When observing the work of a project manager on a construction site, it can be difficult to tell what exactly their day-to-day looks like for someone who doesn’t work with them every day.
This is because construction project managers must use a wide range of skills that they’ve learned from a large amount of experience. For this reason, their tasks vary greatly and often it’s the intangibles or soft skills that set apart a great project manager from a good project manager.
Construction Project Manager Job Description
Construction managers’ job description can be hard to pin down, but when you start dissecting each part of the project that the managers are responsible for, you can start to see what their job description and desired qualities are.
The Construction project manager is tasked with overlooking and effectively scheduling and coordinating various construction projects from start to finish.
It’s their responsibility to meet budget goals, keep inventory of supplies, coordinate with subcontractors, and make sure that their projects fall within codes and regulations for the area that they’re building in.
They are an administrator and a hands-on set of eyes as they manage their projects. They often are the go-to person for any questions and often are the middleman between a design team or construction workers and the client that they’re building for. Their position might require reports to be written to justify their projects and the design choices made.
They should be effective trainers and mentors for those who work under them on the job site and at the office.
They also assemble a project team of engineers, architects, and are responsible for hiring and firing where necessary to build a team that can effectively meet deadlines and these employee hours are also the responsibility of the project manager to track.
A project manager might be tasked with public involvement tasks, where they might present to those who are directly impacted by the proposed project, and they might ask for feedback on preliminary designs from the public via surveys or meetings.
Requirements
This position requires a bachelor’s degree in architecture, construction management, engineering, or other related fields.
They also generally have a large depth of knowledge on construction related projects from their extensive experience as a lower level engineer, manager, architect, or other.
This technical knowledge and people skills allow them to manage their team while also being able to catch errors in construction or design and assuring quality by effectively relaying feedback and advice to the project team.
Read Also: 10 best construction project management books
The role of construction project managers
Since the world of construction and construction design is constantly changing with new research and new innovations, the role of construction project managers is generally increasing with the introduction of new technologies.
These technologies do help them save time in many areas of their occupation, for example with budget tracking and software that can check designs and make the design process faster, but this makes for a much more rapid timeline for many projects, creating less margin for error on the part of the construction project manager.
They are also responsible for keeping up to date on the newest technologies and introductions into the world of construction, since this is what can set them apart in the bidding process and what can help them to generate a more polished final product.
Speaking of setting themselves apart, client development is also a massive part of construction project management. Although they might have a marketing cohort who assists them in things like drafting proposals and securing new clients, building strong relationships with your clients can lead to more projects down the road from that same client who appreciated your work and communication.
This means that they must not only work on getting to know their clients on a more personal, although professional, level, but they should also bear in mind who they’re doing the work for when making managerial decisions and when doing tasks like drafting a project scope or proposal.
Having more intel on your potential clients by getting to know them only helps in the role of a construction project manager, it never hurts.
Construction project manager responsibilities
As you can see, construction project manager responsibilities draw from a wide range of experiences and technical aptitudes and soft skills to perform their job on a daily basis.
Although each team member on a project team is important, all the way down the chain, most instructions, delegations, and training begin with the project manager. In many ways, a project team is only as good as their project manager, since it’s usually them who specifies which worker or group of workers is working on which aspect of the project and it’s them who keeps the budget, hours, and project goals in the forefront of their minds.
The project managers should run a tight ship. As the boss of their worksite or office, they’re also responsible for keeping morale up among their workers and ensuring that things are good at home before they start worrying about client development or new potential projects.
This is why oftentimes project managers will work closely with recruiters who are constantly searching for new talent that can be brought on board to strengthen the project team through employees that are team players that can see the big picture.
These are the primary responsibilities of a project manager in construction.
- Planning
- Set Goals
- Time Management
- Risk Management
- Allocating Resources
- Managing the Budget
- Managing & Communicating with Staff
- Handling Relationships with Client
- Draft contracts
What is a construction project managers salary?
A construction manager salary can vary depending on the country, project types (like building or infrastructure construction) and the company you’re working for.
In the United States, the average construction manager salary is $75000 per year, according to Payscale.
Construction manager salary in the USA
- Manager new – $48000
- Assistant project manager – $73000
- Experienced project manager – $110000+
Construction project manager salaries in the UK
- Career start – £30000
- Middle experienced average salary – £45000
- Experienced project manager -£70000
Sample Job Description Ads
For Example, Vacancy ads posted by The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) on job site indeed.
In conclusion
It can be difficult to tell what many project managers do because what they do is at such a high level of technical experience and it encompasses so many different tasks and responsibilities. This is why becoming a project manager often requires a learning curve and a strong background in construction so that they can be mentored through the many things that they need to make sure keep upright. The responsibility of a construction project manager is one that is admirable, difficult, and requires great attention to detail.
