Preconstruction Director - Water & Wastewater Construction

Austin NAWIC; Kansas City (KS); On-site; USD 176,000 - 185,000; Full time

Job summary

McCarthy seeks a Water Preconstruction Director to lead all preconstruction efforts on large, complex water and wastewater projects. You will drive pursuit strategy, lead client meetings, and oversee cost estimating from conceptual through GMP, coordinating with operations, estimating and design management.

The role includes managing risk, budget control, and design development, while mentoring preconstruction staff and strengthening McCarthy’s position in the water/wastewater market, with a

Qualifications

• Requires Bachelor’s degree in Construction Management or Engineering.
• Minimum 10 years of applicable estimating, design management and/or field management experience.
• Strong knowledge of water/wastewater construction principles/practices.

Responsibilities

• Lead pursuit strategy and client meetings with owners and designers.
• Oversee preconstruction cost estimates from 10% to 100% design milestones.
• Manage risk identification and budget control throughout preconstruction and construction phases.
• Coordinate with owners, design teams, trade partners and vendors to secure GMPs and buyouts.
• Provide solutions balancing cost, schedule, and life-cycle performance.

Skills

Preconstruction management

Team leadership

Cost estimating

Risk management

Communication skills

Presentation skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in Construction Management or Engineering

Job description

POSITION SUMMARY

Water Preconstruction Director is responsible for leading all preconstruction efforts on large, complex water and wastewater projects, from early pursuit through handoff to construction. This role drives pursuit strategy and client-facing activities; leads collaborative delivery (CMAR and Progressive Design-Build) and fixed-price design-build efforts; and oversees schedule, design development, and cost estimating from conceptual through GMP. The Water Preconstruction Director manages risk identification and mitigation, ensures budget control and alignment with contractual requirements, and provides solutions that balance cost, schedule, constructability, and life-cycle performance. They serve as the central liaison between operations, estimating, and design management; build and maintain strong relationships with owners, designers, trade partners, and vendors; and develop and mentor preconstruction staff while advancing McCarthys position in the water/wastewater market.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Pursuit Phase

• Networks at conferences and industry events to develop relationships with designers, owners, equipment vendors, trade partners, etc.
• Works with team to develop pursuit strategy.
• Participates in client meeting
• Assists the Marketing Department in preparation of responses to RFPs and RFQs.
• Participates in interviews and interview preparation.
• Can lead a Design-Bid-Build or Fixed Price Design Build pursuit.

Preconstruction Phase

• Lead collaborative delivery projects (CMAR and Progressive Design Build) through the preconstruction phase.
• Leads a Fixed Price Design Build Project after award.
• Prepares or oversees preparation of preconstruction schedule with buy-in from internal departments as relates to them. Interfaces with the owners and designers to maintain schedule. Keeps internal departments informed of schedule changes as relates to their activities. This includes identifying the need for multiple GMPs to facilitate the overall project schedule.
• Leads the development of cost estimates at all design milestones (10% to 100%).
• Understands treatment plant process and can fills in design gaps for the completion of estimates as well as coordination between scopes.
• Coordinates the development and review of Self-Perform Estimates for the following Self-Perform:
• Concrete
• Misc Metals & FRP Installation
• Process Piping
• Process Equipment Installation
• Earthwork
• Underground Piping
• Leads the development of a GMP
• Manages the risk identification and mitigation process.
• Leads internal McCarthy estimate reviews and project team coordination and status meetings.
• Presents deliverables to the owner in a complete and organized manner, per the approved guidelines of McCarthy and the requirements of the owner.
• Provides alternative solutions taking into consideration cost, schedule, maintenance, and life cycle cost implications.
• Leads the development of Trade Partner and Vendor buyo
• Assists in the prequalification process of trade partners and vendors.
• Oversees the establishment and maintenance of budget control during the construction phase of the project.
• Attends and represents McCarthy in all design and coordination meetings. On some projects may lead these meetings. Maintains an action log for outstanding items and assigns responsibility for such action items. Maintains scope issues log and is responsible for compiling pricing (with assistance from estimating as needed).
• Assists Project team in design decisions and development of solutions.
• Reviews the project construction schedule and ensures the timely preparation of the General Conditions and coordination of General Conditions with trade packages.
• Manages and maintains consistent deliverables in the approved format.
• Manages all aspects of risk and defines such for the executive team.
• Ensures we are adhering to contractual requirements and strategically meeting overall goals by understanding preconstruction and construction contracts and applying knowledge to assigned project.
• Tracks and manages construction budget between formal estimating periods and keeps owner and team abreast of current budget and impact of design decisions.
• Acts as the team liaison between operations, estimating and design management.
• Leads the development and training of other preconstruction staff.
• Manages a relationship management plan with owners and key stakeholders in the markets that we cover.
• Builds and maintains relationships with design engineers.
• Builds and maintains solid relationships with subcontractors to obtain a competitive advantage for McCarthy.
• Attends industry events and represents McCarthy to the industry in a professional capacity.
• Maintains knowledge of cost elements of projects
• Implement all applicable Safety Programs and EEO/Affirmative Action Programs.

Construction Phase

• Works with construction teams to maintain dialogue and receive feedback for implementation in future preconstruction efforts.
• Monitors productivity, budgets vs actual costs, and labor rates for incorporation into current and future estimates.
• Assists team with clarifying scope of a budget, how scope was bought, and clarifying elements of the GMP as needed with the project team.
• Assist in reconciling costs with final design documents where a GMP was provided at an early design milestone.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelors degree in Construction Management, Engineering, and/or minimum 10 years of applicable estimating, design management and/or field management experience.
• Proven experience managing preconstruction for large scale projects ($100M+) with emphasis on highly complex projects.
• In-depth knowledge of water/wastewater construction principles/practices required.
• Experience managing and negotiating subcontracts and purchase orders.
• Experience with developing and managing relationships with owners, design teams, trade partners and vendors.
• Experience leading successful team ventures, including development of employees and maintaining relationships with external entities and subcontractor community.
• Self-starter. Highly motivated to bring results and success to the projects he/she leads.
• Focused on continuous improve
• Ability to build trust and influence others internally and externally.
• Demonstrates behaviors consistent with McCarthy core values.
• Maintains a value added approach to preconstruction.
• Strong communication skills with ability to communicate to varied audiences.
• Strong presentation skills.

McCarthy is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, including disability and protected veteran status.

For California locations only, the salary range for this position is: $175,600 - $184,800. This does not include possible bonus and other benefits which can impact total compensation. Compensation offered may vary based on work location, experience, qualifications, specialty, training, and market and business considerations, among other factors.

NOTICE TO EXTERNAL SEARCH FIRMS:McCarthys Talent Acquisition Team is the only authorized representativepermitted to engage with external search firms, staffing agencies, or other third-party recruiting partners. McCarthy maintains an Approved Agency List for recruiting partners, which is reviewed and updated annually.
McCarthy will only consider submissions from agencies with a signed fee agreement in place for the current year. McCarthy does not accept unsolicited resumes, candidate submissions, or referrals from agencies that do not meet these requirements.
If a candidate is submitted without an active agreement, McCarthy will have no obligation to pay any fees and reserves the right to contact, engage, interview, or hire such candidate(s) without any financial or other responsibility to the submitting agency. Unsolicited resumes, including those sent directly to hiring managers or other employees, will be considered the property of McCarthy.

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