Construction Manager

CONSTRUCTION MANAGER — CHICAGO, IL

Saturn x VHI Program · Job Description · September 2026 ·Independent contractor (1099) engagement

Mandate

Every crew builds every day, and nothing about the field is invisible. The Construction Manager is the program's ground truth in the CHICAGO markets: crews are subcontractor crews, sites arrive in varying states of readiness, and the build cycle is the program's most valuable lever. The current program average is 3.0 crew-days per building; the operational focus of this role is driving it to 2.0.

Position

• Markets: CHICAGO, IL, with regular presence on active sites in both.
• Reporting: works within the Midwest project management structure —Project Manager, and Matt Alden, Project Controls Manager, both of whom direct work across all Midwest builds — with program oversight from Mike Churns, Program Director. The 30-day performance review is conducted by Jean Dodard, VP & Program Owner.
• Engagement: independent contractor (1099); the accompanying engagement letter governs terms.

Responsibilities

• Own the cycle time, and own taking it down. Verify each crew's progress against the build standard daily, construction and integration tracked separately. Hold the 3.0-day average as the floor and run the strip-a-day playbook toward 2.0: building access pre-scheduled before crews roll, build kits staged on site, integration scheduled same-day behind construction, first-time-right quality so nothing returns. Identify where the third day goes, per crew, and spread the methods of the fastest crews to the rest.
• Run the readiness pipeline ahead of the crews. Walk and verify every released Chicago site within 2 business days: access, power, donor, permits, riser space. Keep a buffer of verified-ready sites in front of every crew. Flag not-ready sites same day with the specific cause.
• Manage sub crews by verification, not assumption. Morning crew-attendance confirmation against sub commitments. First-build quality inspection on every new crew before full-rate release. Punch-list discipline; rework is the silent killer of the cycle-time target.
• Stand up new crews in the field. Shadow new MDU crews through their first builds, enforce the build spec, and certify them to full rate within 2–3 builds. As new MDU-specific subcontractors join in these markets, the CM is where their crews become productive.
• Feed the daily report with field truth. Completions per crew, crews on site vs committed, readiness log, and blockers with cause — submitted daily from direct observation, not from sub say-so. The CM is the ground-truth source for the program's three numbers.
• Escalate with cause, same day. Site not ready, work not released, and crew not fielded are three different problems with three different owners. Name which one.
• Verify materials on site. Confirm the build kit is complete before the crew rolls; flag shortages against the kit-tracking process.
• Manage the MDU ground game. Property access scheduling with building managers, tenant-space conduct standards, and the construction-to-integration handoff in both markets.
• Introduce new subcontractors to the program. Bring qualified MDU-capable firms from the Chicago markets into the program's screening pipeline and run field onboarding for newly signed subs: program-standards orientation, build-spec walkthrough, and first-build certification. Screening runs through the program's vetting process; commercial terms remain with the Program Owner.