What are the responsibilities and job description for the Construction Manager - Owners Representative position at Overwatch Mission Critical?
About Overwatch Mission Critical
Overwatch is a service-disabled Veteran-owned small business (SDVOB) certified through the National Veterans Business Development Council (NVBDC), offering construction professional services, talent acquisition, and general contractor for the mission-critical infrastructure industry. Our mission is the construction and management of state-of-the-art data centers with the precision and reliability this industry demands. From high-end engineers to seasoned professionals, we deploy the people you need to get your data center off the ground. At Overwatch, it's more than a job. It's purpose.
The Owner’s Representative / Project Manager (OR/PM) acts as a direct extension of the Owner’s Project Team, representing their interests throughout every phase of design, construction, commissioning, and turnover. This role is responsible for driving alignment across stakeholders, enforcing project controls, protecting budget and schedule, and ensuring safety and quality meet the highest standards. The OR/PM provides field-level oversight, strategic guidance, process governance, and on-site leadership across multiple concurrent workstreams.
This position may support a single project or multiple projects within the campus/metro, depending on scope and growth.
Owner Representation & Leadership Responsibilities
- Serve as the Owner’s on-site “eyes and ears,” ensuring alignment with project goals, quality, budget, and schedule.
- Build strong relationships across the Owner’s PMO, GC/CM, design partners, vendors, and stakeholders.
- Participate in executive-level decision-making and support definition of project scope, budget, and program requirements.
- Identify and manage risks to safety, quality, cost, and schedule; maintain risk logs and lead risk reviews.
Design & Preconstruction
- Review design deliverables (BOD, SD, DD, CD) for conformance with Owner standards.
- Provide input on materials, constructability, sequencing, logistics, and value engineering.
- Ensure designs meet permitting, AHJ, and code requirements; resolve discrepancies before construction release.
- Validate trade estimates and align budget/scope with milestones.
Procurement & Contract Support
- Support procurement strategies for GC/CM, trades, consultants, and commissioning partners.
- Ensure contract scopes reflect Owner requirements; define bid leveling and support award recommendations.
- Assist document control teams and troubleshoot field-level bottlenecks.
Construction Oversight
- Lead or support weekly progress meetings; ensure accurate documentation of decisions and action items.
- Monitor field activities for safety, quality, schedule adherence, and compliance.
- Review GC schedules for logic, lead times, dependencies, and critical path.
- Facilitate onsite coordination, resolve conflicts, and drive schedule risk mitigation.
Project Controls & Reporting
- Support implementation of Owner cost and schedule governance.
- Maintain key control tools (Action Item Log, Milestone Log, Procurement Log).
- Provide bi-monthly management reports on design, budget, procurement, risks, RFIs, submittals, and milestones.
- Elevate decisions requiring Owner approval with data-driven recommendations.
RFI, Submittal & Change Management
- Track and expedite RFIs and submittals; incorporate impacts into schedule reviews.
- Maintain change order logs, validate contractor proposals, and negotiate cost/schedule impacts.
- Ensure all changes align with Owner standards and documentation requirements.
Testing, Inspection & Commissioning
- Coordinate required testing and inspection services; review reports and escalate issues.
- Support commissioning activities from factory witness testing through Level V integration.
- Maintain commissioning issues logs and ensure corrective actions are tracked.
- Integrate operations teams into commissioning and turnover plans; support training coordination.
Financial & Invoice Management
- Review and validate contractor pay applications; recommend adjustments as needed.
- Assist with invoice processes, reconciliation, and field-to-controls communication.
AHJ, Utilities & External Coordination
- Track permitting requirements and support stakeholder coordination with AHJs.
- Coordinate with utilities and internal teams to align infrastructure delivery with schedule.
- Identify regulatory or utility impacts to budget or schedule.
Closeout & Turnover
- Support document control and remove obstacles to timely closeout.
- Coordinate training, system integration, and handover processes.
- Lead punch list execution across GC, design teams, and Owner stakeholders.
- Participate in post-completion closeout meetings as needed.
Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in Construction Management or a related technical degree (Preferred).
- 7 years of construction management or general contractor experience.
- 3 years of mission-critical/data center construction management experience.
- In-depth knowledge of commercial construction design, bidding, and execution.
- Cost management and forecasting knowledge.
- Strong organization, planning, and project management skills with the ability to prioritize tasks.
- Strong interpersonal skills, including written and oral communication skills.
- Demonstrated ability to influence decisions through effective verbal and written communication, logical reasoning, and presentation of options.
- Comfortable with financial details and able to connect them to the big picture and communicate the story behind the numbers.
- Ability to work with diverse cross-functional teams and present findings to senior management.
Physical Requirements and Work Environment
This position operates primarily in an active data center construction environment, encompassing both indoor and outdoor work settings. The role requires the physical ability to perform essential job functions safely and effectively in a dynamic environment that includes ongoing construction activity and evolving site conditions.
The work environment includes areas and temporary structures owned, leased, or controlled by third parties over which Overwatch may have limited or no control. Because the project remains under construction, certain areas of the site — including access routes, staging zones, and temporary structures — may not yet be fully ADA-compliant until construction is complete or those third-party areas are finalized.
Physical Requirements:
- Must be able to walk, stand, stoop, twist, bend, and climb stairs or ladders for extended periods while navigating uneven, unpaved, or obstructed terrain.
- Must be able to lift, carry, push, or pull up to 50 pounds on an occasional basis.
- Must be able to drive between job sites and access all areas of an active construction zone, including raised platforms, scaffolding, and confined spaces.
- Must be able to tolerate exposure to outdoor weather conditions, dust, and construction-related noise, vibrations, and odors.
- Must be able to communicate effectively with contractors, engineers, and site personnel, and maintain situational awareness in high-activity environments.
- Personal protective equipment (PPE), including hard hats, safety vests, hearing protection, and steel-toe boots, is required.
- Must have sufficient visual acuity to read drawings, specifications, and safety signage, and to observe site activity.
Work Environment:
Work is performed primarily in and around active construction areas, which may include unfinished buildings, temporary field offices, staging areas, and partially completed infrastructure. These locations may contain uneven surfaces, limited accessibility, and other conditions typical of construction projects prior to final completion. Overwatch does not control and cannot modify accessibility conditions within areas, facilities, or temporary structures owned or managed by third parties.
Reasonable Accommodation:
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position, provided such accommodations do not create safety hazards, impede essential mobility within active work zones, or require modification of facilities not owned or controlled by Overwatch.
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Benefits:
Overwatch Construction offers a competitive salary and benefits package, including health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, life insurance, 401(k) retirement plan, paid time off, and relocation assistance available.
OVERWATCH is committed to creating a diverse work environment and is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. OVERWATCH considers candidates regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status.