Development Project Manager

Wild Fork Foods•Miami, FL

54d•Onsite

About The Position

The Development Project Manager is responsible for assisting the team facilitate new store development from Site Approval to Project Close Out. The primary responsibilities will be managing project schedules, overseeing permit and license applications, assisting with utility account set up, and communicating cross-functionally to all internal departments as well as external vendors, consultants, and contractors. This is an in-office role, Monday – Friday, based in Doral, FL.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree, or 10+ years in related discipline required
5+ years of project management experience required
Must have exceptional attention to detail and ability to multitask
Strong organizational and time management skills, and ability to prioritize
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
Strong problem-solving skills and analytical abilities
Flexible and able to handle multiple projects and tasks simultaneously
Displays initiative and a strong sense of personal motivation.

Nice To Haves

Experience with Retail and/or Restaurant facilities construction sites preferred
Have a positive spirit and eagerness to take initiative and to take on responsibilities to optimize the team leader’s effectiveness

Responsibilities

Manage project communication between departments including Real Estate, Legal, Design, Construction, Operations, Marketing and external team members including Consultants, Landlord’s, Local Municipalities, etc.
Forecast schedules for an average of 25 projects while managing tasks to ensure the projects stay on schedule, including updating critical dates in Smartsheet, distributing monthly development schedules, and issuing start construction, date change, and store open notice emails
Report to Leadership on a bi-weekly basis. Consistently focus on reducing timelines to meet goals and recognize opportunities for reduced durations.
Prioritize projects and team deliverables.
Primary point of contact for Landlords for project development post LOI/Lease through construction start.
Coordinate with developers and landlords throughout project development to ensure all construction documents were fully reviewed, approved, and consistent.
Manage landlord notice requests for drawing approvals, credit letters and possession letters.
Manage Landlord allowance application process to secure collection of TI.
Direct team of architectural consultants, civil engineers and permit consultants for each project through phases of contract, site investigation, conceptual plans, CD production, permitting, construction and close-out.
Negotiate contract pricing, terms and quality/service stipulations, and enforce cost and performance expectations.
Minimize Wild Fork’s risk through ordering due diligence and performing an analysis of Existing Condition Surveys, Alta Surveys, Geotechnical Reports, Environmental Surveys, ALTA surveys, sign code studies, traffic studies, etc.
Review due diligence reports to understand pertinent permit, licensing, and utility set up processes
Present each project to Operations for approval and make recommendations regarding action steps prior to release of CD production, lease execution and construction start.
Prioritize designers’ workload of production of concept plans, ops packages, sign renderings, redlining and responding to RFIs. Hold meetings regularly with design team to ensure their deliverables are met.
Lead design kick off meetings with consultants, designers, and project team members.
Assist in lease deliverables related to project timing, exhibits, utilities and Rent, CAM costs to Property Management Lead.
Represented Wild Fork at various city meetings to secure approvals such as Planning and Zoning, Sign Variances and Building Permits.
Manage tracking log for all development invoices including weekly correspondence to finance team
Manage soft cost tracking log which documents consultant contracts, add services, and all other development soft cost invoices for new store opens
Manage bid notification emails to architect and distributing bid packages to General Contractors and Vendors
Facilitate permit and license applications and payments required for new store opens including building, health, patio, business tax, etc.
Manage utility account set up and service upgrades for new store opens
Manage Certificate of Insurance process including completion of New Store Insurance Surveys for inclusion to our policies and working with Insurance Broker to request Certificates of Insurance for new and existing stores
Manage Development reports including Master Store List, Landlord Contacts List, and Historical Budgets
Assist with the managing of prototype standards including communication of updates to architectural consultants, vendors, and Franchise partners
File document management in OneDrive and future Project Management software, including new project set up and ensuring all documents are up to date
Project Manager for each new Development project from pre-1st Pass through Permitting.
Identify, manage, and minimize all risks associated with challenging project variables throughout the project’s preconstruction lifecycle.
Manage the due diligence process for new development projects, including scheduling and communication with consultants, tracking progress, reviewing submitted reports, providing recommended action steps and coordinating the distribution of reports.
Manage project schedules from pre-1st pass to construction start by creating and continuously updating all Company and Franchise bakery café projects.
Prepare and present project status reports on all applicable development projects at regularly scheduled project status meetings with the Development Team.
Manage internal and external communication related to projects and act as the main point of contact for all information relevant to projects throughout project lifecycle.
Maintain consistent focus on assisting development teams in reducing timelines and overall project durations from initial Development Committee review to intermediate review through final review to ultimately increase team productivity.
Reduce overall timeline from Site Approval to construction start to develop projects within a 1 year life cycle thru Management of Consultants and team members – i.e. due diligence, Architects, engineers, Consultant work load, Schedule management, Project learning's, re-submittals to municipalities (what is causing the resubmittals), permitting, expediting, etc. Identify and communicate potential time savings/ cost savings methods that are outside of our current process.
Manage internal communications of project status, current schedule and potential risks on each project with the Project Team (Legal, REM, DM, CPM, Purchasing), and other departments (Marketing, Operations, Accounting, etc.) within Wild Fork. Manage the Company development schedule from 1st pass through Open.
Manage external communications with design consultants, permit expediters, landlords, utility companies and City officials throughout due diligence, design and pre-construction phases of development projects.
Manage the plan production and permitting process for new company stores.
Generate an electronic dynamic total project schedule from Site Approval to Open including key milestones utilizing schedule software
Daily schedule management of all development activities
Daily Schedule Management of the engineering and architectural consultants
Prepare and present project status reports on all applicable development projects at regularly scheduled project status meetings with the Development Senior Team.
Manage daily consultant activities and priorities (Due Diligence, Architects, Structural Engineers, Civil Engineers, Permit Expediters, Environmental, ALTA, Geotech, etc.)
Create weekly consultant activity reports
Manage consultant contract and costs
Approve and process consultant invoicing and change orders (accurate and timely)
Onboard new consultants
Provide overview of Wild Fork Development Process (Overview, Timelines, Commitments, Due Diligence, EC Package)
Evaluate consultants continuously to ensure they are working to meet Wild Fork expectations. Formal evaluation with each consultant takes place in person on annual basis.
Manage Project Closeout including the archiving of the project as-built drawings, vendor issues, code and permitting key learnings
Main point of contact for project for both internal and external partners
Manage internal communications of project status, current schedule and potential risks on each project with the Project Team (Legal, REM, DM, CPM, Purchasing), and other departments (Marketing, Ops, Accounting, etc.) within Wild Fork.
Manage the Company development schedule from Site Approval through Open.
Manage external communications with landlords and their consultants, city officials, permit expeditors, municipality plan review staff, outside legal resources, 3rd party plan reviewers & inspectors
Manage team communication
Conduct weekly or bi-weekly update meetings with the development team to assess project changes and manage deliverable schedules