Project Sammaan Vacancy: PMC Project Manager (Bhubaneswar, Odisha)

SuSanA; Khordha, Cuttack; On-site; INR 1,800,000 - 2,600,000; Full time

Job summary

Quicksand Design Studio leads Project Sammaan's field operations in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. The Project Manager will supervise construction, coordinate with a PMC, and ensure timely, on-budget delivery of 119 toilets in urban slums.

They will liaise with government agencies and stakeholders to secure approvals and maintain project momentum. The role requires 10–15 years of practical PM experience in complex, multi-site environments, with strong communications and problem-solving skills.

Qualifications

• Degree in engineering and management, ideally both; lack of a management degree can be compensated through relevant managerial experience.
• Approximately 10–15 years of practical experience.
• Exceptional communication skills, keen attention to detail, and ability to manage multiple job sites and team members simultaneously.
• Committed to providing at-risk people with a product and service that significantly improves their quality of life.
• Construction project management experience, including government projects.
• Strong familiarity with technology tools for collaboration, analysis and reporting such as project management software, word processing, spreadsheet analysis, email and internet tools.
• Demonstrated personnel management experience in large organizations or projects involving multiple stakeholders.
• Ability to work independently and in a team-oriented collaborative environment.
• Proven ability to adapt to shifting priorities, demands and timelines through analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Responsive to project adjustments and alterations promptly and efficiently.
• Flexible during times of change.
• Ability to read communication styles of team members and contractors from a broad spectrum of disciplines.
• Ability to elicit cooperation from various sources, including upper management, clients and other departments.
• Persuasive, encouraging, and motivating while remaining fair and just.
• Ability to defuse tension among project team members when it arises.
• Ability to bring projects to successful completion through political sensitivity.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills.
• Proficient in conducting research into project-related issues and products.
• Ability to effectively prioritize and execute tasks in a high-pressure environment.

Responsibilities

• Project Management: oversee construction sites, monitor schedule and budget, with PMC supervising field work.
• Liaising and Relationship Management: coordinate with government officials and partners for approvals and accountability.
• Communications and Documentation: prepare progress reports, budgets, and documentation for stakeholders.
• Technical Oversight: ensure alignment with engineering practices, regulations, and constructability.

Skills

Project management

Communication skills

Multisite coordination

Stakeholder management

Problem-solving

Team leadership

Education

Engineering degree

Management degree

Tools

Project management software

Word processing

Spreadsheet analysis

Email / internet tools

Job description

Project Overview

Project Sammaan (www.projectsammaan.com) is an urban sanitation initiative dedicated to redesigning and improving toilet facilities in slum communities across India, beginning in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. The project was born out of the abysmal state of sanitation in India and the enormous public health hazard that a lack of basic infrastructure like toilets poses for urban and rural populations in India.

Project Sammaan is a unique project that seeks to:

• Design improved versions of shared community toilet blocks for formal and informal urban settlements.
• Institute financial and organizational management systems for sanitation facilities to ensure proper maintenance over the long run.
• Build rigorous evidence on the optimal combinations of toilet infrastructure design, management systems and service delivery models, with the ultimate goal of identifying the solutions that produce the most attractive, sustainable and hygienic alternatives to open defecation for slum residents and replicating that model in cities across India.

Project Sammaan is the first pilot project of its kind focusing on community toilets and will design and build 119 operating toilet facilities in slums located in the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, Odisha. These facilities are intended to directly impact more than 65,000 beneficiaries.

The initiative is partly funded by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and is being led by co‑grantees Quicksand Design Studio and the Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR).

Job Purpose and Description

The Project Manager is responsible for the overall supervision of the facilities’ construction in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, Odisha, ensuring that each facility is completed within the allocated time period and budget. The Project Manager will operate with a degree of autonomy using staff and resources allocated, and reports directly to a Senior Project Manager and ultimately to Project Sammaan’s lead grantees (Quicksand and IFMR). The role demands dynamic juggling of numerous time‑sensitive matters, dogmatic attention to detail, and moral fortitude, with technical competence to manage on‑the‑fly adjustments and clear communication to the project consortium.

