Project Manager / Owner'S Representative: Luxury Villa And Grounds Refurbishment, Almancil

The 52 Group; Viseu; On-site; EUR 61,000 - 84,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Accommodation on site

Job summary

The 52 Group seeks an experienced Project Manager to lead a luxury villa and grounds refurbishment in Almancil, Algarve. This self-employed, full-time on-site role requires hands-on oversight with an interior designer and a landscape designer, delivering surveys, MEP recommissioning, and finishes to a high-end standard.

Based on site daily, you will manage subcontractors, quotations, budgets, and progression to the 30 March 2027 milestone, with accommodation on site and a 6-month initial term,

Qualifications

• At least 5 years managing high-end residential refurbishments in Algarve with demonstrable projects.
• Demonstrable MEP coordination: HVAC/VRF, underfloor, hot water, pool plant, lift, or home-automation.
• Fluent Portuguese and working English.
• Own car and driving licence; registered as self-employed in Portugal with VAT, social security and insurance.
• Ordem dos Engenheiros registration and TSST safety qualification.

Responsibilities

• Source subcontractors and suppliers for each package; obtain three quotations and present a written comparison with a recommendation.
• Programme the works to the 30 March 2027 milestone and supervise daily; ensure quality and close out.
• Maintain budget tracker, programme and photo log; verify invoices and variations before payment.
• Coordinate with interior and landscape designers on samples, approvals, deliveries, and installation.
• Act as site contact for safety coordinator, insurers and inspectors; provide weekly English reports.

Skills

Project management

MEP coordination

HVAC/VRF

English communication

Portuguese fluency

Education

Engineering degree

Ordem dos Engenheiros registration

Tools

KNX domotics

MEP drawings reading

Job description

Project Manager: Luxury Villa and Grounds Refurbishment Self-employed, full-time on site, live-in preferred. Immediate start. Initial 6 months, project expected to run 9 to 12 months.

A hands-on project manager is required to run the refurbishment of a c. 1,200 m2 architect-designed villa and its 12,000 m2 grounds in Almancil, Loulé.

The house is structurally sound and no structural works are planned, but it has stood empty for about three years: every installation needs to be surveyed, recommissioned or replaced, the interiors are being refitted to a high-end standard, and the grounds are being extensively relandscaped.

An interior designer and a landscape designer are being appointed. You will be based on site every day, working with the project representative and the two designers.

Programme Grounds strip-out and irrigation recommissioning are starting immediately. Planting runs through the winter and spring. The house must be ready for initial use by 30 March 2027 (MEP, hot water, pool, kitchen, principal bedrooms and living areas, security, lift), with the design-led refit of finishes and the detailed planting completing afterwards. The first surveys and the strip-out are being commissioned before you start;
you take them over on day one.

Scope of works House:

• survey, recommissioning and where necessary replacement of all MEP (electrical and lighting;
• two VRF HVAC systems from 2012;
• underfloor heating/cooling;
• solar thermal and electric hot water;
• gas;
• plumbing and drainage);
• pool, jacuzzi and plantroom;
• sauna and steam room;
• gym;
• cinema;
• panoramic lift (certified maintenance company and inspection);
• home automation, security, CCTV and electric gates;
• central vacuum;
• glazing and solar-shading assessment;
• kitchen and bathrooms;
• finishes throughout;
• furniture and equipmentprocurement from standard ranges (no bespoke joinery), deliveries and installation.

Grounds:

• delivery of an extensive landscaping scheme across the plot (clearance of dead vegetation, hard and soft landscaping, planting, lawns, lighting, lake and water features, irrigation network fed from two licensed boreholes, pumps and controls, orchard and olive trees, tennis court and practice-golf areas as decided);
• external works and perimeter.

First 3 weeks

Take over keys and site access. Complete the condition survey and equipment register (make, model, serial, condition, recommendation) for every system, the pool plant and the irrigation. Confirm the HVAC repair-or-replace decision and place the long-lead orders. Retrieve as-built and specialty drawings from the Câmara file and the original design team. Recommission the pool and the lift. Package and price the works for the 30 March milestone.

Responsibilities

• Source subcontractors and suppliers for each package; obtain normally three quotations and present a written comparison with a recommendation for approval
• Programme the works to the 30 March 2027 milestone and to completion; supervise installers, the finishes contractor and the landscaping contractor daily; control quality; snag and close out
• Keep the budget tracker, programme and photo log up to date in the project shared drive from day one; check invoices and variations against quotes and work done before any payment is released
• Coordinate with the interior designer and landscape designer on samples, approvals, deliveries and installation
• Act as the site contact for the appointed safety coordinator (DL 273/2003), insurers and inspectors
• Weekly written report in English, plus a short weekly call
• No purchasing or hiring authority beyond the agreed petty-cash limit; everything else is subject to prior approval

Requirements

• At least 5 years running high-end residential refurbishments or fit‑outs in the Algarve as site manager, project manager, fiscal de obra or owner's representative, with named projects to show for it
• Demonstrable MEP coordination: you have personally run HVAC/VRF, underfloor, hot water, pool plant, lift or home-automation packages and can read MEP drawings and specifications
• Fluent Portuguese and working English (reports and calls are in English)
• Own car and driving licence; registered (or willing to register) as self-employed in Portugal with your own VAT, social security and insurance in order
• Available to start within two to three weeks
• Valued, not required: experience managing landscaping and irrigation contractors
• engineering degree or Ordem dos Engenheiros registration
• TSST/TST safety qualification
• Quinta do Lago, Vale doLobo or Vilamoura project experience
• KNX or similar domoticsexperience

Terms

• Engagement: services contract (prestação de serviços) with you personally or with your own company. Initial term 6 months from the start date, extendable by agreement to project completion (expected 9 to 12 months). The first month is a mutual trial; thereafter 30 days' notice either side.
• Fee: €5,500 to €7,500 per month plus VAT, according to experience, for full-time site presence. Invoiced monthly in arrears, each invoice accompanied by that month's weekly reports.
• Milestone and completion bonus: half a month's fee if the house is ready for initial use (as defined in the contract) by 30 March 2027, and one month's fee on practical completion within the agreed programme and budget.
• Accommodation: a two-bedroom staff apartment on site is available free of charge for the term of the contract, utilities included. Living on site is preferred, as it gives the house a presence outside working hours; if you do not live in, you must be based within 45 to 60 minutes of Almancil.
• Insurance and registrations: you carry your own professional civil liability and work-accident insurance and are responsible for your own tax and social security.
• Presence: on site every working day while contractors are on site; you set your own hours around that. Reachable by phone for site emergencies.
• Household staff: later in the project you may be asked to shortlist household staff (driver, housekeeper, chef, gardener) for final selection; optional and agreed separately.