Construction Project Manager

Somerville is a city that upholds progressive principles for both employees and residents alike. If you are looking for a culture that embraces innovation, empowerment, and collaborative involvement, Somerville not only embraces these talents, but encourages them. Creative, hands on collaboration with passionate dedication are at the core of the City’s workplace culture.  Challenging and fast paced, Somerville also offers a generous benefits package that embodies a strong work life balance. Not only is it a “Model City”, as termed by The Boston Globe, but it is also a model employer.

Statement of Duties

The City of Somerville seeks a Construction Project Manager to provide construction-phase engineering and management services for city infrastructure improvements and permitted activities to ensure conformance with permit conditions, city policies, applicable technical standards, plans and specifications to assure construction mitigation and traffic management plans are being properly executed to minimize constituent impacts. 

Essential Functions:

• Review plans and specifications for active city projects and conditions for permitted activities to know required construction mitigation and traffic management requirements for all active construction sites in the public right of way;
• Oversee and manage active construction sites for conformance with general construction practices and city requirements to minimize disruption to residents and businesses by confirming proper contractor execution of mitigation such as detour signage, pedestrian safety, dust management, noise control, maintenance of utility services, driveway access, delivery access, etc.;
• Enforce requirements, city ordinances, policies, and permit conditions for construction of public infrastructure and private utilities, and occupancy of public streets and sidewalks;
• Identify and resolve, or report to other city staff, constituent impacts resulting from construction activities in the public right of way;
• Coordinate project meetings or tasks with Engineering, city staff, and utility companies as necessary;
• Determine the need for and schedule inspections of connections to the city’s water distribution and sewer/storm water/combined collection systems to ensure compliance with city standards;
• Determine the need for and schedule inspections of soil and backfill compaction testing as necessary to assure compliance with city and other applicable standards;
• Determine the need for and schedule inspections of roadway, sidewalk, and markings restoration activities to assure compliance with city and other applicable standards;
• Document work through as-built drawings and daily inspection logs

Recommended Minimum Qualifications                                      

Education and Experience:

Minimum of  2-year degree in Civil Engineering from an accredited program with seven to ten (7-10) years of related work experience; or any equivalent combination of education, training and experience which provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the essential functions of the job.

Special Requirements

• Valid Class D driver’s license
• OSHA 10-hour Construction Site Safety
• OSHA Confined Space Entry Training
• Certified Construction Manager

Knowledge, Abilities and Skill

Knowledge: Thorough knowledge of proper pipe connection methods, backfill and compaction techniques, asphalt and concrete installation, and appropriate testing for conformance.  Must have working knowledge of the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD); engineering standards for water distribution and sewer/drainage collection system construction and repair; excavation materials, compaction, testing, roadway repair; and general working knowledge of construction and inspection techniques to include record keeping and report writing; knowledge of the  principles and practices of project management, work breakdown structures, communications planning, and team management.

Abilities: Ability to produce written documents with clearly organized thoughts using proper sentence construction, punctuation and grammar; use and interpret graphical information such as construction plans, schematic drawings, flow charts, layouts and other visual aids, and electronic project management applications; ability to interpret information accurately and make decisions according to existing laws, regulations and policies; ability to manage multiple projects of various complexities with competing interest and multiple funding sources; ability to manage and coordinate contractors and outside vendors effectively on a construction site.

Skill: Proficient communication skills, both verbal and written as well as the ability to deal with the public in tense situations; proficiency with computers and Microsoft Office platform.

Work Environment                                                                                                 

The work environment is a mix of field and office work. The office work involves everyday discomforts typical of offices. Noise or physical surroundings may be distracting, but conditions are generally not unpleasant. The field work requires moderate intermittent physical strength and effort around navigating and assisting construction and repair sites with exposure to the elements. Additionally, the employee may be required to work beyond normal business hours in response to attend evening meetings or complete work assignments.

Physical and Mental Requirements

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the position’s essential functions.

Physical Skills
Employee will spend time in the office and in the field during construction projects.  Work effort involves an equal mix of sitting, standing and walking to perform work tasks. Work requires some agility such as moving in or about construction sites or over rough terrain. There may also be some occasional lifting of objects such as books, office equipment, and computer paper (up to 30 lbs).  During construction season, employee may be standing for periods longer than two to three (2-3) hours at a time, may entering and exit confined spaces, and may encounter inclement weather.

Motor Skills
Duties may involve assignments requiring application of hand and eye coordination with finger dexterity and motor coordination. Examples include operating a motor vehicle, using a personal computer, or climbing a ladder.                                                                             

Visual Skills
Visual demands include constantly reading documents for general understanding and for analytical purposes, making detailed visual observations, and routinely reviewing non-written materials such as maps and blueprints for analytical purposes; the employee is required to determine color differences.

Send your resume and cover letter by April 6, 2018 to:

City Hall Personnel Office
93 Highland Avenue
Somerville MA 02143
Fax: 617-666-4426
TTY: 1-866-808-4851
Email: employment_opportunities@somervillema.gov

City of Somerville residents are especially encouraged to apply.

The City of Somerville is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, age, national origin, disability or any other protected category. Women, minorities, veterans, and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply. Auxiliary aids and services, written materials in alternative formats, and reasonable modifications in policies and procedures will be provided to qualified individuals with disabilities free of charge, upon request.

Individuals with disabilities who need auxiliary aids and services for effective communication, written materials in alternative formats, or reasonable modifications in policies and procedures, in order to access the programs and activities of the City of Somerville or to attend meetings, should contact the City’s ADA Coordinator, Nency Salamoun, at 617-625-6600 x2323 or NSalamoun@somervillema.gov.