Sr. Project Manager - Land Development

arget Base Pay: $125,000 - $165,000, commensurate with experience and portfolio responsibility

Position Summary

The Senior Project Manager is a senior execution leader, coach, and escalation point for the Land Development team. This role owns complex and high-risk development projects from onboarding through closeout while mentoring PM/APM staff, strengthening repeatable process discipline, and improving portfolio-level execution. The Sr. PM must be fully independent, client-facing, and able to anticipate risk, recover schedule or budget drift, and model the leadership standards expected as VIA / 7B enters its next stage of growth.

Role Level and Workload Expectations

• Manage complex projects and/or a selected portfolio load generally equivalent to 5-7 Active Project Equivalents (APE), adjusted for project risk, client intensity, phase, and escalation demands.
• Serve as a coach-player: directly run high-risk projects while supporting PMs/APMs through mentoring, work product review, escalation support, and process training.
• Operate as a fully independent senior leader who brings solutions, options, and recommendations forward rather than simply reporting issues.
• Support portfolio improvement by identifying process gaps, standardizing best practices, and helping the team execute the Development Playbook consistently.

Key Responsibilities

Senior Project Execution and Portfolio Ownership

• Lead assigned land development projects from onboarding, feasibility, due diligence, design coordination, entitlements, permitting, construction handoff, construction support, closeout, and turnover.
• Own scope, schedule, budget, risk, quality, communication, and decision tracking for assigned projects.
• Maintain project control systems, including schedule updates, budget tracking, RAID logs, action items, key decisions, open issues, and client reporting.
• Drive projects to meet approved budgets, committed schedules, client requirements, and internal quality expectations.
• Recover schedule, budget, or process drift through proactive action plans, clear escalation, and disciplined follow-through.

Development Playbook and Process Discipline

• Ensure projects are executed in accordance with the Development Team Playbook and applicable SOPs, including feasibility reviews, due diligence standards, design milestones, permitting, construction handoff, and closeout requirements.
• Act as an escalation point when projects deviate from approved process, budget, schedule, or client commitments.
• Help refine repeatable templates, dashboards, trackers, checklists, meeting cadences, and reporting standards so the team can scale with consistency.
• Identify process breakdowns and recommend corrective actions, training needs, or workflow improvements to the President of Development.

Budgeting and Financial Oversight

• Lead and review project budgeting, including initial budgets, cost-to-complete tracking, APE assumptions, change tracking, allowances, consultant fees, and final reconciliation.
• Coordinate with estimating, pre-construction, construction, accounting, and finance teams to maintain budget accuracy and timely reporting.
• Identify potential cost overruns early and lead value-engineering efforts when appropriate without compromising client commitments, design intent, operational needs, or long-term quality.
• Review PM/APM budget work product before executive, client, or stakeholder submission when requested or when risk level requires senior review.

Schedule, Entitlement, and Risk Management

• Build and maintain realistic schedules that reflect critical path items, entitlement and permitting dependencies, AHJ review cycles, utility coordination, consultant deliverables, long-lead items, and construction handoff needs.
• Lead risk identification and mitigation across title, survey, environmental, geotechnical, civil, architectural, MEP, utility, permitting, construction, and closeout issues.
• Use RAID tracking and other team tools to keep risks visible, assigned, dated, and actively managed.
• Escalate material risks, client concerns, budget impacts, scope changes, or schedule threats to the President of Development with recommended paths forward.

Team Leadership, Mentorship, and Accountability

• Mentor and coach Project Managers and Assistant Project Managers in planning, communication, budgeting, risk management, forecasting, consultant coordination, and client leadership.
• Review PM/APM work product, including schedules, budgets, reports, issue logs, first-look checklists, due diligence summaries, and client updates, for consistency and quality.
• Support onboarding and training for new PM/APM team members and help build repeatable development execution habits.
• Model ownership, relational leadership, urgency, calm escalation, and a no-surprises standard across the team.
• Help identify performance gaps, unclear responsibilities, training needs, and process weaknesses that may affect team execution.

Stakeholder, Client, and Consultant Communication

• Serve as a primary senior contact for clients, ownership, consultants, AHJs, utilities, design teams, construction teams, and internal stakeholders on assigned projects or escalated matters.
• Lead meetings with clear agendas, action items, owners, due dates, and follow-up expectations.
• Prepare and present project reports, executive summaries, budget updates, schedule updates, decision logs, and risk summaries.
• Maintain strong client presence by communicating early, clearly, professionally, and with recommended solutions when issues arise.

Construction Interface and Closeout

• Coordinate with construction leadership to ensure smooth handoff from development to construction, including design completeness, permitting status, budget alignment, schedule assumptions, constructability concerns, and known risks.
• Ensure PM-led coordination items such as signage, equipment, PEMB/structural scope, utility coordination, and owner/vendor interfaces are tracked with construction manager input as needed.
• Support construction-phase issue resolution where development, design, entitlement, client, or consultant decisions affect field execution.
• Drive closeout discipline, including certificate of occupancy, punch list, warranty items, stormwater/stabilization requirements, final documentation, client acceptance, and lessons learned.

Required Qualifications

• 8 years of project management experience in real estate development, commercial construction, civil/site development, owner representation, or a closely related field.
• Successful history leading complex, multi-million-dollar projects with schedule, budget, consultant, client, entitlement, and construction coordination responsibility.
• Strong understanding of commercial land development, permitting, design coordination, civil/site work, construction methods, budgeting, scheduling, and project closeout.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects while mentoring other project team members and supporting escalations.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to present clearly to clients, executives, consultants, AHJs, and internal teams.
• High proficiency with project management and reporting tools such as Smartsheet, Procore, Microsoft Office, Bluebeam, Microsoft Project, or equivalent systems.
• Ability to travel as required for project milestones, client meetings, jurisdictional meetings, site visits, and team meetings.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor degree in Construction Management, Engineering, Architecture, Business, Real Estate, Planning, or related field.
• Professional certification such as PMP, CAPM, CCM, LEED, or similar credential.
• Experience with national retail, multi-site programs, ground-up commercial development, owner/developer representation, or design-build/general contracting environments.
• Experience building or improving project management systems, dashboards, SOPs, stage-gate processes, or team training programs.