Construction Project Manager Job Description With Free Example

If you’re looking for a construction project manager, you need to fully understand the role beyond simply asking for skills, education and work experience with a construction project manager job description. The better you understand the position, the more qualified your candidates are and the better the construction project will be.

What Is a Construction Project Manager?

The construction project manager role is a unique position that requires a project manager who specializes in construction management. A construction project manager job description seeks a candidate who can plan and oversee a construction project from initiation to close with the help of software, resources and a reasonable budget.

To help construction project managers excel at their job, ProjectManager offers an award-winning Gantt chart feature for planning and scheduling projects, allowing users to balance resources, track deadlines and link dependencies to avoid costly delays. Filter your Gantt chart to customize it to show what you need to see. Then easily print or share a PDF to update your stakeholders. See what else ProjectManager can do to help you manage your construction project. Get started for free.

ProjectManager's Gantt chart — Build construction schedules, balance resources and track costs with ProjectManager. **Learn more**

What Does a Construction Project Manager Do?

A construction project manager’s responsibilities involve a number of critical activities. These activities include:

Planning the construction project
Creating a construction schedule
Balancing the budget
Assigning tasks to the various contractors and subcontractors
Tracking activities in a project from beginning to end
Working with vendors
Managing supplies

Of course, the duties of a construction project manager’s job description should extend beyond this list. We’ll dive deeper into responsibilities a little bit later. Let’s take a look at a typical construction project manager job description example.

Construction Project Manager Job Description Example

Now that you know the basic parameters, here’s a sample of a construction project manager job description. Cut and paste to your job board, adding or deleting what you want, and you’ll have a solid job post to attract the right candidate.

Construction Project Manager Job Description

General Overview

Seeking an experienced construction project manager who is responsible for overseeing a number of different types of construction projects. They will lead the project from initiation to close, hiring subcontractors, working with vendors and tracking inventory of equipment and materials. This person should be knowledgeable about regulations, permits and project management methodology. They should also work well with others, be highly organized and detail-oriented, meet deadlines and strive to stay within budget.

Responsibilities

Define the project scope
Create a construction estimate based on a material takeoff (MTO)
Create and manage a construction project budget
Create a construction project management plan
Negotiate with general contractors and subcontractors to obtain profitable construction contracts
Develop a construction schedule, with project deliverables and milestones
Keep inventory of tools, equipment and machinery
Manage resources such as construction materials, construction workers and equipment
Allocate and manage resource logistics
Create status reports for project stakeholders
Oversee the performance of the general contractor, site manager and other members of the construction team
Obtain building permits, licenses and meet code regulations
Maintain health and safety standards

Skills & Qualifications

Strong team management and leadership skills
Problem-solving and conflict-resolution skills
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Project management skills such as time management, project budgeting, resource management and project scheduling

Education & Training

Bachelor’s degree in architecture, civil engineering, construction management or related field
Strong knowledge of construction management best practices
Fluency in software programs related to construction management, including project management software
Current with rules and regulations related to construction

Work Experience

Five years of project management experience in the construction industry or construction specialties such as plumbing, carpentry or masonry
Years of construction management experience managing budgets and schedules
Prior experience managing a construction site
Experience leading a construction crew
Proven risk management experience in construction projects

What to Look For in a Construction Project Manager

Now that we have an idea of what a construction project manager job description looks like, let’s analyze each of the key areas that make the difference when hiring a construction project manager or becoming one.

Qualifications & Skills for a Construction Project Manager

In general terms, you need someone who’s very knowledgeable in both project management and construction management, but it’s not only about theoretical knowledge. The candidate will have to demonstrate that is capable of applying time, task and resource management techniques to keep track of the different phases of a construction project.

In addition, the construction project manager role requires “people skills” such as leadership, communication and team management skills. This is because the construction project manager has to collaborate with several teams, negotiate with external contractors and report to internal stakeholders.

Education and Certification for Construction Project Managers

A typical construction project manager will have, at least, a bachelor’s degree. They will have studied management and should also have on-the-job training. Most construction companies are not going to give the reigns of a project over to someone who hasn’t worked their way up the ladder. It’s unusual to move from the classroom to managing a construction site.

That doesn’t mean that all construction project managers have a college degree. While it might be preferable, the experience can go a long way to make up for any shortcomings a candidate has in their educational background.

Are Certifications Required for Construction Project Managers?

Certifications are helpful, but not required. It’s more likely that an experienced construction project manager will acquire certifications as they mature in their job. But having candidates who are certified can help narrow the pool of applicants.

Here’s a list of some certifications and training that you can add to your construction project manager job description:

Project Management Certification (PMP)
OSHA training for safety guidelines
National Council of Examiners for Engineer and Surveying (NCEES)
The American Concrete Institute (ACI)
Green Business Certification (LEED)
Aerial Lift Training
Crane Operation Certification
Construction Management Association of America—Certified Construction Manager (CCM)

Construction Project Manager Salary Expectations

The average salary for a construction project manager in the United States is $78,396 per year. That depends of course on the skills, education and work experience of the candidates.

