations management, or a related discipline is preferred.

Compensation and Benefits

• Base salary of $85,000 to $120,000, depending on experience, plus a performance bonus tied to operational KPIs.
• Health, dental, vision, and life insurance.
• 401(k) plan with company match.
• Paid time off.
• Support for professional development and related training.
• Employee rental discount for personal use.

Your First Year

During the first 1 to 3 months, the hire will learn the team, market, and day-to-day workflows, with hands-on training across sales, dispatch, logistics, soft goods, hard goods, tenting, warehouse, install crews, and the customs shop. This period also includes learning internal policies and documenting opportunities for improvement.

From months 3 to 9, the Director of Operations will present recommendations, develop an approved action plan, and begin implementing improvements in efficiency, resource management, and quality control.

After 9 months, the role should be fully integrated into the operation, leading continuous improvement and partnering with leadership on future growth opportunities, including expansion into new locations.