Responsibilities

• Project Management
  • A Project Management Consultancy (PMC) will be appointed to supervise the construction sites, conduct regular quality audits, provide engineering and technical expertise for site‑specific issues, prepare monitoring and completion reports, and keep the construction schedule on track. The Project Manager is Quicksand’s representative on the ground and will direct and manage construction for the project through the appointed PMC.
  • Determine and assess the need for additional staff and/or consultants, making appropriate recruitments if necessary during the project cycle.
  • Set and continually manage project expectations with team members and other stakeholders.
  • Delegate tasks and responsibilities to appropriate personnel.
  • Identify and resolve issues and conflicts within the project team quickly, fairly and permanently.
  • Identify and manage project dependencies and critical path, including resources and participants needed to achieve project goals.
  • Plan and schedule project timelines and milestones using appropriate tools.
  • Track project milestones and deliverables and communicate progress to the consortium accordingly.
  • Proactively manage changes in project scope, identify potential crises and devise contingency plans.
  • Define project success criteria and disseminate them to involved parties throughout the project life cycle.
• Liaising and Relationship Management
  • Represent Project Sammaan to the government for all critical issues and approvals. Maintain an open channel of communication with all concerned government personnel to diagnose where the project is stuck and liaise with them to ensure timely redressal and resolution.
  • Coach, mentor, motivate and supervise project team members and contractors, and influence them to take positive action and accountability for their assigned work.
  • Work closely with state and other municipal authorities to ensure all appropriate approvals are granted prior to commencement of construction.
• Communications and Documentation
  • Develop full‑scale project plans and associated communications documents, and effectively communicate this to all team members and stakeholders. The stakeholders during the construction phase include Quicksand (Delhi/Bangalore), architects (Delhi), sewage technology experts (Bangalore), grassroots community engagement firms (Bhubaneswar/Cuttack), the PMC (Bhubaneswar/Cuttack) and the municipal corporations (Bhubaneswar/Cuttack).
  • Develop and deliver progress reports, proposals, requirements documentation and presentations.
  • Determine the frequency and content of status reports from the project team, analyze results and troubleshoot problem areas.
  • Draft and submit budget proposals, and recommend subsequent budget changes where necessary.
  • Oversee preparation and implementation of construction documents that allow the successful bidding contractors to construct the project efficiently and with minimal changes.
• Technical Oversight
  • Acquire knowledge about key factors such as sound engineering practices, municipal regulations and requirements, client‑dictated criteria, sensitivity to costs, and constructability of the design.
  • Have a detailed understanding of field conditions and challenges faced by contractors, and convey specific elements of the design and overall project to them throughout the construction phase.

Qualifications

• Degree in engineering and management, ideally both; lack of a management degree can be compensated through relevant managerial experience.
• Approximately 10–15 years of practical experience.
• Exceptional communication skills, keen attention to detail, and ability to manage multiple job sites and team members simultaneously.
• Committed to providing at‑risk people with a product and service that significantly improves their quality of life.
• Construction project management experience, including government projects.
• Strong familiarity with technology tools for collaboration, analysis and reporting such as project management software, word processing, spreadsheet analysis, email and internet tools.
• Demonstrated personnel management experience in large organizations or projects involving multiple stakeholders.
• Ability to work independently and in a team‑oriented collaborative environment.
• Proven ability to adapt to shifting priorities, demands and timelines through analytical and problem‑solving skills.
• Responsive to project adjustments and alterations promptly and efficiently.
• Flexible during times of change.
• Ability to read communication styles of team members and contractors from a broad spectrum of disciplines.
• Ability to elicit cooperation from various sources, including upper management, clients and other departments.
• Persuasive, encouraging, and motivating while remaining fair and just.
• Ability to defuse tension among project team members when it arises.
• Ability to bring projects to successful completion through political sensitivity.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills.
• Proficient in conducting research into project‑related issues and products.
• Ability to effectively prioritize and execute tasks in a high‑pressure environment.

Location

The Project Sammaan field office is in Bhubaneswar, where 60 community toilets and 27 public toilets will be constructed; an additional 32 community toilets will be constructed in Cuttack (~25 km from Bhubaneswar). The Project Manager will be based full time in Bhubaneswar with occasional travel to Delhi as necessary.

Compensation

Salary will be commensurate with experience and is negotiable.

Contact

In case this resonates with you, please get in touch with us at [e-mail], with a portfolio of selected work and/or links to relevant online work, along with a thoughtful cover letter. Please mention “Project Manager – Project Sammaan” in the subject line of your application email.