Change Manager

Luster National•Sacramento, CA

7d•$125,000 - $200,000

About The Position

Luster is building a talent pool for future Change Manager roles supporting large, complex heavy-civil infrastructure programs. Projects may include highways, roads, bridges, bus and rail transit, international airports, and water/wastewater, delivered through traditional or alternative delivery methods. These positions support change control, independently analyze entitlement, cost, and time submissions, maintain accurate and traceable scope, cost, schedule, and technical baselines, and provide program leadership with a defensible position before funds are committed. Assignments may range from a single contract package to a program-level change function. This posting is for future opportunities, not a currently available specific role. Candidates selected for the specialty talent pool will be contacted first when project needs arise. The scope and complexity of responsibilities vary according to experience level. The role involves coordinating with program disciplines and decision-makers, evaluating proposed changes and claims, supporting negotiations, processing approved change orders, and maintaining clear records for audit, funding review, and dispute resolution.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in construction management, civil engineering, construction engineering, business administration, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
10+ years of construction change control, change order, or claims experience on large (>$500M), complex heavy-civil infrastructure projects.
Experience leading change control on a construction contract package, including change identification, entitlement determination, pricing, executed change orders, and coordination of supporting estimators, schedulers, and analysts.
Experience evaluating change proposals, requests for equitable adjustment, or claims for entitlement, cost, and schedule impact, and recommending a position to the owner.
Experience developing or reviewing independent cost estimates and time impact analyses that test contractor-submitted pricing and delay claims.
Experience preparing change board or governance packages and presenting recommendations to owner decision-makers.
Working knowledge of public works contract provisions governing changes, differing site conditions, delays, and notice and claim requirements.
Experience with industry-standard PMIS, document management, and CPM scheduling software, such as MS Project, Unifier, Kahua, e-Builder, or Primavera P6.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite or Office 365, including tools such as Outlook, Teams, Word, and PowerPoint.
Excellent written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills.
Excellent multitasking and organizational skills.
Collaborative mindset that fosters teamwork, trust, and positive relationships.
Curiosity, problem-solving ability, and commitment to continuous improvement.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in construction management, civil engineering, construction engineering, or business administration.
Active professional certifications such as CCM (CMAA), PMP (PMI), and/or CCP or CFCC (AACE).
Experience managing a program-level change control function across multiple contract packages, including supervising change analysts and standardizing package evaluation.
Experience negotiating individual change orders exceeding $10M in value.
Experience leading the owner’s position on a claim through a dispute resolution board, mediation, or formal claims process.
Experience analyzing delay and schedule impact on a CPM schedule, including concurrency and the distinction between excusable and compensable delay.
Experience with industry-standard estimating, cost analysis, and document markup software, such as HCSS HeavyBid, RSMeans, Bluebeam Revu, or ProjectWise.
Proficiency with Microsoft Power BI, Oracle Cloud Analytics, or other dashboard KPI reporting software.

Responsibilities

Support the program change control process from early identification through entitlement determination, pricing, negotiation, and executed change order.
Track change notices and open change items through documented decisions within contractually allowed timeframes.
Evaluate change proposals, requests for equitable adjustment, and claims for contractual entitlement; recommend a position supported by contract language and the factual record.
Develop and review independent cost estimates and time impact analyses to evaluate contractor pricing and delay claims.
Coordinate with estimators, schedulers, and analysts and apply consistent methods for analyzing, pricing, and documenting changes.
Prepare change board packages containing the recommendation, independent analysis, funding source, and consequences of not acting; present them to program decision-makers.
Support negotiation of change order value and time extensions with the contracting officer or contract administrator, and document agreements and releases.
Process approved change orders and confirm that contract value, baseline schedule, budget, drawings, and specifications are updated as affected.
Coordinate change evaluation with engineering, inspection, right of way, and operations groups.
Evaluate impacts to active operations and existing facilities before approval of changes.
Analyze differing site conditions, design changes, and third-party-driven changes involving bridges, underground work, and systems, distinguishing covered work from work not covered by the contract.
Report change trends, open change exposure, and pending time extensions to executive program leadership.
Maintain configuration control of change records and affected technical documentation, including version control, revision history, and audit trails.
Keep entitlement decisions, pricing bases, and correspondence retrievable for audit, funding review, and dispute resolution.