Senior Project Manager

Somerville is a city that upholds progressive principles for both employees and residents. The City of Somerville embraces and encourages an innovative, empowering, and collaborative workplace culture in a fast-paced, challenging environment. The City also offers a generous benefits package that embodies a strong work-life balance. Not only is Somerville a “Model City,” as termed by The Boston Globe, it is also a model employer.

In order to meet the demands resulting from the area’s growing economy, the City of Somerville is addressing a vital and urgent need to improve the quality of its aging infrastructure. An aggressive program to achieve this has begun with immediate plans for a new Public Safety Building and implementation of a Building Master Plan to renovate and occupy its most vital larger buildings. To achieve this, the City is seeking an energetic, dedicated and knowledgeable Senior Project Manager to deliver projects that meet the city’s short and long term Triple Bottom Line needs for Social, Environmental and Financial success.

Statement of Duties

The Senior Project Manager is responsible for managing, coordinating and directing building construction and renovation capital improvement projects from initial concept and schematic design, through final design, permitting, public bidding, construction, and commissioning. Initial responsibilities include, but are not limited to oversight of Design & Construction for Somerville’s new Public Safety Building and initiation of Somerville’s comprehensive Building Master Plan with the Director of Capital Projects & Planning. The Senior Project Manager coordinates with various City stakeholders and manages consultants and contractors to successfully complete projects and ensure alignment with the City’s goals.

Essential Functions

The essential functions or duties listed below are intended only as illustrations of the various type of work that may be performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment to the position.

• Oversee the planning, design, permitting, and construction of municipal and school building capital improvement projects.
• Manage the Massachusetts General Law requirements for public procurement of services, including the Owners Project Manager (OPM), design and related professional services, and construction contractors, which may include both traditional design-bid-build contracts with filed sub-bids and construction manager at risk models.
• Ensure that capital construction projects are designed, constructed and completed in accordance with goals established by the Infrastructure & Asset Management Department in coordination with other City departments and stakeholders with respect to quality of work, schedule, and budget.
• Work with OPM and design consultants to initiate schematic design and advance all associated projects into construction.
• Research and assist in the development of strategic options for long range capital planning.
• Work closely with the City of Somerville’s Office of Sustainability and Environmental (OSE) to assure the City’s sustainability goals are met, including net-zero emissions by the year 2050.
• Work with the City of Somerville Health & Human Services Department to assure ADA and all other state and federal accessibility requirements are met.
• Coordinate move management, and work closely with all affected departments to be relocated to determine need for swing space requirements during construction and for final building occupancy.
• Complete Division of Capital Asset Management (DCAM) contractor evaluations.
• Track Change Orders, Submittal’s and Requests for Information (R.F.I.’s).
• Determine need for, review and approve Change Orders on design and/or construction projects.
• Review and approve contractors’ certificates for payment and/or consultant invoices.
• Review, approve or detail changes needed on consultant work products.
• Analyze and/or prepare written reports on program and project performance using qualitative analyses and other project management techniques.
• Develop program and project budgets, schedules, work plans, labor utilization and cost estimates/projections.
• Work cooperatively with other City employees and departments and private organizations to facilitate project implementation and completion.
• Interact with the public concerning events and incidents that arise as a result of capital projects.
• Meet and work with elected officials, community representatives, business owners and residents to review proposed projects and activities, address questions and comments and educate community on the value and need for proposed projects.
• May make presentations to City Council Committees as well as to resident advocacy groups.
• Attends and manages public meetings outside of regular work hours.

Education and Experience: Bachelor’s Degree (Master’s Degree preferred) in architecture, design and/or Construction Management and five to seven (5-7) years of construction related 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.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Professionally licensed or seeking professional licensure in architecture or related field
• Massachusetts Registered Professional Engineer a plus
• Industry Certification(s) such as Project Management Professional (PMP), LEED or Certified Facility Manager (CFM) preferred

• Proficient knowledge of laws and requirements for varying bidding requirements pertaining to Chapter 149, Chapter 30MGL. Must have or be able to obtain MCPPO certification within 6 months of hire.
• Knowledge of Commonwealth of Mass. Historic Preservation requirements.
• Familiarity with Asset Management processes, including Asset on-boarding, Commissioning and Computer Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS).
• Familiarity with Public Safety Buildings (Fire & Police Station) a plus

Special Requirements

Massachusetts Construction Supervisors License preferred

Valid Class D driver’s license

Knowledge, Abilities and Skill

Knowledge: Knowledge of the principles and practice of construction procedures, procurement law and construction project management practices; knowledge of the principles and practices of building construction and of effective budgetary management; extensive knowledge of building systems, codes and ADA/AAB requirements; extensive knowledge and experience in reviewing and comprehending construction plans and specifications.

Abilities: Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with staff developers, contractors and trades personnel; ability to develop innovative, cost-effective programs to monitor construction projects; ability to prepare and administer budgets; demonstrated proficiency with the Microsoft Office suite (Word, Exec, Outlook, PowerPoint).

Skill: Skill in utilizing data base systems to assist in the monitoring of capital projects; skill in preparing reports and maintain detailed records.  Skill in coordinating various programs and projects simultaneously; and communicates effectively both verbally and in writing.

Work Environment              

The work environment involves everyday discomforts typical of offices, and construction job sites with frequent exposure to outside elements.  Noise or physical surroundings may be distracting, but conditions are generally not unpleasant.  Employee may be required to work beyond normal business hours in response to attend evening meetings or complete work assignments.  Work may require some agility and physical strength, such as moving in or about construction sites or over rough terrain, or standing or walking most of the work period.  Occasionally, work may require lifting heavy objects and carrying them.  There may be need to stretch and reach to retrieve materials. 

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: Minimal physical demands are required to perform the work. Work effort principally involves sitting to perform work tasks, with intermittent periods of stooping, walking, and standing. There may also be some occasional lifting of objects such as office equipment or photocopy paper (up to 30lbs.).

 Motor Skills: Duties are largely mental rather than physical, but the job may occasionally require minimal motor skills for activities such as moving objects, operating a telephone, personal computer and/or most other office equipment including word processing, filing and sorting of papers.

Visual Skills: Visual demands require constantly reading documents for general understanding and analytical purposes.

Send your resume and cover letter by September 25, 2020 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.