Pre-Construction Director

Job Title: Director of Preconstruction

• Job Type: Full-time, Permanent
• Reporting To: Vice President of General Contracting

Position Summary The Director of Preconstruction is a key member of the senior leadership team, responsible for providing strategic direction, operational leadership, and organizational oversight for all preconstruction activities. This role provides direct leadership and management of the Estimating team and the Preconstruction Project Management team, ensuring early-stage planning and pricing strategies are accurate, competitive, and aligned with business goals. The Director plays a critical role in advancing growth strategy, supporting business development pursuits, driving estimating excellence, and ensuring seamless project transitions from preconstruction into execution.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership & Team Management

• Department Oversight: Provide strategic direction to the Preconstruction Project Management and Estimating teams.
• Direct Management: Directly oversee the Estimating department, supporting staff, and the Preconstruction PM team to ensure high-quality coordination between design, estimating, and operations.
• Indirect Management: Indirectly oversee drafting structures to ensure outputs support constructability and execution readiness.
• Standards & Policies: Establish and enforce department policies, procedures, and standards for estimating, budgeting, scheduling, and preconstruction planning.
• Talent Development: Mentor and coach team members, supporting professional growth, leadership development, and succession planning.
• Resource Allocation: Allocate departmental resources strategically to balance workload across bids, pursuits, and early-stage project planning.

Estimating, Bidding & Project Handoff

• Cost Estimating: Oversee preparation of conceptual budgets, schematic pricing, detailed bids, and procurement strategies.
• Accuracy & Profitability: Ensure cost estimates are accurate, competitive, and aligned with company profitability targets and risk frameworks.
• Executive Oversight: Provide executive-level oversight for major tenders and bids, including strategic pricing, value engineering, and pursuit strategies.
• Risk & Constructability: Lead constructability reviews and support risk assessments early in the project lifecycle.
• Operations Alignment: Collaborate with operations leadership to ensure seamless and structured project handoffs, minimizing scope gaps and cost variances.

Business Development & Client Relations

• Pursuit Strategy: Partner with the Business Development team to support proposal preparation, go/no decisions, and major pursuit strategies.
• Client Representation: Act as a senior client contact during preconstruction, representing the firm professionally and strategically in meetings and presentations.
• Pitch Support: Support interviews, bid presentations, and pursuit strategies to secure targeted projects and repeat clients.
• Market Differentiation: Provide executive-level input on bid strategy, value engineering, and innovative delivery models.
• Relationship Building: Foster long-term client and consultant relationships that drive sustainable business growth.

Land Development & Operational Support

• Feasibility Studies: Provide preconstruction support to land development initiatives, including feasibility studies, cost modeling, and constructability reviews.
• Municipal Coordination: Collaborate with development teams, consultants, and municipalities on zoning, permitting, and entitlement strategies.
• Early Design Planning: Contribute to site servicing, infrastructure planning, and early design stages to ensure constructability and cost certainty.
• Financial Modeling: Support financial modeling and risk assessments for development pursuits.

Risk Management, Finance & Analytics

• Commercial Compliance: Work closely with Finance and Legal to align estimates with financial targets, commercial risk frameworks, and contractual obligations.
• Financial Performance: Monitor and approve department budgets, staffing plans, and financial performance.
• Contract Negotiations: Support contract negotiations by providing cost analysis, scope clarifications, and strategic recommendations.
• Performance Metrics: Define and report on key preconstruction KPIs, including bid-to-win ratio, estimate accuracy, and pursuit timelines.
• Technology Adoption: Champion adoption of estimating and preconstruction technologies, tools, and digital workflows to improve efficiency and scalability.