Remote Purchasing Manager, Custom Residential Construction

Cottagesmith; Brookhaven (GA); Hybrid; USD 85,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

1099 independent contractor

Potential W-2 transition

Periodic travel to vendor locations

Job summary

CottageSmith in North Atlanta, GA, seeks an experienced Purchasing Manager to lead preconstruction, bidding, subcontractor buyout, and job-cost management for custom residential projects. You will translate plans into clear scopes of work and accurate budgets, solicit bids, negotiate terms, and maintain compliant documentation throughout the build.

Monitor actual costs against budgets, review change orders, and identify financial risks.

Qualifications

• Four years+ of purchasing, estimating, buyout, or preconstruction experience in custom or luxury residential construction.
• Strong ability to read residential construction plans and specifications.
• Demonstrated experience writing detailed scopes of work.
• Experience soliciting, leveling, negotiating, and awarding subcontractor bids.

Responsibilities

• Review plans, specs, selections, and project requirements in detail.
• Write complete, trade-specific scopes of work for each project.
• Translate design documents into clear and biddable subcontractor packages.
• Solicit proposals from qualified subcontractors and vendors.
• Establish bid schedules and follow up to keep the buyout process moving.
• Compare bids on an apples-to-apples basis.
• Identify exclusions, allowances, scope gaps, inconsistencies, and missing costs.
• Negotiate pricing, scope, and terms before awarding work.
• Compile awarded bids into organized project budgets by trade and construction phase.
• Recruit subcontractors in trades or service areas where additional capacity is needed.
• Evaluate prospective trade partners for licensing, insurance, reputation, experience, capacity, and pricing.
• Coordinate subcontractor onboarding and collect required documentation.
• Issue and maintain subcontract agreements that reflect scope, price, and terms.
• Track certificates of insurance, licensing, workers' compensation docs, and other compliance records.
• Maintain an organized library of subcontractor agreements, historical pricing, unit pricing, and vendor information.
• Build productive, long-term relationships with the company's subcontractor base.
• Monitor subcontractor performance and backup coverage for critical trades.
• Track actual job costs against awarded project budgets throughout construction.
• Review cost overruns, change orders, allowances, and budget adjustments.
• Keep project budgets current as live financial documents.
• Prepare job-cost reports across the active project portfolio.
• Identify projects trending over budget and communicate potential risks early.
• Work with Construction Managers to resolve scope questions, procurement needs, and subcontractor performance issues.
• Coordinate with ownership and design to confirm selections and pricing align with target budget before construction begins.
• Maintain purchasing and project information in Buildertrend, JobTread, Excel, Google Sheets, and related systems.

Skills

Purchasing

Estimating

Preconstruction

Plan reading

Negotiation

Vendor management

Communication

Tools

Buildertrend

JobTread

Excel

Google Sheets

Job description

CottageSmith in North Atlanta, GA, seeks an experienced Purchasing Manager to lead preconstruction, bidding, subcontractor buyout, and job-cost management for custom residential projects. You will translate plans into clear scopes of work and accurate budgets, solicit bids, negotiate terms, and maintain compliant documentation throughout the build.

Monitor actual costs against budgets, review change orders, and identify financial risks.