Project Manager (Sr. - Staff) | COMMERCIAL BUILDING, CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION

AEP; Columbus (OH); On-site; USD 99,000 - 151,000; Full time

Job summary

American Electric Power in Columbus, OH seeks a senior-level Project Manager to lead major capital construction projects from $40M to $250M. Plan, direct, and manage project scope, cost, schedule, and procurement while protecting the Owner's interests.

The role requires coordinating with sponsors, executives, and contractors, staffing internal teams, and delivering projects on time and within budget. PMP preferred; travel may be involved.

Qualifications

• Experience in project management and capital construction.
• Strong leadership and team-building abilities.
• Excellent communication with stakeholders at all levels.

Responsibilities

• Plan, organize, direct, coordinate and supervise project activities.
• Lead with project management principles (Waterfall, Agile).
• Manage procurement, contracts, bids, and vendor performance.
• Oversee cost, schedule, and scope management across multiple contractors.
• Ensure project documentation turnover and contract closeout.
• Mentor junior project managers and coordinate with stakeholders.

Skills

Project management

Leadership

Communication

Risk management

Contract negotiations

Budgeting

Education

Bachelor's/Associate/High School path with experience

Job description

Project Manager (Sr. - Staff) | COMMERCIAL BUILDING, CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION

Location: Columbus, OH

Category : Project Management/Controls

Job Summary

We are seeking an experienced commercial building project manager with a strong background in construction and capital project delivery. The ideal candidate will have the capability to represent and protect the Owner’s interests on major capital construction projects for AEP facilities and manage projects ranging from $40 million to $250 million.

Job Description

More Specific to This Opportunity:

• • Partner with Project Sponsors and Executives to define and initiate projects
  • Assemble, lead, and manage the internal project team
  • Develop project scope, cost, and schedule plans
  • Secure project funding approvals
  • Coordinate with Procurement to manage the full bid process, including RFP development, contract negotiation, and award
  • Manage contractors to ensure delivery of contracted scope within approved budget and schedule
  • Coordinate and integrate all scheduled activities across multiple contractors and Owner-provided scope
  • Lead project risk identification, analysis, mitigation, and tracking efforts
  • Ensure proper turnover of all project documentation to internal stakeholders
  • Close out all contracts and work orders upon project completion

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• • Plan, organize, direct, coordinate and supervise assigned project activities becoming proficient in all aspects. Utilize various project management principles and techniques (Waterfall, Agile) and successfully implement these techniques in project management for the organization.
  • Support and hold employees and contractors accountable for the AEP System Safety Process, ensuring a safe working environment focused on Zero Harm.
  • Manage, develop, review and coordinate the project/outage plan, schedule, and budget becoming proficient in all aspects. Manage cost and timely reallocation of funding.
  • Effectively communicate project details and status updates. Lead planning meetings and project updates including typical stakeholder presentations. Provide clear and concise written and oral reports and other communications.
  • Develop and actively manage working relationships with the project team, plant and operating company staff, internal and external customers or partners, contractors, vendors, and suppliers. Foster teamwork and actively pursue customer satisfaction.
  • Provide specific guidance, instruction, and training to improve design, systems, procedures, processes, schedules, and costs. Confidently challenge others at a level of informed understanding in all project work.
  • Ensure maximum customer satisfaction and demonstrate effective and efficient performance of project work activities on intermediate project level at a minimum.
  • Mentor other project managers. Direct and supervise sub-team project managers as assigned.
  • Develop and manage procurement plans for necessary outside resources. Manage contracts for outside services, including developing requests for proposals, evaluating competitive bids, selecting vendors, participating in contract negotiations, overseeing vendor performance/quality, ensuring work is performed in accordance with the contract, etc.
  • Conduct and supervise closeout processes, including an analysis of the success of the project with respect to accomplishing the project objectives and realizing project benefits.
  • Develop an understanding of the AEP project management organizational standards and assist in the management of projects to those standards.
  • Manage programs as assigned.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

Based on education, experience, interview and internal equity, thisopportunity will be filled at either title. For this posting, minimum requirements are stated at the lower grade. Increased expectations are at the higher grade.

