Construction Project Manager

Job Description

Job Description

Position summary

Brookwood Group is seeking a contract Project Manager to lead cost estimating and pre-construction support on a federal construction program in Liberty County, GA. The Project Manager owns the estimate: building it, defending it, keeping it current through design, and putting credible options in front of the client when the number comes in over target. The Project Manager does not hold construction risk and does not act for the contractor.

Program-specific responsibilities

• Build and maintain the project cost estimate across all design phases, working alongside the Project Engineer.

• Produce and submit native estimate files and quantity takeoffs with each design submittal, in the formats the client requires.

• Keep the cost trend log current between milestones, logging each scope change, design development item, and market movement as it occurs rather than reconstructing it at the next submittal.

• Represent Brookwood at the three open-book reconciliation meetings, presenting and defending line-item positions against the contractor's estimate and driving each variance to resolution.

• When an estimate exceeds the target price, develop and price options that close the gap: scope adjustments, alternates, value engineering, phasing, and schedule-driven cost strategies, each with the tradeoff stated plainly.

• Support the client on agreement schedules due, including the cost and quantity backup those schedules depend on.

General project responsibilities

• Serve as the client's day-to-day point of contact on cost, and speak for Brookwood in meetings with the design team, contractor, and agency stakeholders.

• Review design documents at each milestone for constructability, completeness, and cost impact, and raise issues while they are still inexpensive to fix.

• Reconcile independent estimates against contractor and design-team estimates, isolate the drivers behind each variance, and document the basis of the agreed number.

• Maintain the basis of estimate: assumptions, exclusions, allowances, escalation, contingency, and market conditions, so any figure can be traced to its source months later.

• Monitor schedule against cost, and flag where sequence, procurement lead times, or phasing are moving the number.

• Review change proposals and contractor pricing for reasonableness, and recommend a position to the owner.

• Report cost status to the client at an executive level: where the project stands against target, what changed since last report, what is at risk, and what decision is needed.

• Direct the Project Engineer's work, review their takeoffs and quantities, and hold the quality standard on everything leaving the team.

• Keep project records complete and auditable, consistent with federal documentation expectations.

Required qualifications

• Federal government construction experience is required. Demonstrated work on projects for a federal agency or federally funded construction program, with working knowledge of federal procurement, documentation, and reporting expectations.

• 5-8+ years in construction project management, cost estimating, or preconstruction on vertical building construction.

• Demonstrated ownership of a project estimate from early design through award, including defending it in reconciliation.

• Fluency in a recognized estimating platform and in digital takeoff tools, with the ability to deliver native files rather than PDFs alone.

• Command of CSI MasterFormat or UNIFORMAT cost structures and the ability to move between them.

• Bachelor's degree in construction management, engineering, architecture, quantity surveying, or a related field, or equivalent experience.

• Eligible for any badging, background check, or facility access the client requires. Preferred qualifications

• Prior work as an owner's representative, program manager, or construction manager as agent, rather than on the contractor side.

• Experience with USACE, NAVFAC, GSA, VA, or similar agency processes and submittal standards.

• CCP, CPE, PMP, CCM, or equivalent credential.

• Experience running open-book reconciliation with a CM-at-Risk or design-build contractor.

• Familiarity with the Savannah and coastal Georgia construction market, including local subcontractor capacity and pricing conditions.