What are the responsibilities and job description for the Construction Manager position at Venterra Realty?
Construction Manager
The Venterra Difference:
Established in 2001 and headquartered in Houston, Texas, Venterra is a fully vertically integrated developer, owner, and operator of multifamily apartments with approximately 90 mixed-use and multifamily communities across eight states, representing over 26,000 units and serving 50,000 residents. Venterra has enjoyed tremendous growth and financial success over our 20 year history and currently owns and manages over $5.5 billion of assets with total annual revenues approaching $500 million.
Role Overview:
Based in Houston, Texas, the Construction Manager serves as the key owner's representative for all pre-construction and construction management activities related to our apartment development projects. The primary focus of this role is to deliver market-leading multi-family and build-to-rent developments, directly contributing to our company's objective of providing alpha returns to investors. The product focus for this position is constructing market rate multi-family (MF) and build-to-rent (BTR) developments. The ideal candidate will be capable of managing 2-3 active projects per year once they have completed a reasonable ramp-up period. This position is a unique opportunity to join our rapidly growing Engineering/Construction Group, reporting directly to the Chief Engineer.
Successful Candidate Profile:
The ideal candidate for this position is a Construction Manager with a unique combination of leadership, technical, and interpersonal skills.
- Assertive and Diplomatic: Holds contractors accountable while maintaining professional relationships, adeptly managing both internal and external pressures with composure.
- Field-Focused Leader: A hands-on leader who is consistently on-site, ensuring all work meets rigorous standards for quality and safety.
- Detail-Oriented Problem-Solver: Excels at identifying and closing gaps between project plans and on-site realities, proactively driving issues to a definitive resolution.
- Composed Under Pressure: Remains calm and focused on outcomes when navigating common project challenges, such as delays, labor issues, weather disruptions, and city inspections.
- Strong Communicator: Able to clearly and effectively convey on-site realities and project status to a wide range of stakeholders, including executives, development teams, lenders, architects, and consultants.
- Collaborative: Values cross-functional teamwork, leveraging organizational strengths through a transparent and inclusive approach.
- Owner's Mindset: Approaches every responsibility as if their personal capital and reputation were at stake, demonstrating a high degree of personal accountability.
- Curious and Improvement-Driven: Driven by a natural curiosity to question the status quo, explore new construction methods, and hold partners accountable.
- Analytical and Data-Driven: Applies rigorous analysis to complex problems, supports recommendations with sound business rationale, and possesses advanced proficiency in Excel and modeling tools.
- Long-Term Perspective: Committed to delivering high-quality projects that align with Venterra's enduring ownership and investment strategy.
Key Responsibilities:
- Project Oversight: Act as the primary owner's representative, overseeing all construction phases and ensuring the work of third-party general contractors (GCs) and their subcontractors meets our standards for schedule, budget, quality, and safety.
- Stakeholder Communication: Attend Owner/Architect/Contractor (OAC) meetings and provide clear, regular reports to internal teams on project progress, risks, and next steps.
- Documentation and Review: Manage critical project documentation, including progress reports, punch lists, and closeout checklists. This includes reviewing and validating contractor submittals, RFI responses, and change orders, escalating issues as needed to protect the owner's interests.
- Site Management: Conduct frequent site walks to verify progress, workmanship, and compliance with project plans. Serve as the main point of contact for resolving on-site issues, conflicts, or delays.
- Team Coordination: Coordinate with our development, design, and finance teams to ensure seamless alignment on project scope, timelines, and overall goals.
- Pre-construction Support: Participate in key pre-construction activities such as value engineering, constructability reviews, and contractor selection.
- Compliance: Ensure the general contractor meets all local permitting, inspection, and regulatory requirements.
- Contract Management: Leverage experience in contract negotiations, owner/architect agreements, and other related documentation.
- External Representation: Represent Venterra confidently to investors and lenders by demonstrating a deep understanding of project execution and progress.
Skills, Experience and Professional Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in Construction Management, Civil Engineering, Architecture, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
- 3–5 years of multi-family construction experience, with at least 3 years in an owner/developer role or managing third-party general contractors.
- In-depth knowledge of apartment building systems (sitework, structural, MEP, finishes, etc.) and the ability to read and understand construction drawings.
- Strong understanding of construction contracts, change order negotiation, and evaluating contractor performance.
- Proficiency in project management software including Procore, Bluebeam, Smartsheet, Excel, and Microsoft Project.
- Familiarity with Texas building codes, municipal permitting, and regional construction practices.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to navigate both high-level meetings and on-site field interactions.
Venterra is an equal opportunity employer, and we are proud to support and celebrate diversity in the workplace. We are committed to equal consideration for all qualified applicants regardless of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. If you have a disability and need an accommodation or assistance with the application process and/or using our website, please email recruiting@venterraliving.com.
Venterra complies with all applicable laws regarding background checks and assessments. Candidates will be subject to a background check, which may include criminal history, employment verification and/or educational qualifications or certifications. Candidates may be asked to complete a technical test or assessment. Venterra participates in e-verify.
