Subcontracting Manager

Position Summary

The Subcontracting Manager (Preconstruction) is a full-time, dedicated role responsible for developing, maintaining, and executing the subcontractor-facing components of Sure Steel’s Subcontracting Initiative.

This role focuses on the practical, relationship-driven, and execution-support functions required to make subcontracting successful at the project level. The Subcontracting Manager serves as Sure Steel's primary point of coordination for subcontractor network development, vetting, relationship management, and RFP and buyout execution in support of Operations.

The role reports to the Vice President of Preconstruction and partners closely with Estimating, Project Management, Construction, Risk, and Accounting to ensure subcontractors are culturally aligned, properly vetted, competitively sourced, and positioned to support Sure Steel's backlog and execution needs. When competing priorities arise across departments, the Vice President of Preconstruction serves as the escalation point for direction. re Steel's backlog and execution needs.

Core Responsibilities

• Subcontractor Network Development & Relationship Management
• Build and maintain a network of subcontractors that align with Sure Steel’s culture, values, safety expectations, and execution standards.
• Establish and maintain ongoing relationships with key subcontractor partners to understand:
• Capacity and backlog
• Geographic availability
• Skill sets and scope strengths
• Market conditions and labor constraints
• Act as a long-term relationship steward, ensuring Sure Steel is viewed as a preferred, professional, and reliable partner.
• Subcontractor Vetting & Qualification Oversight
• Provide oversight of the subcontractor vetting process in coordination with Risk Management, Accounting, and Operations.
• Ensure subcontractors meet minimum standards related to:
• Safety performance
• Quality capability
• Production and supervision capacity
• Financial stability
• Insurance and compliance requirements
• Coordinate reference checks and cultural alignment assessments.
• Support leadership by identifying risks, limitations, or concerns identified during vetting.
• Subcontractor Matrix Ownership & Maintenance
• Maintain the Subcontractor Matrix as defined in the Initiative, including:
• Creating and updating subcontractor status (New, Pending Verification, Fully Vetted, Probation, Ineligible).
• Tracking historical performance and feedback.
• Receive structured and informal feedback from:
• Project Management
• Field Operations
• Risk and Accounting
• Update matrix status based on performance trends, closeout reviews, and stakeholder input.
• Backlog Awareness & Market Readiness
• Maintain a working understanding of:
• Company backlog trends
• Potential subcontracting demand by region and scope
• Subcontractor availability relative to projected workload
• Support Operations and Preconstruction by identifying market-ready subcontractor options as needs emerge.
• Proactively flag capacity constraints, gaps in coverage, or over-reliance on specific partners.
• RFP & Buyout Process Execution
  
  

The Subcontracting Manager is responsible for running the RFP process when subcontracting is required, including:

• RFP development and coordination
• Defining and packaging standalone scopes suitable for subcontracting
• Bid solicitation from vetted subcontractors
• Managing bidder communication and clarifications
• Bid leveling and scope normalization
• Preparing subcontractor selection recommendations for leadership approval
• Verifying subcontractor compliance with Sure Steel and project-specific standards
• Maintaining and updating bid status in the subcontracting pipeline tracker following each RFP cycle
• Ensuring buyout recommendations preserve Sure Steel’s minimum margin requirements
  
  

This role executes the process in alignment with decisions made by Operations and leadership, but does not independently determine whether a project is subcontracted.

• Commercial Advisory & Negotiation Guidance
• Advise leadership and Project Management on when it may be appropriate to:
• Competitively bid a scope to multiple subcontractors
• Negotiate directly with a qualified subcontractor in lieu of broad bidding
• Provide market context, partner history, and risk considerations to support informed decision-making.
• Lead the development of negotiation strategies consistent with Sure Steel's commercial standards.
• Ensure all commercial advisory and negotiation recommendations are anchored to Sure Steel's minimum margin requirements.
• Cross-Functional Coordination
• Partner with:
• Estimating – for target budgets and scope clarity
• Operations / Directors – for understanding execution needs and labor constraints
• Project Management / OPMs (as joint process owners for RFP development, scope definition, and buyout execution) – to support smooth transition from preconstruction to execution
• Risk & Accounting – to ensure subcontractors meet compliance and financial capacity requirements
• Vice President of Preconstruction – as the escalation point when competing cross-functional priorities require direction
• Support Project Engineers and Construction Managers by including them in subcontractor selection and evaluation processes where appropriate.
• Participate in the monthly subcontracting pipeline review forum and maintain the subcontracting pipeline tracker, updating bid status and upcoming needs following each meeting.
  
  

Role Boundaries & Clarifications

This Role Does Not

• Own overall governance of the Subcontracting Initiative
• Set enterprise subcontracting strategy or capacity targets
• Approve subcontract awards independently
• Override Operations or Executive decision authority
  
  

This Role Does

• Own execution of subcontractor-facing processes
• Own the health and accuracy of the Subcontractor Matrix
• Act as Sure Steel’s primary subcontractor relationship and RFP coordination lead