What are the responsibilities and job description for the Structured Cabling Project Manager position at Telsource Corporation?
Position Summary :
The Structured Cabling Project Manager is responsible for the successful financial, operational, and technical delivery of structured cabling and low-voltage infrastructure projects across a diverse customer base. Projects may range from a simple demarcation extension or small cabling refresh to complex new-construction deployments requiring coordination across general contractors, electrical contractors, architects, engineers, vendors, subcontractors, field technicians, and customer stakeholders.
The Project Manager must combine strong project management discipline with meaningful low-voltage cabling knowledge and business acumen. Success is measured not only by completing projects on time and meeting customer requirements, but also by controlling costs, protecting target margins, managing scope, and delivering predictable financial performance.
This position may support customers and programs across retail, commercial, government, defense, enterprise, and other environments. The Project Manager is expected to understand the differences between environments and adjust project execution accordingly, including security requirements, construction sequencing, access restrictions, customer standards, documentation requirements, and stakeholder complexity.
The successful candidate is a hands-on leader who understands structured cabling from design and takeoff through installation, testing, certification, closeout, and financial reconciliation. RCDD, BICSI certifications, and other recognized industry credentials are highly preferred.
Core Project Management Responsibilities :
- Own structured cabling projects from opportunity handoff/kickoff through final acceptance, closeout, and financial reconciliation.
- Develop and maintain project schedules, milestones, dependencies, resource plans, risk registers, action items, and customer commitments.
- Manage projects ranging from demarc extensions, MAC work, and cabling additions to multi-floor, multi-building, and new-construction low-voltage deployments.
- Establish project scope, assumptions, exclusions, deliverables, acceptance criteria, and responsibilities across all parties.
- Lead customer kickoff meetings, construction coordination meetings, progress meetings, and project closeout meetings.
- Coordinate with general contractors, construction managers, electrical contractors, low-voltage subcontractors, architects, engineers, vendors, distributors, and customer representatives.
- Manage project communication and provide clear, timely status reporting regarding schedule, budget, risks, issues, change orders, and overall project health.
- Identify project risks early and develop mitigation and recovery plans.
- Manage scope changes and ensure change orders are properly documented, priced, approved, and incorporated into the project plan.
- Ensure projects meet customer requirements, contractual commitments, applicable standards, and internal quality expectations.
- Direct and mentor Structured Cabling Project Coordinators and provide clear accountability for project deliverables.
Low-Voltage / Structured Cabling Expertise :
- Demonstrated knowledge of structured cabling systems, including Category 5e, Category 6, Category 6A, fiber optic, coaxial, and other low-voltage infrastructure.
- Strong understanding of copper and fiber pathways, cable tray, conduit, sleeves, J-hooks, raceway, innerduct, ladder rack, racks, cabinets, patch panels, cable management, and telecommunications spaces.
- Understanding of MDF/IDF design concepts, equipment rooms, telecommunications rooms, demarcation points, intermediate distribution areas, and horizontal/vertical cabling architectures.
- Ability to review and interpret construction drawings, low-voltage plans, riser diagrams, floor plans, reflected ceiling plans, specifications, details, and cabling schematics.
- Ability to perform or validate material takeoffs and develop accurate Bills of Materials for structured cabling projects.
- Ability to evaluate labor, material, equipment, subcontractor, and logistical requirements when developing project plans and budgets.
- Understanding of cable labeling, testing, certification, test-result documentation, as-built requirements, and closeout standards.
- Working knowledge of TIA/EIA standards, BICSI practices, NEC requirements, customer specifications, and applicable construction standards.
- Understanding of construction sequencing and the dependencies between low-voltage cabling, electrical, ceilings, walls, pathways, firestopping, security, AV, network equipment, and other trades.
- Ability to distinguish and manage interfaces between carrier demarcation, electrical, general construction, customer IT/network, and structured cabling scopes.
- Experience coordinating fiber optic installation, splicing, termination, testing, and certification is highly preferred.
- Ability to recognize constructability issues and work with field and engineering resources to develop practical solutions.
Business & Financial Management :
- Own project financial performance and manage projects to established revenue, cost, and target margin objectives.
- Build, validate, and maintain project budgets based on labor, material, subcontractor, equipment, travel, logistics, and other project costs.
- Track committed costs, actual costs, forecast-to-complete, projected margin, and margin variance throughout the project lifecycle.
- Review vendor and subcontractor proposals and negotiate or challenge scope, pricing, assumptions, exclusions, and lead times as appropriate.
- Manage purchase orders and subcontractor commitments to ensure costs remain aligned with approved project budgets.