Project Manager Principal (grade 9)

Project Manager Sr. (grade 8)

Bachelor's degree in Construction Management, Engineering, Business, Project Management, Computer Science, or related field of study dependent upon business unit requirements with five (5) years qualified experience; OR,

Associate’s degree in the same required disciplines with seven (7) years of qualified experience; OR,

High School Diploma/GED with nine (9) years qualified experience (see below); OR,

Two (2) years of experience as a PROJECT MANAGER (Grade 7) OR demonstrated competencies, knowledge and skillset through achieved results in a shorter timeline.

Qualified experience includes work in project management, major construction field experience, project estimating, project controls, project engineering, and/or comparable internal or external experience in a competitive production environment. Experience must exhibit progressively increasing project management and business acumen and responsibility for most of the certifying body knowledge areas.

Demonstrated preparedness for journey level PM knowledge capability in areas of construction safety, negotiations, scope development and control, cost estimating, construction contracting, project controls and reporting, quality control, risk management, etc

Experience in utilities, commercial nuclear power, and/or IT systems is favorable.

PMP certification is preferred but not required.

Valid state driver's license is required.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS:

• • Provide effective leadership, team building and meeting management skills as outlined by the certifying body and the AEP leadership competencies and values. Develop a high level of confidence in the ability, and demonstrate the motivation and attitude, to lead a team and a project to successful conclusion.
  • Lead with effective and compelling communication, including the use of effective listening, with all stakeholders including team members, sponsors, management and senior management.
  • Apply economic analysis techniques and an acumen for the business and profession in project decision making and ensure alignment of project and company financial goals.
  • Influence the engineering and design, Procurement, Contracting, Estimating, and Construction procedures and processes to optimize project execution. Ensure the project team utilizes the latest business unit guidelines and requirements. Identify opportunities for business process improvement within project scope.
  • Apply working knowledge of the certifying body Project Management tools and techniques.
  • Provide strategic thinking, planning, risk assessment and prioritization of project activities. Globally view the project from all angles such as safety, constructability, sequence, changing conditions, contingencies, contractual, predictability, level of priority, sense of direction and sense of productivity to quickly identify and to avoid or to mitigate project risks. Also, demonstrates sound decision-making practices.
  • Provide organization of project activities, delegate project task assignments, confidently set team requirements and expectations to manage deliverables and hold team members accountable. Provide constructive feedback to team members.
  • Effectively prioritize and manage conflict to provide solutions to issues that maximize synergies with an overriding goal to do the “right thing” for the company. Take timely independent action and know when to elevate an issue.
  • Proficient in scope management, evolution of technical options, and project risk factors and mitigation methods.
  • Proficient in contract development and management with acceptable allocation of risks within the terms of the contract.
  • Act with integrity by demonstrating accountability for project assignments.
  • Promote continuous improvement and maintain a strong questioning attitude. Ask intrusive questions and challenge assumptions. Seek input from Subject Matter Experts by asking questions for understanding and compare with one’s own knowledge base.
  • Lead the evaluation and determination of the skill sets and capabilities of team members, and then make recommendations to ensure project success.
  • Safely and effectively Perform light physical duties. Duties can involve construction site walkdown on unstable surfaces, climbing ladders, and awareness of hazardous site conditions
  • Perform work at various AEP locations in varying conditions. Work sites will include home, office, power plants (including nuclear), and construction sites for Distribution, Transmission, Generation, and Telecom infrastructure. Work performed at nuclear power sites may involve work in hazardous areas and possible radiation exposure within the limits prescribed by the NRC.
  • Travel typically 25% or less however greater travel may be required in support of specific assignments.
  • Understand and support the policies, values, principles, structure and behavior of AEP.

WHAT YOU'LL GET

In addition to base salary, AEP offers competitive Total Rewards including: discretionary annual incentive, 401(k), pension, health insurance, vacation, educational assistance, etc.

