Utilities Project Manager

Woodlake Trails; Southfield (MI); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical & Prescription

Dental & Vision

On-Site Fitness Center

401(k) Sun match

Tuition Reimbursement

Parental Leave & PTO

Job summary

Sun Communities is seeking a Utilities Project Manager to plan, manage, and deliver utility infrastructure projects, focused on water meter installations, across multiple sites. You will oversee scope, scheduling, permitting, procurement, and vendor coordination to meet milestones within budget.

You will track progress, manage risks, and drive closeout with a focus on quality and seamless handoff to the Utilities Program Manager for ongoing operations.

Qualifications

• High School Diploma or GED.
• Bachelor's Degree in Business, Construction Management, or Engineering (Preferred).
• 3 years in project management experience in field-based installation, construction, or infrastructure projects (Preferred).
• Experience building and maintaining schedules across multiple sites.
• Experience coordinating vendors, contractors, or field crews against a plan.
• Familiarity with permitting processes and municipal/utility coordination.
• Budget management experience (tracking spend against plan).
• PM certification (PMP, CAPM, or equivalent).
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Advanced proficiency with MS Office and project scheduling tools.

Responsibilities

• Builds and maintains detailed project schedules for metering and utility installations.
• Manages installation timelines and sequences by geography and season.
• Develops project plans including scope, deliverables, budget, timeline, and success criteria.
• Tracks permit status and drives resolution of blockers.
• Manages procurement of materials and components to align with schedules.
• Coordinates installation vendors, contractors, and field crews daily.
• Runs recurring project check-ins and tracks actions to closure.
• Monitors installation quality and manages punch lists with vendors.
• Tracks project budget and manages variances and change orders.
• Maintains risk and issue registers and drives mitigation.
• Reports status, milestones, risks, and forecasts to leadership.
• Coordinates with community management on installation logistics.
• Completes structured project closeout and validates commissioning readings.
• Facilitates handoff to Utilities Program Manager and documents lessons learned.
• Other duties as assigned.

Skills

Schedule management

Vendor coordination

Budget management

Permitting knowledge

Communication

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Business/Construction/Engineering

PM Certification (PMP, CAPM, or equivalent)

Tools

MS Project

Smartsheet

Wrike

Job description

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The Utilities Project Manager is responsible for planning, managing, and delivering utility infrastructure projects across the portfolio, ensuring completion within established timelines, budgets, and applicable requirements. This role oversees defined-scope projects from initiation through closeout, including project planning, scheduling, permitting, procurement, vendor and contractor coordination, budget management, risk mitigation, and quality oversight. With a strong focus on the water meter installation program, the Utilities Project Manager is accountable for meeting critical installation milestones and supporting the seamless transition of completed and commissioned projects to the Utilities Program Manager for ongoing operational oversight and performance monitoring.

Job Duties

• Builds and maintains detailed project schedules for metering and utility infrastructure installations, including milestones, dependencies, and the critical path. (Essential)
• Manages critical installation timelines and sequences work by geography, season, and operational requirements to ensure project milestones and deadlines are achieved. (Essential)
• Develops the project plan for each initiative, including scope, deliverables, budget, timeline, and success criteria, and secures alignment before work begins. (Essential)
• Tracks permit status site by site, owns the permitting workflow, and drives resolution of permitting blockers ahead of scheduled installations. (Essential)
• Manages the procurement of materials, equipment, and utility components to ensure availability aligns with project schedules and installation timelines. (Essential)
• Coordinates installation vendors, contractors, and field crews day to day to keep projects on schedule, on scope, and on budget. (Essential)
• Runs recurring project check-ins, publishes agendas and notes, and tracks action items and decisions to closure.
• Monitors installation quality against standards and manages punch lists and rework with vendors.
• Tracks project budget against plan, flags variances early, and manages change orders.
• Maintains a project risk and issue register, proactively identifying potential impacts to schedule, budget, scope, and permitting requirements and driving mitigation and resolution efforts through completion.
• Reports project status, milestones, risks, and forecast to the Director and Vice President on a recurring cadence.
• Coordinates with community management on installation logistics and resident‑facing impacts.
• Completes structured project closeout for each site, including verification that installed meters are reading correctly at commissioning.
• Facilitates the handoff of completed and commissioned sites to the Utilities Program Manager for ongoing operational management and documents lessons learned to support continuous improvement and future project success.
• Other duties and special projects as assigned.

Requirements

• High School Diploma or GED (Required)
• Bachelor's Degree in Business, Construction Management, or Engineering (Preferred)
• 3 years in project management experience in field-based installation, construction, or infrastructure projects (Preferred)
• Demonstrated experience building and holding a schedule to firm deadlines across multiple concurrent sites
• Experience coordinating vendors, contractors, or field crews against a plan, including managing quality and change orders
• Familiarity with permitting processes and municipal/utility coordination
• Budget management experience (tracking project spend against plan and managing variances)
• Project management certification (PMP, CAPM, or equivalent)
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Advanced computer proficiency with the ability to use Microsoft Office Suite applications, project scheduling tools (e.g., MS Project, Smartsheet, Wrike), email, and internet-based applications
• Highly organized and detail-oriented
• Strong organizational and analytical skills
• Must have a valid driver's license
• Knowledge of project management tools and procedures

BENEFITS

At Sun Communities, you will be part of an industry-leading organization where you will be challenged, inspired, rewarded and transformed. We place a high priority on our team members, and this is a big part of what sets us apart. We will ask you to give us your very best every day, and will challenge you with interesting work, stretch assignments, a collaborative and supportive work environment and plenty of learning and growth. In exchange, we will reward you with great pay, advancement opportunities, paid time off, great benefits, and flexibility.

• Comprehensive Medical and Prescription coverage with 4plan optionsso you can choose the plan that best meets the needs of you and your family
• Comprehensive Dental and Vision Plans
• On-Site Fitness Center
• Voluntary Health and Dependent Care Reimbursement Accounts
• Life, Accidental Death & Dismemberment Insurance and Dependent Life
• Short and Long-Term Disability Coverage
• 401(k) Plan with Sun matching contribution
• Employee Assistance Program
• Identity Theft Insurance
• Legal Assistance Plan
• Pet Insurance
• Tuition Reimbursement program providing financial support to team members who further their formal education
• Vacation RV Site Discounts for team members when visiting Sun resorts across the nation
• Team Member Perks & Discounts program with hundreds of discounts on things like travel, merchandise, mobile phone service, and more
• Up to six weeks of paid parental leave for the birth of a child, adoption, or placement of a child
• Paid Time Off including ten holidays, vacation, personal, sick time, bereavement and pay for jury duty

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