Bay Area Power Women: 5 Questions With Paradigm's Molly Jans

This limited series profiles Bay Area Power Women who have helped shape Bay Area cities, neighborhoods, businesses and lifestyles. These women will be honored at Bisnow's Bay Area Power Women event in San Francisco on May 30.

Molly Jans is the director of operations for Paradigm General Contractors, a construction management and general contracting firm headquartered in Richmond. Jans oversees construction, develops and manages business operations and shapes company culture.

Jans is the 2019 president of CREW SF, the San Francisco chapter of the professional organization. She has been involved with the organization for 14 years, working on various committees within CREW SF. She has been involved in improving the chapter's programs, tours and seminars, and strengthening participation in cross-generational networking and mentoring. She also holds the women's world record for lingcod from the International Underwater Spearfishing Association.

Bisnow: How do you describe your job to people who are not in the industry?

Jans: I work with business owners, architects [and] engineers to build out offices and infrastructure in buildings. As a construction manager for a general contractor, I budget and manage the construction process.

Bisnow: What accomplishment are you most proud of in your career and how did you achieve it?

Jans: I have had the pleasure of working in a number of different construction environments. One project for Chevron on the Richmond Technology Center was an award winner for best industrial project for ENR magazine. Through that project I was trained as an Incident and Injury Free trainer for construction team personnel. The level of organizational development I got to be a trainer for was inspiring early in my career and has furthered my commitment to leadership development. My work with CREW SF for the past 15 years has been most inspiring, developing women as leaders in our industry.

Bisnow: How have you seen companies change the way they address wage and gender inequality in recent years?

Jans: I work with a lot more women-dominated teams where owner, architect, engineer are mostly women.

Bisnow: What piece of advice do you give others entering the industry?

Jans: Keep learning, engage others to be leaders.

Bisnow: What do you do to unwind when you’re not working?

Jans: I love the outdoors and spend time fishing, diving and foraging.

Meet Paradigm General Contractors Director of Operations Molly Jans at Bisnow's Bay Area Power Women event May 30 at Hotel Nikko in San Francisco.