Senior Project Manager - Data Centers Development

Turner & Townsend•Dallas, TX

About The Position

Turner & Townsend is seeking an experienced Senior Project Manager to support a key client's large-scale data center development program. The role represents developer clients through the front-end lifecycle of major data center projects, from site identification and acquisition through development, entitlement, utility coordination, due diligence, construction, commissioning, and handover. The successful candidate will lead project teams and client relationships, manage a portfolio of data center developments, and provide strategic guidance to developers, hyperscale operators, investors, and enterprise clients. The role combines client and program leadership with development management and design and construction phase services. The Senior Project Manager will coordinate multidisciplinary teams and stakeholders, manage schedules, budgets, risks, governance, and reporting, and support procurement, value engineering, design review, construction oversight, commissioning, and handover. The position also contributes to business development, expands client engagements, and supports growth of Turner & Townsend's Data Center practice across North America. Travel up to 25% may be required. On-site presence and requirements may change depending on client needs.

Requirements

At least 8 years of project management experience, with a significant focus on data center development projects.
Degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Real Estate Development, Architecture, Project Management, or equivalent.
Demonstrated experience leading projects from land acquisition through handover to construction or delivery teams.
Strong financial, commercial, and risk management capabilities.
Expert-level experience with Microsoft Project, Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
Strong understanding of data center development, entitlement, and pre-construction processes.
Ability to lead, coordinate, and organize multiple stakeholders, including general contractors, and deliver project or program status reports.
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
Tenacity and drive to add value and create solutions.
Ability to develop good working relationships with project teams and clients.
Ability to manage multiple projects in a fast-paced consulting environment.
Ability to travel up to 25% as required by clients.

Responsibilities

Serve as the primary day-to-day client representative and trusted advisor for assigned data center development projects.
Manage client relationships through proactive communication, issue resolution, and strategic guidance.
Lead project governance, reporting, stakeholder management, and executive-level presentations.
Coordinate multidisciplinary consultant teams and align project stakeholders.
Support business development and identify opportunities to expand service delivery within client accounts.
Develop relationships with developers, investors, landowners, utility providers, consultants, and local authorities.
Lead data center projects from site screening and acquisition through development and readiness for construction execution.
Manage development schedules, budgets, risks, and key project milestones.
Oversee feasibility studies, site evaluations, due diligence, and technical assessments.
Coordinate site selection, land acquisition support, utility assessments, capacity and infrastructure evaluations, environmental due diligence, zoning and entitlement, permitting strategies, and infrastructure planning.
Track development risks and develop mitigation strategies, ensuring activities align with client objectives, schedule requirements, and investment criteria.
Support development of the Minimum Functionality Case and identify enhancements.
Support value engineering, including selection, coordination, comment follow-up, and verification.
Research and provide input on long-lead procurement items and construction market conditions.
Assist with requests for proposals for general contractor and commissioning agent procurements.
Help establish construction success criteria for schedule, cost, technical, and quality performance.
Review design and construction drawings for project requirements and constructability, with follow-up and verification with the general contractor and architect/engineer.
Participate in cost and schedule risk identification and mitigation, baseline schedule development, and regular progress updates.
Participate in criticality assessments to identify design and construction aspects requiring owner witness or hold points and inspection, testing, and acceptance oversight.
Interface with local authorities and developers on site development matters, including utility tie-ins and permitting.
Participate in product data submittal reviews with technical reviewers and review project submittals and requests for information.
Coordinate with the commissioning agent on commissioning plan development and execution.
Review general contractor and key subcontractor schedules for alignment with contract requirements.
Oversee general contractor construction activities, including regular site visits and construction work reviews.
Attend daily construction status meetings and scheduled Owner, Architect, Contractor meetings.
Review and report on overall construction effort and progress, evaluating actual field production against the project schedule.
Coordinate with cost and scheduling representatives on project reporting and dashboard updates.
Coordinate with the document controller to ensure project documentation is uploaded to the client system of record.
Support observation and issue tracking and resolution, punch-list coordination, and coordination with the architect/engineer.
Support in-process and final inspection and testing conducted by the general contractor and commissioning agent.