- Review invoices against purchase orders, completed work, approved scope, and contractual requirements.
- Identify potential margin erosion early and take corrective action rather than waiting until project closeout.
- Manage change orders with a focus on recovering incremental cost and protecting project margin.
- Provide accurate financial forecasting and communicate material financial risks to leadership.
- Balance customer satisfaction with commercial discipline and understand when a requested change has financial or schedule implications.
Project Types & Customer Environments :
- Demarcation extensions and carrier handoff work.
- New construction structured cabling deployments.
- Tenant improvements and building renovations.
- Moves, adds, changes, and remediation projects.
- Multi-floor and multi-building campus deployments.
- Retail rollouts and multi-site programs.
- Government and public-sector facilities with heightened documentation, access, security, or compliance requirements.
- Defense-related environments with controlled access, security requirements, and complex stakeholder coordination.
- Enterprise environments requiring coordination with IT, network, facilities, construction, and security organizations.
Vendor, Subcontractor & Construction Management :
- Select, coordinate, and manage qualified vendors and low-voltage subcontractors.
- Establish expectations for schedule, quality, safety, documentation, testing, staffing, and communication.
- Monitor subcontractor productivity and performance against project commitments.
- Resolve vendor and subcontractor performance issues and escalate when required.
- Coordinate material procurement and confirm availability before field work is scheduled.
- Manage long-lead materials and identify substitutions or recovery options when supply issues threaten the schedule.
- Coordinate with general contractors and construction managers to ensure low-voltage work is sequenced correctly with other trades.
- Participate in pre-construction walkthroughs and site surveys to validate constructability, access, pathways, spaces, and installation requirements.
Required Qualifications :
- 5 years of project management experience in structured cabling, low-voltage construction, telecommunications infrastructure, or a closely related field.
- Strong hands-on knowledge of structured cabling systems and low-voltage construction.
- Demonstrated experience managing project budgets, costs, change orders, and project margins.
- Proven ability to manage projects from small service work through complex construction deployments.
- Experience working with general contractors, construction managers, vendors, subcontractors, and field installation teams.
- Experience reading and interpreting construction drawings, specifications, floor plans, and low-voltage design documentation.
- Experience with material takeoffs, BOM development, procurement, and project financial management.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills with customers and executive/internal stakeholders.
- Advanced organization, scheduling, risk management, and problem-solving capabilities.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office, particularly Excel; experience with project management, estimating, procurement, or construction management platforms preferred.
- Ability to travel to active project sites as required.
Highly Preferred Qualifications & Certifications :
- RCDD (Registered Communications Distribution Designer).
- BICSI certification or active participation in BICSI training/programs.
- BICSI Installer 1–3 or Technician (TECH).
- CNCI or comparable structured cabling credential.
- Fiber optic certification or documented fiber design/testing experience.
- Experience with CAD, Visio, takeoff/estimating software, or construction management platforms.
- PMP certification or formal project management training.
- Experience managing national or multi-site structured cabling programs.
Success Metrics :
- Projects delivered on or ahead of committed schedule.
- Projects delivered within approved scope and target margin.
- Accurate forecasting of revenue, cost, and projected margin.
- Effective change-order management and protection of project profitability.
- Vendor and subcontractor performance against schedule, quality, and cost expectations.
- Customer satisfaction and successful project acceptance.
- Accurate and timely project documentation and financial closeout.
- Early identification and resolution of project risks and issues.
- Consistent adherence to structured cabling standards, customer requirements, safety expectations, and quality controls.
Success Profile :
- Business-minded project leader who understands that project management is both an operational and financial responsibility.
- Technically credible with field technicians, vendors, general contractors, engineers, and customers.
- Comfortable challenging assumptions when scope, pricing, schedule, or margin is at risk.
- Strong negotiator and communicator who can maintain customer relationships while protecting company interests.
- Proactive rather than reactive; identifies problems early and develops actionable recovery plans.
- Highly accountable for results, deadlines, project financials, and customer commitments.
- Understands low-voltage construction well enough to make sound decisions without relying exclusively on others to interpret the work.
- Capable of moving between detailed field-level issues and executive-level business discussions.
Role Differentiation :
The Structured Cabling Project Coordinator is primarily responsible for supporting project execution, procurement, documentation, vendor coordination, takeoffs, BOMs, and financial administration while working under the direction of a Project Manager. The Project Manager owns the project outcome, customer relationship, schedule, scope, risk, financial performance, and target margin. The PM must bring substantial low-voltage and structured cabling experience and be capable of independently managing projects ranging from straightforward demarcation extensions to complex new-construction deployments.