Civil Construction Project Manager

William P. Davis Excavation is looking for an experienced heavy civil construction leader to take ownership of our project management function and help build the next stage of our company.

This is not a traditional Project Manager position.

We are looking for someone who has already developed deep expertise in heavy civil project management and is ready for greater ownership, authority, and influence over how a company operates. WP Davis has built a strong field operation and has the resources and ambition to continue growing. Our next constraint is management capacity.

We are looking for someone who can bring the same level of leadership to project management that an experienced General Superintendent brings to field operations. The right person will understand the complete lifecycle of a heavy civil project—from contract review and project startup through cost control, change management, billing, forecasting, client management, and closeout.

Initially, you will work directly with ownership and our existing team. Longer term, your responsibility will be to build and lead the project management function underneath you. We are not looking for someone who simply wants another portfolio of projects to manage. We are looking for someone who wants to build and own a department.

You will be responsible for establishing and maintaining a high standard of project management across the company, including:

• Project turnover and startup
• Contract and scope review
• Project planning and coordination with field leadership
• Cost tracking and financial forecasting
• Change identification, documentation, pricing, negotiation, and collection
• RFIs, submittals, schedules, and project documentation
• Progress billing and coordination with accounting
• Client and general contractor relationships
• Risk identification and escalation
• Project closeout
• Development of PM standards, processes, and reporting
• Training and development of Project Managers, Assistant PMs, and project support staff

The objective is not for you to personally perform every task.

The objective is to build a project management organization capable of supporting a growing heavy civil contractor. We are looking for someone with substantial experience managing heavy civil construction projects and enough depth of knowledge to lead and develop others.

You may currently be a:

• Project Executive
• Senior Project Manager
• Operations Manager
• Area/Group Manager
• Experienced Project Manager ready to take the next step into department leadership

You should have strong experience with some combination of excavation, site development, utilities, infrastructure, earthwork, civil construction, or similar self-performing heavy civil work. More importantly, you should be able to demonstrate that you can:

• Take complete ownership of projects and outcomes
• Anticipate problems rather than simply react to them
• Understand project financial performance in depth
• Protect scope and manage changes aggressively but professionally
• Work effectively with experienced superintendents and field personnel
• Develop less-experienced PM staff
• Establish systems and hold people accountable to them
• Make sound decisions independently
• Communicate effectively with owners, general contractors, engineers, and internal leadership
• Build organizational capacity rather than becoming another person everything depends upon

This position offers something different from simply moving from one large contractor to another. You will have the opportunity to work directly with ownership and have meaningful authority over how the project management organization is built. If you've spent years learning what works—and what doesn't—inside strong construction organizations, we want you to bring that knowledge here and help us build something better.

You will have the ability to influence:

• How projects are managed
• How PM staff are structured and developed
• What systems and technology we implement
• How information moves between the field and office
• How the department grows
• Who ultimately joins your team

WP Davis is actively investing in systems, technology, AI, equipment, people, and organizational infrastructure to create a company capable of significant continued growth.

We're looking for someone who wants to help build it.

We understand that the person we're looking for is likely already successful and currently employed.

Accordingly, compensation will be structured to attract an experienced heavy civil leader and will include a competitive executive-level base salary, performance-based incentive opportunity, company vehicle/vehicle allowance, and benefits. For an exceptional candidate, we are prepared to structure compensation around the individual rather than force the individual into a predetermined salary range.

Experience

Required:

• Significant project management experience in heavy civil construction
• Strong understanding of project cost, forecasting, contracts, scope, changes, billing, and project controls
• Demonstrated ability to independently manage complex construction projects
• Strong working relationship with field operations

Strongly Preferred:

• Experience managing or mentoring other Project Managers/APMs
• Experience with self-performing excavation, earthwork, utilities, site development, or infrastructure
• Experience within a larger or highly structured heavy civil organization
• Experience developing or improving project management systems and processes

A specific degree is less important to us than demonstrated construction knowledge, leadership ability, judgment, and a history of successful project execution.

You probably don't need another Project Manager job. You may already have a good position with a good company. We're interested in talking if you've reached the point in your career where you want to take everything you've learned and build something of your own within an established and growing contractor.

This is an opportunity to move from managing projects to building the organization that manages them.

Pay from $125,000 per year