Construction Program Manager 1

Actalent; United States; Remote; USD 69,000 - 83,000; Full time

Job summary

Actalent seeks a Construction Program Manager I to oversee planning, coordination, and delivery of datacenter construction in a remote environment. You will manage safety, scope, schedule, budget, and risk while driving scalable solutions and reporting to stakeholders.

You will liaise with internal partners and external vendors, lead project communication, and ensure milestones are met with strong cost controls and governance. This contract role supports nationwide datacenter projects.

Qualifications

• High school qualification or equivalent with 1+ year in datacenter/mission-critical environments or equivalent.
• 1+ year delivering end-to-end datacenter or mission-critical projects with cross-functional teams.
• Strong understanding of construction, cost, schedule, and safety management.

Responsibilities

• Plan and coordinate engineering, R&D, financial systems, product roll-out, and datacenter construction projects.
• Develop best practices to achieve cost-effective solutions across projects.
• Manage vendor and partner contracts to support project delivery.
• Drive scalable solutions for construction and operations projects.
• Facilitate decision-making to support schedules and change management.
• Review cost, KPI metrics, invoices, and communications with client partners.
• Provide weekly project status reporting for transparency and delivery.

Skills

Datacenter construction

Cost management

Schedule management

Safety management

Stakeholder management

Vendor coordination

Clear communication

Risk management

Budget monitoring

RFPs/PERs

Independent decision making

Education

Construction Management or Engineering degree

Professional licenses in CM or Engineering

Tools

Bluebeam

Primavera P6

Job description

Job Title: Construction Program Manager I

Job Description

The Construction Program Manager I oversees the planning, coordination, and delivery of complex datacenter construction and other mission-critical projects in a remote environment. This role focuses on managing safety, scope, schedule, budget, and risk while driving cost-effective, scalable solutions across operations construction projects. The Construction Program Manager I serves as a key liaison between internal partners and external vendors, ensuring predictable project milestones and clear, consistent reporting.

Responsibilities

• Plan, direct, and coordinate activities related to engineering, research and development, financial systems, product roll-out, and datacenter construction projects.
• Develop and maintain best practices to identify and implement cost-effective solutions across operations construction projects.
• Manage the selection, contracting, and integration of multiple vendors and internal partners to support project delivery.
• Drive the deployment of scalable solutions for construction and operations projects, ensuring alignment with organizational goals.
• Facilitate decision-making that supports project solutions, schedules, and change management activities.
• Apply strategic thinking, influence, and negotiation skills to evaluate options and recommend effective project solutions.
• Regularly review cost and KPI metrics, invoices, and policy and process communications with client partners.
• Serve as the single point of contact for project development and delivery, ensuring clear communication among stakeholders.
• Coordinate meetings and activities with vendors and cost managers, incorporating lessons learned into ongoing and future projects.
• Attend owner/architect/contractor (OAC) and other project meetings, providing timely updates on scope, schedule, and budget.
• Report project progress on scope, schedule, and budget on a weekly basis or as required.
• Provide consistent weekly project status reporting to maintain transparency and predictable delivery.
• Lead the development, management, and reporting of safety, scope, schedule, budget, and risk for assigned projects.
• Maintain direct fiscal responsibility for approved project budgets, including monitoring expenditures and cost controls.
• Operate independently in support of datacenter operations, making informed decisions to keep projects on track.
• Prepare Requests for Proposal (RFPs), Project Execution Requests (PERs), and other approval documentation required for project initiation and changes.
• Validate vendor costs by reviewing and approving pay applications and change orders to ensure contract compliance.
• Coordinate construction execution, including field activities, contractor performance, and milestone tracking.
• Review safety and field progress regularly to ensure compliance with safety standards and project quality expectations.
• Manage schedule and milestone risks by identifying potential delays and implementing mitigation strategies.
• Resolve technical and stakeholder dependencies that could impact project delivery.
• Monitor contractor performance and address issues proactively to maintain quality and schedule commitments.
• Provide clear, structured project status reporting to stakeholders to support predictable and transparent delivery.

Essential Skills

• High school qualification or equivalent and at least 1 year of experience in datacenter construction or mission-critical environments, or equivalent experience.
• At least 1 year of experience managing end-to-end delivery of complex datacenter construction projects or related mission-critical environment projects with cross-functional teams, independently meeting delivery deadlines, or equivalent experience.
• Deep understanding of construction management, including cost management, schedule management, and safety management.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to serve as a single point of contact and provide clear, consistent project updates.
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate construction execution and monitor safety and field progress.
• Experience managing schedule and milestone risks and implementing mitigation strategies.
• Ability to resolve technical and stakeholder dependencies that impact project delivery.
• Proficiency in reviewing and validating vendor costs, pay applications, and change orders for contract compliance.
• Strong project coordination skills, including organizing meetings, tracking KPIs, and integrating lessons learned.
• Ability to work independently in support of datacenter operations and make informed decisions.
• Effective stakeholder management skills, including collaboration with vendors, cost managers, and internal partners.
• Solid time management skills to handle multiple projects and deadlines in a remote work setting.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Bachelors or Technical College Degree in Construction Management, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field and at least 1 year of progressive experience in the development of mission-critical facilities, or a high school qualification or equivalent and at least 1 year of progressive experience in the development of mission-critical facilities.
• Professional licenses in Construction Management and/or Electrical or Mechanical Engineering.
• Experience in mission-critical facilities, such as datacenters or similar high-availability environments.
• Strong technical understanding of construction processes and systems in mission-critical settings.
• Ability to proactively identify safety, quality, schedule, cost, and delivery risks and coordinate teams to address them.
• Comfort working both in the field and with project data, including metrics, schedules, and budgets.
• Familiarity with Bluebeam and Primavera P6 (P6), especially for candidates with relevant scheduling or document management experience.
• Strong negotiation and influence skills to evaluate options and recommend effective solutions.
• Experience preparing RFPs, Project Execution Requests, and other project approval documentation.
• Ability to interpret and act on cost and KPI metrics, invoices, and process communications.

Work Environment

This is a fully remote role with an expected schedule of approximately 40 hours per week. The position supports datacenter and mission-critical construction projects, requiring regular coordination with internal teams, vendors, and external partners via virtual meetings and reporting tools. You will use standard computer equipment, including a monitor, keyboard, headset, and mouse, and may leverage tools such as Bluebeam and Primavera P6 for document management and scheduling if you have relevant experience. The work environment emphasizes safety, predictable delivery, clear communication, and collaborative problem-solving across geographically dispersed teams, while allowing you to operate independently and manage your own time effectively.

Job Type & Location

This is a Contract position based out of Raleigh, NC.

Pay and Benefits

The pay range for this position is $50.00 - $60.00/hr.

Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors.

Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your jobclassification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may besubject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefitsavailable for this temporary role may include the following:Medical, dental & visionCritical Illness, Accident, and Hospital401(k) Retirement Plan Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions availableLife Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents)Short and long-term disabilityHealth Spending Account (HSA)Transportation benefitsEmployee Assistance ProgramTime Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)

Job Type & Location

This is a Contract position based out of Raleigh, NC.

Application Deadline

This position is anticipated to close on Nov 6, 2026.

Workplace Type

This is a fully remote position.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications withoutregard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability,sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protectedby law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification oradjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability,please email [e-mail] for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance:

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in thecity and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicantswith arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector:

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as acondition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this lawshall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI):

We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process,including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applicationsand qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, youacknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.