Project Manager (Fiber/OSP)

Our client in the telecommunications industry is seeking an experienced Project Manager (OSP/Fiber) for an exciting contract to hire opportunity in Minneapolis, MN. This person must sit in market or be able to relocate or be in market as needed at their own expense. This person MUST HAVE large scale fiber/OSP deployment project management experience. Candidates without this specific experience will not be considered. Job Description: Overall Purpose: Responsible for end-to-end delivery of network programs and projects—primarily large-scale fiber build deployment ensuring scope, budget, quality, and stakeholder expectations are met while enabling successful market launch and operational readiness. Responsibilities: Serve as the single point of contact for end-to-end management of multiple projects/programs within the Network organization. Maintain in-market presence as required to support project execution, accelerate issue resolution, and ensure alignment with local stakeholders. Conduct end-to-end project management leadership across planning and build phases for new fiber deployment and network expansion initiatives: define scope, objectives, success criteria, estimates, dependencies, and implementation strategy. Develop detailed work plans, schedules, and project instrumentation to track milestones, dependencies, costs, and performance; apply strong financial acumen to forecast, control spend and ensure delivery on time and at or below budget. Lead project status meetings and recurring operations reviews in partnership with senior leadership; prepare executive-ready materials and communicate progress, risks, and actions through recurring executive updates. Identify resource demands, risks, and issues/roadblocks; recommend mitigation strategies and drive timely resolution within time and resource constraints. Manage and hold internal and external team members (including suppliers, vendors, and general contractors) accountable for deliverables and quality standards; deeply inspect field progress, identify risks early, and drive corrective actions to meet the market build plan. Provide overall direction plus technical and analytical guidance to cross-functional project teams spanning organizations and markets. Communicate plans, performance, risks, and actions to executive leadership on a recurring cadence; develop and deliver executive-ready materials and updates. Partner with market and operational stakeholders to coordinate build execution and market launch readiness; align launch timing with I&M teams and communicate construction locations and schedules with I&M and locate teams. Required Qualifications: 5 to 10 years of senior technical project/program management experience (network and/or infrastructure preferred). Demonstrated experience leading large-scale fiber optic build deployments (plan and build phases). Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams and manage external suppliers/vendors/general contractors to on-time and on-budget delivery. Strong risk, issue, dependency, and resource management capabilities, including development of mitigation strategies. Strong financial acumen, including budget tracking, forecasting, and cost controls. Ability to communicate effectively with stakeholders at all levels, including recurring executive leadership updates. In-market presence as required to support field execution and partner alignment. Preferred Qualifications: Experience coordinating utility locating, permitting, right-of-way, and construction sequencing for fiber builds. Experience coordinating market launch timing and readiness activities with construction and operations teams. Background in data management, business analytics, and executive-ready performance reporting. Skills and Tools: Leadership, accountability, attention to detail, and ability to drive outcomes in ambiguous environments. Intermediate to advanced Microsoft Excel skills (work plans, schedules, budget tracking, data analysis). Strong PowerPoint skills (executive communication, recurring ops reviews, and status updates). Power BI proficiency preferred (dashboards, KPI tracking, and performance reporting). Pay Range: $60/HR ($120k - $130k plus 9% bonus upon conversion) depending on experience. The specific compensation for this position will be determined by a number of factors, including the scope, complexity and location of the role as well as the cost of labor in the market; the skills, education, training, credentials and experience of the candidate; and other conditions of employment. Our full-time consultants have access to benefits including medical, dental, vision as well as 401K contributions. #J-18808-Ljbffr