Development Program Manager (Data Center Construction)

Quality Technology Services•New Albany, OH

About The Position

The Development Program Manager (Data Center Construction) leads and manages the design, pre-construction, and construction activities for assigned projects. The role works daily with Facilities, contractors, designers, engineers, commissioning agents, vendors, and Data Center Operations staff, requiring written and oral communication skills suited to these regular interactions. The manager oversees multiple projects across one or more campuses, maintaining budgets, schedules, status reports, and campus master plans. The position coordinates development programs from planning and permitting through procurement, construction, commissioning, and closeout, ensuring time, budget, and quality standards are met. It also communicates program status to executives, supports product deployment and client-specific solutions, represents QTS in project meetings, and contributes to improving internal project management processes. QTS is a global digital infrastructure company that designs, builds, and operates data centers. It is a portfolio company of Blackstone.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Science or Engineering, or equivalent professional experience.
At least eight years of professional experience in commercial construction practices and procedures.
Experience managing Lump Sum, Construction Management at Risk, and Design Build project delivery methods from conceptual development through procurement to closeout.
Experience with Microsoft Office, particularly PowerPoint for executive-level program updates and Excel for site program and individual project budgets.
Ability to travel as needed for the business.

Nice To Haves

MBA, master’s degree in Engineering, Management, or a related field.
Experience delivering mission-critical data center facilities.
Extensive experience managing MEP trades.

Responsibilities

Manage multiple projects across campus sites and maintain current budgets, schedules, and status reports for each.
Prepare and communicate monthly development program and project status updates suitable for executive-level reviews, and present information to support efficient decision-making.
Work with QTS stakeholders and design and construction teams to create site master development programs, complete campus design solutions, and capital budgets.
Manage entitlement and permitting needs for assigned site projects.
Implement and manage phased site development plans to meet time, budget, and quality standards predictably.
Continuously update campus master plans to provide predictable statistics in a dynamic environment.
Write scopes of work for design, construction, and commissioning services; participate in procurement and project cost estimates.
Evaluate and compare pricing proposals for design, construction, and commissioning services.
Coordinate with the strategic procurement team on equipment procurement and delivery.
Ensure appropriate submittals are coordinated with site stakeholders.
Monitor and create project budget and cost-to-date tracking against overall project budgets.
Establish project schedules and manage teams toward on-time completion.
Review and approve contractors’ monthly pay applications.
Review contractors’ change-order requests and negotiate pricing.
Establish site construction security procedures with the site security team.
Develop product deployment plans and review and communicate them with involved QTS staff.
Collaborate with Sales Engineers and Product teams on custom solutions for prospective clients, within applicable schedules and budgets for assigned locations.
Establish and maintain relationships while serving as a liaison with key QTS stakeholders.
Represent QTS’s interests and lead in OAC meetings.
Build relationships that support QTS’s leadership in data center real estate.
Assist with due diligence for potential new sites as needed.
Work with the internal development team to improve project management processes and protocols.