Director of Preconstruction - Custom Homes

Keel Custom Homes; Virginia; On-site; USD 99,000 - 121,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Paid time off

401(k) with company match

Technology package

Professional-development opportunities

Bonus opportunities

Job summary

Keel Custom Homes in Richmond, VA is seeking a Director of Preconstruction for Custom Homes. This leadership role oversees the preconstruction team, drives schedule and budget accuracy, and partners with Sales, Estimating, and Construction to start homes on time.

You will own the process, manage consultants and jurisdictions, and lead hiring and growth reviews. The position emphasizes decisiveness, communication, and construction planning excellence.

Qualifications

• Experience leading and developing a team.
• Residential construction knowledge and experience managing multiple projects through preconstruction or comparable planning work.
• Record of improving processes, meeting deadlines, and coordinating across departments.
• Clear communication with homeowners, consultants, trade partners, and field teams.

Responsibilities

• Hit monthly and annual start targets with Sales, Estimating, and Construction.
• Lead, develop, and hold accountable the preconstruction team.
• Own the process, and change it when the same problem shows up twice.
• Release every job to the field with complete, matching plans, specs, selections, and budget.
• Own the consultant, engineer, and jurisdiction relationships.
• Lead hiring, training, and performance management, including twice-yearly growth reviews.
• Lead the weekly preconstruction meeting and maintain a clear, current schedule across the backlog.
• Ensure permits, plot plans, stakeouts, lot inspections, and required pre-start reviews are complete before releasing a home to Construction.

Job description

Keel Custom Homes

Director of Preconstruction - Custom Homes

Location: Richmond, VA

• Please do not apply if you are a coordinator looking for a bigger title.This is a leadership seat: people, process, and results, not a personal task list.
• Please do not apply if you send hard calls upstairs or build consensus until the moment passes.At Keel, you are the decision point when a job stalls or departments disagree.
• Please do not apply if nothing moves when you are out for a week, or if a reshuffled backlog rattles you.
• Apply if you have led people, made a call on incomplete information, owned it when it went wrong, and fixed it.
• Apply if you can still read a plan set, spot a constructability problem, and talk credibly with a superintendent or building official.

Keel builds custom homes on our clients' lots across Central Virginia. You will own everything between signed contract and construction start, and answer for one number: how fast and how cleanly homes start.

Success means homes start on schedule, customers stay informed and confident, and Construction receives complete, coordinated packages. You will improve contract-to-start turnaround while reducing avoidable errors and preconstruction-related budget variances.

You will:

1. Hit monthly and annual start targets with Sales, Estimating, and Construction.
2. Lead, develop, and hold accountable the preconstruction team.
3. Own the process, and change it when the same problem shows up twice.
4. Release every job to the field with complete, matching plans, specs, selections, and budget.
5. Own the consultant, engineer, and jurisdiction relationships.
6. Lead hiring, training, and performance management, including twice-yearly growth reviews.
7. Lead the weekly preconstruction meeting and maintain a clear, current schedule across the backlog.
8. Ensure permits, plot plans, stakeouts, lot inspections, and required pre-start reviews are complete before releasing a home to Construction.

You are decisive without being abrasive, self-starting, structured but not rigid, and comfortable being the final word. You sit on the management team and report to the Division Manager.

You bring:

• Demonstrated success leading and developing a team.
• Residential construction knowledge and experience managing multiple projects through preconstruction or comparable construction planning work.
• A record of improving processes, meeting deadlines, and coordinating across departments.
• Clear communication with homeowners, consultants, trade partners, and field teams.

We value Service First, Always Do the Right Thing, Have Fun, and Constant Pursuit of Excellence.

Pay and Benefits

• Full-time, in-office position.
• Base salary: $110,000 per year.
• Bonus opportunities.
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• 401(k) with company match
• Technology package
• Professional-development opportunities

Keel Custom Homes welcomes qualified applicants and considers candidates without regard to characteristics protected by applicable law.