Construction Management Lead

Job Description

Job Description

About the role

We are seeking a seasoned Construction Manager to serve as our Construction Management Lead, partnering with a major public-sector client to shape, implement, and elevate construction management and inspection practices across their CM division. This is a hybrid role that blends hands-on field experience with management consulting–style advisory, standards development, and organizational change support.

You will operate as a trusted advisor to executive and division leadership while remaining grounded in the realities of project delivery, field inspection, and construction risk management.

What you will do

• Lead the development, rollout, and continual refinement of CM and inspection best practices, procedures, and toolkits for a large US public agency CM division.
• Translate project and field lessons learned into practical standards, playbooks, checklists, and training content for CM and inspection staff.
• Advise on division-wide operating models, roles and responsibilities, and interfaces between CM, design, project controls, procurement, and inspection functions.
• Facilitate workshops with client leadership and field teams to align on expectations, service levels, and performance metrics for CM and inspection services.
• Provide senior-level support on active projects: construction oversight, schedule and cost reviews, risk identification, and mitigation strategies for complex public works and horizontal infrastructure programs.
• Establish and refine inspection and field observation protocols, including documentation standards, reporting cadence, and escalation pathways.
• Mentor and coach client CM and inspection staff, building capability in contract administration, field issue resolution, stakeholder communication, and claims avoidance.
• Partner with our internal project controls and PMIS specialists to ensure processes, systems, and reporting support the client's standardized CM and inspection framework.
• Support public-facing communication around construction impacts, closures, and community engagement as needed.
• Champion a culture of safety, quality, and accountability, ensuring client practices align with applicable standards, codes, and regulations (e.g., Cal/OSHA, EPA, state and local requirements as applicable).

What you bring

• Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering, Construction Management, or related discipline.
• 15+ years of progressive construction management experience delivering public-sector infrastructure, public works, or transportation projects, with at least 5 years in a leadership role overseeing CM and/or inspection teams.
• Demonstrated experience building or standardizing CM and inspection processes, manuals, or operating procedures for public owners or large programs.
• Deep, hands-on knowledge of construction means and methods, contract administration, change management, and field issue resolution on active construction sites.
• Strong familiarity with public-sector contracting frameworks, standard specifications (e.g., Greenbook, Caltrans or analogous state DOT standards), and compliance requirements.
• Proven ability to operate in a management consulting–style capacity: diagnosing current-state processes, framing recommendations, building roadmaps, and supporting implementation.
• Exceptional communication skills, with confidence engaging executive sponsors, project managers, resident engineers, and inspectors, as well as external stakeholders and the public.
• Experience leading workshops, trainings, or coaching programs for technical teams, and of influencing culture and behavior change in complex organizations.
• Self-starter mentality, comfortable working independently, navigating ambiguity, and building structure where none exists, while also collaborating closely with multi-disciplinary teams.
• Certified Construction Manager (CCM); other relevant certifications in construction, safety, or project management are a plus.

How you will work with us and our client

You will sit at the intersection of strategy and delivery: close enough to project sites to understand risk and opportunity, close enough to leadership to influence direction. You will collaborate with colleagues across project management, quantity surveying, project controls, and best practice to bring an integrated perspective to our client's CM division.

Our culture values people who are curious, pragmatic, and committed to making complex projects more predictable and more enjoyable for everyone involved. We empower our leads to take ownership, challenge the status quo, and create practical solutions that work on Monday morning, not just on paper.

Travel and location

This role is Southern California based with flexibility on home location, with regular travel to client offices, project sites, and workshops as required by the program.

Interested?

If you are a senior construction professional who enjoys both the job trailer and the whiteboard, and you see best practice not as a binder on a shelf but as something lived out in the field, we would like to hear from you.