WHO WE ARE

At AEP, we’re more than just an energy company — we’re a team of dedicated professionals committed to delivering safe, reliable, and innovative energy solutions. Guided by our mission to put the customer first, we strive to exceed expectations by listening, responding, and continuously improving the way we serve our communities. If you're passionate about making a meaningful impact and being part of a forward-thinking organization, this is the company for you!

AMERICAN ELECTRIC POWER (on-site)

#AEPCareers

#LI-ONSITE

Compensation

$98,993.00 - $151,000.00

Physical Demands

The Physical Demand Level for this job is: L – Light Work: Exerting up to 20 pounds of force occasionally and/or 10 to 12 pounds of force frequently, and/or greater than negligible up to 5-6 pounds of force constantly to move objects. Physical demand requirements are in excess of those for sedentary work. Even though the weight lifted may be only a negligible amount, a job should be rated Light Work: (1) When it requires walking or standing to a significant degree; or (2) when it requires sitting most of the time, but entails pushing and/or pulling of arm or leg c ontrols; and/or (3) when the job requires working at a production rate pace entailing the constant pushing and/or pulling of materials even though the weight of those materials is negligible. NOTE: The constant stress and strain of maintaining a production rate pace, especially in an industrial setting, can be and is physically demanding of a worker even though the amount of force exerted is negligible.

Equal Employment Opportunity

It is hereby reaffirmed that it is the policy of American Electric Power (AEP) to provide Equal Employment Opportunity in all respects of the employer-employee relationship including recruiting, hiring, upgrading and promotion, conditions and privileges of employment, company sponsored training programs, educational assistance, social and recreational programs, compensation, benefits, transfers, discipline, layoffs and termination of employment to all employees and applicants without discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age, veteran or military status, disability, genetic information, or any other basis prohibited by applicable law. When required by law, we might record certain information or applicants for employment may be invited to voluntarily disclose protected characteristics.

“Knowing that I am part of team that is making the power grid safer and more reliable gives me a real sense of responsibility and enthusiasm for coming to work every day.”

Manage, or assist in the management of, base, intermediate, and/or complex projects providing leadership, direction, coordination, and effective communication to initiate , plan, execute, monitor and control, and close projects in a safe, efficient, economical, risk-balanced approach to achieve short- and long-range goals and to obtain maximum customer satisfaction. Provide project transparency and develop relationships and effectively communicate with all stakeholders including internal customers, external customers, team members, suppliers, contractors, vendors, and industry peers, enabling them to make sound business decisions. Enable and promote team level continuous improvement activities that increase quality and optimize delivery of value.

This role is responsible for shaping how technology delivery is carried out across the enterprise. This role goes beyond traditional project management—focusing on defining delivery practices, driving adoption, and establishing consistent measurement of execution performance across the Technology organization.You will partner with Technology leadership to improve delivery discipline, transparency, and predictability by embedding standard methodologies, governance, and performance tracking frameworks across teams.

This role will be responsible for coordinating project cost analysis and controls for team activities supporting the Project Managers (PMs), or other staff, including overseeing the cost reporting for multiple projects and monitoring project budgets to assure accurate depiction of project cost on large and complex projects under minimal supervision. Responsibilities include input of budgets within the AEP corporate systems, providing ongoing forecast updates and variance analysis at the program and project levels, input and tracking of key performance indicators, and working collaboratively with project teams to implement project management best practices throughout the project lifecycle. Provides communication and develops partnerships with internal and external customers. As a senior member of the team, expectations include developing/conducting training, leading continuous process improvement efforts and developing tools and processes utilized within the work group. Depending on the assigned business unit, this position might also be responsible for creation of work orders and having direct interface in coordinating with external contractors and vendors to integrate these parties into the overall project budget and schedule.

AEP offers generous time off, competitive pay, and educational opportunities to help employees advance their careers.

Our culture is purpose-driven and team-oriented: we combine innovation with a customer-first focus to deliver reliable energy and brighter futures.