DESCRIPTIONOVERVIEWThe Director of Preconstruction is responsible for leading and managing all preconstruction activities from initial project pursuit through design development, estimating, budgeting, value engineering, subcontractor procurement, and transition to construction. A primary responsibility of this position is to lead the company's design-build project delivery process, serving as the central point of coordination between the owner, design professionals, consultants, subcontractors, and internal construction teams. This individual will provide strategic leadership throughout the design and preconstruction phases to ensure projects are properly planned, accurately budgeted, constructible, competitively procured, and positioned for successful execution. The Director will drive collaboration between design and construction, ensuring that cost, schedule, quality, and constructability considerations are incorporated into the design process from project inception through final construction documents.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following:
Estimating & Cost Control> Oversight of quantity takeoffs and build complete, line-item budgets for conceptual, schematic, and final hard-bid phases.
> Maintain a highly accurate, localized cost database reflecting current Gulf Coast labor rates, material fluctuations, and concrete/steel pricing trends.
> Formulate competitive, accurate, and profitable proposals for commercial projects spanning retail, municipal, healthcare, light industrial, and hospitality sectors.
> Conduct comprehensive value engineering (VE) to offer cost-saving design and material alternatives directly to owners and design teams.
Local Subcontractor Management & Buyout> Cultivate, expand, and maintain a robust network of trusted trade partners across established market areas.
> Issue bid invitations, follow up directly with trades, and conduct rigorous bid leveling to eliminate scope gaps and ensure true apples-to-apples comparisons.
> Execute the complete subcontractor buyout process, finalizing pricing and handing over tight scope definitions to the Project Manager for contract issuance.
Owner & Design-Team Collaboration> Lead the company's design-build preconstruction process from initial project concept through final design and construction handoff.
> Establish and manage the design-build team, including architects, engineers, specialty consultants, and key trade partners.
> Serve as the primary liaison between the owner, design team, and construction operations.
> Manage the progression of design from conceptual design and schematic design through design development and construction documents.
> Ensure design decisions are aligned with the owner's program, budget, schedule, and performance expectations.
> Identify design gaps, scope conflicts, coordination issues, and potential construction challenges before they impact project cost or schedule.
> Coordinate design deliverables with permitting, long-lead procurement, subcontractor pricing, and construction sequencing requirements.
> Manage design changes and evaluate their impact on budget, schedule, and project scope.
Gulf Coast Risk Mitigation & Operations Turnover> Identify localized risk factors early, with particular emphasis on wind-load requirements, coastal zoning/permitting, hurricane-resilient building materials, and deep foundation/civil complexities.
> Conduct formal, thorough project handoff meetings to transition budgets, sub-selections, and risk logs cleanly to Project Managers and Superintendents.
Other responsibilities> Partners with project managers, communicates effectively with vendors and subcontractors.
> Interact with clients, architects, engineers, and Local Jurisdictions to understand and incorporate project objectives, schedules, permits, costs, etc.
> Management of Negotiated Project Buy-out, to include Subcontract Agreements, Purchase Orders, and Scheduling during the preconstruction and integrated design phase.
> Support the Project Management Team as needed through project duration.
REQUIREMENTS- The requirements listed below are representative of the qualifications necessary to fulfill the obligations of this position successfully.
- Bachelor's degree in Construction Management or directly related field preferred. Candidates without a degree will be considered with relevant commercial construction estimating experience.
- Have 7-10 years broad experience in the design and/or construction industry, including significant project responsibilities in design management, project management or field operations, with a sound understanding of both the design and construction process.
- Proven experience in design coordination within the commercial design and construction industry.
- Strong knowledge of building codes, regulations, and construction processes.
- Experience with the various construction project delivery methods (Design-Build, Design-Bid-Build, Construction Manager at Risk, Integrated Project Delivery), and the implementation of the design process for each delivery method.
- Proven track record of successfully building and managing teams, with the ability to inspire, motivate, and develop team members.
- Ability to read and interpret drawings and specifications.
- The ability to take constructive criticism with work product under review.
- Familiar with AIA Documents and administration of terms and conditions to consultants.
- The ability to manage time well and multitask.