Main Responsibilities of a Construction Project Manager

A construction project’s success lies on the shoulders of the construction project manager. They manage every phase of the project which means they have a wide range of responsibilities. The main ones are listed below.

Planning

The construction project needs a project plan to organize time, money and resources. In order to coordinate all the moving parts of a construction project, the project manager must assign tasks to everyone on the team and estimate how much it will all cost to complete the project. This includes building a roadmap to schedule activities and monitoring the progress to make sure it’s staying on track.

Supervising Teams

The construction project manager is responsible for assembling the team and supervising their work. The buck stops with them on the construction site. That means they need to know the workforce, including subcontractors. While construction project managers will give teams ownership over their work, they must also supervise them to make sure the work is being done on time, within budget and meeting quality expectations.

Setting Goals

Projects have goals determined by the client. The construction project manager must communicate those goals to the team and make sure they meet them. That includes performance, the precision of the work, meeting any requirements, etc. These goals will help construction project managers establish how many team members and resources they need to achieve those goals.

Meeting Deadlines

The schedule is one of the major constraints that will consume any conscientious construction project manager. There’s a larger timeframe that outlines when the construction project must be completed, but within that, there are dozens of milestones that must be met. Tracking time throughout a project and making sure you’re actually meeting the deadlines defined by the project plan is one of the biggest responsibilities of any construction project manager.

Staying on Budget

The other major constraint is cost. Construction projects are costly and money is always an issue. Construction project managers monitor costs throughout the life cycle of the project. That means coming up with an accurate construction estimate for the project and tracking the expenses of your crew to make sure they’re not overspending.

Related: Construction Estimate Template

Updating Stakeholders

Most construction projects are long and it’s easy to get lost in the day-to-day activities. But a construction project manager is also reporting back to the client. The client wants to know that progress is following the schedule and that the costs are within the bounds of the budget. They will expect regular presentations to show progress and performance are meeting the planned effort. It’s the job of the construction project manager to manage expectations.

Keeping the Peace

It may not seem as important as managing cost and time, but having a construction project manager who is able to quickly and satisfactorily resolve conflicts is crucial. If the crew, subcontractors, client, third-party vendors, et al., are not getting along, your schedule and budget will inevitably suffer. Construction project managers need to smooth out any friction before the situation explodes.

Drafting Contracts

There are many parties involved in a construction project. A contract is a legally binding document that defines how they’re going to work within the larger structure of the project. Construction project managers are responsible for drafting those construction contracts. These contracts will deal with the architect, suppliers, subcontracts and more.

Managing Risk

There’s always a potential for something to go wrong in a project. Construction project managers need to identify and resolve issues before they become problems that can impact the schedule, budget or quality of the project. This starts in the planning stage but one must remain vigilant throughout the life cycle of the project.

These are the top-line responsibilities, but there are many more that candidates for your construction project manager job posting will have to handle. They can include managing site visits for clients, regulators and inspectors, building relationships with clients, senior staff and other influencers and coordinating training for your crew.

ProjectManager Is the Tool for Construction Project Managers

Once you’ve found the right candidate for your construction project manager job description, you want to make sure they have the right tools to succeed. ProjectManager is a construction project management software that organizes all aspects of the job to create efficiencies.

Build Construction Schedules with Gantt Charts

Construction projects are built on a schedule with a set budget. Our tool helps you plan all the various tasks performed by your crew, subcontractors and other laborers on a Gantt chart. Use the roadmap to get the big picture and then toggle to the sheet view for a grid that calculates the critical path. Always know if you’re behind or ahead of schedule while keeping track of your costs.

Balance Work with Resource Management Tools

There are a lot of resources to track and deliver on a construction site. With our software, you can track your materials, supplies and your workforce. To boost productivity, track the tasks allocated to your crew on our workload chart. If some have too many or too few tasks, you can balance their workload right from that page.

Track Your Progress in Real Time

Creating a daily status report is the best way to hit the ground running each morning. Our live dashboard acts as an instant status report. It collects real-time data and converts it automatically into easy-to-read charts and graphs on time, cost and more. You don’t have to set up the dashboard as on other construction tools: it’s all done for you so you can get a high-level view of the project whenever you want.

Of course, you can also create a more detailed status report and capture a snapshot of the project. Our one-click reporting feature also has project variance, timesheet and more reports to give you a full picture of your progress and performance. Then, filter the data for stakeholders to show them what they want to see. Reports can be shared digitally or printed.

Construction Project Manager Job Description (with Free Example!)

Construction Project Manager Job Description (with Free Example!)

What Is a Construction Project Manager?

What Does a Construction Project Manager Do?

Construction Project Manager Job Description Example