Assistant Managing Director, Coalition for Smart Construction

The Chronicle Of Higher Education, Inc.; Virginia; On-site; USD 95,000 - 135,000; Full time

Job summary

Virginia Tech seeks a full-time Assistant Managing Director to provide strategic operational leadership for the Coalition for Smart Construction (CSC) and the Smart Construction Lab in Falls Church, VA. This role anchors day-to-day operations and coordinates across research, facilities, communications, workforce development, and budgeting.

Reporting to the MD of CSC, the Assistant Managing Director will chair the Launch Working Group, drive process improvements, and ensure timely deliverables

Qualifications

• Advanced degree or Bachelor's degree with relevant management experience.
• Proven project management and operations experience.
• Ability to lead multiple stakeholders and priorities.
• Strong organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication across teams.
• Experience coordinating projects in fast-paced environments.
• Ability to manage schedules and deliverables with attention to detail.

Responsibilities

• Chair a Launch Working Group and coordinate CSC operations.
• Oversee day-to-day execution across CSC and Smart Construction Lab.
• Align activities across research, operations, facilities, and communications.
• Manage timelines, deliverables, and cross-functional collaboration.

Skills

Project management

Operations

Organizational coordination

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication skills

Analytical skills

Problem-solving

Time management

Attention to detail

Leadership

Education

Advanced degree or Bachelor's degree with relevant management experience

Job description

Job Description

Virginia Tech is committed to shaping the future of industry,innovation, and workforce development through boldinterdisciplinary collaboration and applied research. The Coalitionfor Smart Construction (CSC) is an emerging initiative designed toaccelerate innovation across the construction industry throughresearch, technology integration, talent development, and industrypartnership. Operating across Virginia Tech and industry hubs inNorthern Virginia and Blacksburg, CSC is building a collaborativeecosystem that connects academia, industry, and government to solvemajor challenges in the built environment.

To support this rapidly growing initiative, Virginia Tech seeks afull-time Assistant Managing Director to provide strategicoperational leadership, organizational coordination, and programmanagement across the Coalition for Smart Construction and theSmart Construction Lab. The Assistant Managing Director anchorsCSC's day-to-day operations and chairs a CSC Launch Working Groupthat includes two specialist consulting leads and a domain advisor,helping launch core infrastructure, including CSC's Digital CommonsPortal and the Smart Construction Lab in Falls Church, Virginia.This position is restricted; therefore, continuation of thisappointment is subject to the availability of funds, the need forservices, and satisfactory performance.

Reporting to the Managing Director of the Coalition for SmartConstruction, the Assistant Managing Director serves as the centraloperational and strategic coordinator and the single point ofaccountability for day-to-day execution. This role alignsactivities across research, operations, facilities, communications,memberships, workforce development, budgeting, and industrycollaboration while ensuring that strategic priorities are executedefficiently and effectively. The Assistant Managing Directorcoordinates cross-functional efforts among faculty, universityleadership, industry partners, consultants, vendors, andoperational teams, and integrates the work of the consulting leads(Operations & Process; Digital Commons & Education) and thedomain advisor into a coherent whole.

The Assistant Managing Director oversees organizational workflows,meeting coordination, project tracking, operational planning,communications, and implementation activities associated with CSCand the Smart Construction Lab, chairing the Launch Working Groupon a regular cadence. Particular emphasis will be placed on:

• Coordinating Smart Construction Lab setup and operational readiness,
• integrating the Digital Commons Portal build into CSC operations as it goes live,
• managing timelines and deliverables across multiple stakeholders and the consulting leads,
• converting designed processes and systems into running, routinized operations,
• and ensuring effective execution of strategic priorities.

The role requires an individual who thrives in fast-paced, highlycollaborative environments and who can balance strategic thinkingwith operational excellence. The successful candidate must behighly organized, proactive, detail-oriented, and capable ofmanaging multiple complex initiatives simultaneously.

Required Qualifications

• Advanced degree or Bachelor’s degree with significant relavantexperience in a related field, such as Business, management,construction, or administration.
• Demonstrated experience in project management, operations,organizational coordination, or similar roles.
• Proven ability to manage complex initiatives involving multiplestakeholders and competing priorities.
• Strong organizational, analytical, and problem-solvingskills.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively acrossinterdisciplinary teams and organizational levels.
• Experience coordinating projects in fast-paced and evolvingenvironments.
• Ability to manage schedules, deliverables, operational systems,and follow-up activities with strong attention to detail.
• Demonstrated professionalism, discretion, and interpersonaleffectiveness.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working in higher education, research, innovation, orindustry-partnership environments.
• Familiarity with construction, engineering, manufacturing,technology, or innovation ecosystems.
• Experience supporting facility operations, researchinfrastructure, laboratory coordination, or capital projects.
• Experience with digital collaboration platforms, CustomerRelationship Management (CRM)systems, databases, oroperational-management software.
• Demonstrated success coordinating interdisciplinary teams andlarge-scale initiatives.
• Familiarity with strategic planning, budgeting, operationalscaling, or startup-style organizational growth.
• Experience supporting applied research, workforce development, orinnovation-focused initiatives.

Overtime Status

Exempt: Not eligible for overtime

Appointment Type

Restricted

Salary Information

$95,000 - $135,000

Hours per week

40

Review Date

Open until filled, applications will be reviewed starting August,28, 2026

Additional Information

The successful candidate will be required to have a criminalconviction check.

About Virginia Tech

Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve),Virginia Tech pushes the boundaries of knowledge by taking ahands-on, transdisciplinary approach to preparing scholars to beleaders and problem-solvers. A comprehensive land-grant institutionthat enhances the quality of life in Virginia and throughout theworld, Virginia Tech is an inclusive community dedicated to knowledge, discovery, andcreativity. The university offers more than 280 majors to a diverseenrollment of more than 36,000 undergraduate, graduate, andprofessional students in eight undergraduate colleges , a school of medicine , a veterinary medicine college, Graduate School , and Honors College . The university has a significant presenceacross Virginia, including Blacksburg, the greater Washington, D.C.area, the Health Sciences and Technology Campus in Roanoke, sitesin Newport News and Richmond, and numerous Extension offices and research institutes . A leading global research institution,Virginia Tech conducts more than $650 million in researchannually.

Virginia Tech endorses and encourages participation in professionaldevelopment opportunities and university shared governance . These valuablecontributions to university shared governance provide importantrepresentation and perspective, along with opportunities for uniqueand impactful professional development.

Virginia Tech does not discriminate against employees, students, orapplicants on the basis of age, color, disability, sex (includingpregnancy), gender, gender identity, gender expression, geneticinformation, ethnicity or national origin, political affiliation,race, religion, sexual orientation, or military status, orotherwise discriminate against employees or applicants who inquireabout, discuss, or disclose their compensation or the compensationof other employees or applicants, or on any other basis protectedby law.

If you are an individual with a disability and desire anaccommodation, please contact Erin Poff at [e-mail] during regularbusiness hours at least 10 business days prior to the event.