Vice President of Construction & Development

HPI Real Estate Services & Investments•Austin, TX

About The Position

The Vice President of Construction and Development provides strategic leadership and operational oversight for HPI’s commercial construction, redevelopment, tenant improvement, and development activities. The role oversees projects from initial planning, budgeting, and feasibility through design, permitting, construction, and final delivery, ensuring work is completed on schedule, within budget, and in accordance with HPI’s quality standards and investment objectives. The Vice President works with executive leadership, asset management, property management, leasing, finance, architects, engineers, general contractors, municipalities, legal counsel, and other stakeholders to execute strategies that enhance property value, support tenant satisfaction, and advance HPI’s business objectives. The position also leads department personnel and project partners, manages budgets and project controls, oversees contractor and vendor relationships, ensures compliance and quality, and maintains project reporting and documentation. The work combines office-based duties, construction site visits, project meetings, and travel to HPI properties and development sites as needed. Site visits may involve exposure to active construction environments.

Requirements

Minimum of 10 years of experience in commercial construction, real estate development, construction management, or a related field.
Minimum of 5 years of leadership experience managing teams, complex projects, or multiple concurrent construction and development initiatives.
Demonstrated experience managing commercial real estate projects from planning and budgeting through construction completion and turnover.
Experience overseeing project budgets, contractor relationships, construction contracts, schedules, and risk management.
Strong leadership, organizational, and team-development capabilities.
Comprehensive understanding of commercial construction methods, building systems, project scheduling, budgeting, and cost control.
Knowledge of real estate development processes, including due diligence, entitlements, permitting, design, procurement, and construction delivery.
Ability to interpret construction drawings, specifications, contracts, budgets, and project schedules.
Strong financial analysis, negotiation, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
Ability to manage multiple projects and competing priorities while maintaining accountability for results.
Excellent written, verbal, presentation, and interpersonal communication skills.
Ability to build productive relationships with executives, tenants, investors, contractors, consultants, and government representatives.
Proficiency in project management, scheduling, budgeting, and construction reporting software.
Demonstrated commitment to safety, quality, ethical business practices, and continuous improvement.
Bachelor’s degree in Construction Management, Civil Engineering, Architecture, Real Estate Development, or a related field preferred; equivalent combinations of education and directly relevant professional experience may be considered.

Nice To Haves

Experience with commercial office, industrial, retail, mixed-use, or other commercial real estate assets.
Bachelor’s degree in Construction Management, Civil Engineering, Architecture, Real Estate Development, or a related field preferred.

Responsibilities

Develop and implement construction and development strategies aligned with corporate objectives and real estate investment plans.
Lead and oversee construction and development personnel, project managers, and external project partners; establish departmental goals, performance standards, project controls, and reporting procedures.
Evaluate staffing, organizational structure, resource allocation, and opportunities to improve departmental efficiency; provide executive leadership with updates on project performance, capital needs, risks, and opportunities.
Oversee commercial construction, ground-up development, redevelopment, renovation, capital improvement, and tenant improvement projects from feasibility and due diligence through design, budgeting, permitting, procurement, construction, and closeout.
Establish project schedules, budgets, milestones, quality standards, and performance expectations; monitor progress and take corrective action when objectives are at risk.
Coordinate handoffs to property management, including documentation, warranties, training, and operational readiness; coordinate construction with leasing, tenant occupancy, building operations, and property requirements.
Attend sales pitches and strive to earn external business.
Prepare and oversee project budgets, cost estimates, cash flow projections, and capital expenditure forecasts; review and approve proposals, change orders, pay applications, purchase orders, and other expenditures within delegated authority.
Monitor costs, contingencies, commitments, and forecasts; identify cost-saving and value-engineering opportunities; partner with finance, accounting, asset management, and investment teams on project returns, feasibility, and capital allocation.
Provide accurate financial reporting and timely notification of material budget variances.
Coordinate architects, engineers, consultants, and design professionals; evaluate site conditions, feasibility, project risks, preliminary budgets and schedules, and development constraints.
Coordinate zoning, permitting, entitlement, utility, environmental, and other governmental approval processes as applicable; review construction documents, specifications, materials, and building systems for functionality, constructability, cost efficiency, and operating performance.
Support due diligence and feasibility assessments for acquisitions, redevelopment opportunities, and new development projects.
Maintain relationships with qualified contractors, subcontractors, architects, engineers, and other construction professionals; oversee contractor selection, competitive bidding, contract negotiations, and procurement.
Evaluate contractor qualifications, pricing, schedules, safety metrics, and past performance; ensure contracts, scopes, insurance, warranties, and change-management procedures are documented appropriately.
Hold project partners accountable for contractual obligations, performance, schedules, and quality; resolve disputes, delays, and construction-related issues with legal counsel and executive leadership as necessary.
Ensure projects comply with applicable building codes, accessibility requirements, environmental regulations, zoning ordinances, permitting requirements, and other applicable laws; oversee identification and mitigation of project risks.
Collaborate with property management, leasing, asset management, finance, accounting, and investment teams to align construction activities with property and portfolio objectives.
Support leasing through tenant improvement budgeting, preliminary space planning, construction coordination, and delivery schedule management; work with property management on capital priorities, building systems, deferred maintenance, and long-term capital needs.
Coordinate work to minimize disruption to tenants, occupants, and ongoing property operations; communicate project status, decisions, and material changes to internal stakeholders.
Develop and maintain standardized reporting on budgets, schedules, cost forecasts, risks, and milestones; establish and monitor key performance indicators.
Evaluate completed projects for lessons learned and process improvements; maintain project records, contracts, approvals, budgets, schedules, and closeout documentation; track permit expirations and other deadlines.