Project Executive – Civic / Higher Education

NW Recruiting Partners•Seattle, WA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

Our client, a well-established and employee-owned contractor, is seeking an experienced Project Executive to provide leadership and oversight across complex civic and/or higher education projects. The Project Executive will lead multiple projects from early planning and preconstruction through closeout, with responsibility for client satisfaction, team performance, financial results, risk management, and operational consistency. The ideal candidate will bring strong leadership experience, deep knowledge of civic or higher education construction, and a proven ability to develop teams and long-term client relationships.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Construction Management, Civil Engineering, Architecture, or a related field, or the equivalent in professional experience.
10+ years of progressively responsible construction experience, including leadership of complex projects and project teams.
Demonstrated experience in civic construction and/or higher education projects.
Experience managing work in active or occupied environments and coordinating multiple stakeholders, phasing requirements, and complex logistics.
Strong knowledge of preconstruction, estimating, scheduling, contracts, cost management, change management, quality, and safety.
Proven ability to manage risk, resolve conflict, and maintain trusted client relationships while protecting project and company interests.
Working knowledge of project management, scheduling, and BIM/VDC tools.
Strong leadership, communication, decision-making, and team-development skills.

Nice To Haves

Experience with public procurement and collaborative delivery methods such as GC/CM, CM/GC, design-build, or negotiated work, is preferred.

Responsibilities

Provide leadership and accountability for multiple projects in varying phases of planning, preconstruction, construction, and closeout.
Partner with clients, design teams, consultants, and internal leaders to establish project goals, delivery strategies, and clear expectations.
Oversee project financial performance, including budgets, forecasts, cost controls, change management, cash flow, and overall profitability.
Guide contract review, negotiation, risk allocation, and issue resolution in collaboration with operations leadership and legal resources when appropriate.
Ensure project teams develop and maintain effective schedules, procurement plans, staffing plans, quality programs, and recovery strategies when needed.
Review project performance with Project Managers and Superintendents, addressing schedule, cost, safety, quality, and client concerns, early.
Promote a strong safety culture and reinforce accountability across project teams and trade partners.
Support preconstruction, estimating, and pursuit teams with constructability, phasing, logistics, risk analysis, budgets, proposals, and interviews.
Build long-term relationships with owners, campus stakeholders, public agencies, architects, engineers, subcontractors, and community partners.
Help identify and secure future work within targeted civic and higher education markets.
Identify staffing needs and mentor, coach, and develop Project Managers, Project Engineers, and other emerging leaders.
Promote consistent business systems, lessons learned, and cross-project collaboration to improve operational performance.