Title: Lease Construction Manager — LEAD (Contingent Worker) Duration: 12 months with potential of extension Location: Center, ND
A highly qualified contingent worker who operates on behalf of Client as the owner's representative for construction delivery across a set of leased data center projects. The CM Lead carries owner-side accountability for cost and schedule certainty, directs Support CWs and contractor workforces, owns the contractor/landlord/cross-functional relationships, and sets governance and best practices across the portfolio — going beyond executing a single project's scope.
Roles and Responsibilities:
Act as Client's owner's representative for the construction, commissioning, and turnover of Data Center Fitout projects across an assigned set of leased properties — making field decisions independently without constant oversight.
Carry owner-side accountability for cost and schedule certainty across multiple projects/landlords; serve as the escalation point for the Support CWs and CMs delivering those projects.
Own the construction scope across the assigned portfolio, including retrofits of existing data halls and build-outs of new spaces across North America.
Lead and direct Support CWs, vendors, and contractor workforces as boots-on-the-ground extensions of the team; set expectations, mentor, and develop the people delivering the work.
Own the relationships with General Contractors, Landlords, Designers, Consultants, and Cross-Functional Partners — serving as the single source of truth and providing executive-level reporting upward.
Provide construction leadership across the assigned sites by developing and maintaining strong relationships with cross-functional partners, consultants, vendors, landlords, and contractors.
Lead the cost-change process: negotiate difficult, landlord-driven change orders and protect best pricing in partnership with cost and schedule teams.
Drive recovery of underperforming contractors — diagnose root cause (scope clarity, kickoff alignment, sign-off) and lead the path back to schedule.
Identify, define, and gain cross-functional alignment around opportunities to drive efficiency through innovation, process, and accountability; embed proven solutions as best practices across the portfolio.
Provide project planning and scoping with cross-functional partners and internal customers to identify, sequence, and package work scopes for execution.
Own creation and maintenance of project schedules with support from Project Controls and Scheduling; manage schedule and associated risks to ensure reliable and predictable turnover dates.
Assist with developing capital project budgets, provide ROM construction cost estimates, and manage monthly CapEx forecasting for all project-related costs.
Provide analysis and action plans based on weekly project status reports (financial, schedule, Q/C).
Own monthly WIP walks to validate work in place for invoicing, and regular site walks with Contractors, Landlord, consultants, and cross-functional partners to track progress and confirm handover conditions are met.
Manage Method of Procedures (MOPs) for retrofit/remedy work in live data centers; facilitate interaction between Contractor, Client, and 3rd-party QA/QC teams.
Responsible for Project Closeout. Escalate key strategic issues to the ACM / Client FTE.
Promote and model an attitude of continuous improvement, partnership, and teamwork; support and lead an industry-leading safety culture and program.
Approximately 50% travel to support project sites across North America.
Preferred Qualifications:
Bachelor's degree in Construction Management, Civil/Electrical/Mechanical Engineering or equivalent, and/or 15+ years of professional experience across construction, operations, maintenance, and project planning — with a track record as an owner's representative / senior construction PM on hyperscale or critical-infrastructure programs.
Demonstrated leadership of large contractor workforces and multi-site portfolios (individual programs $300M–$1.5B+).
Experience negotiating complex, landlord-driven change orders and protecting cost/schedule certainty in leased facilities.
15+ years experience directly related to the design or construction of data centers / critical infrastructure; mission-critical commissioning of retrofit and new leased build-outs.
General knowledge of electrical, mechanical, and connectivity systems; CPM scheduling practices and Primavera P6.
Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously across phases. Functional in MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
Lead CM CW – DEC (Lease Delivery) – Role Profile Top 3 Must-Have HARD Skills 1. Hyperscale / Mission-Critical Data Center Construction Management Demonstrated experience running large-scale DC builds (ideally Client or comparable hyperscaler), including shell/core, fit-out, or retrofit scopes. 2. Integrated Schedule & Risk Management Ability to own and drive P6/master schedule, forecast risks, and proactively de-risk timelines across multiple packages and trades. 3. Process & Documentation Discipline (SOPs/SIPs/RFIs) Strong track record building and enforcing process frameworks (RFI management, submittals, inspection/test plans, SIPs) at a standard that represents Client to contractors and landlords.
Good-to-Have Skills
Constructability review & design-build delivery judgment. The candidate needs to be able to identify major clashes, review phasing plans, provide logistical feedback, and recommend execution strategies.
Experience leading/mentoring other CWs or field staff.
Familiarity with industry-specific tools and operating cadences (e.g., Procore, Smartsheet, ACC).
Safety program ownership or oversight at the site level.
Story Behind the Need – Business Group & Key Projects Client's Lease Delivery team (within Global Data Center Engineering & Construction) is responsible for delivering leased data center capacity on aggressive timelines. The portfolio is scaling rapidly — new lease sites, retrofits, and fit-outs are running in parallel across regions. We need a Lead CM CW who can operate on behalf of Client with minimal FTE oversight, own delivery of scope packages end-to-end, and provide leadership to the broader CW field team — freeing FTEs to focus on strategic portfolio-level work rather than day-to-day execution.
Compelling Story & Candidate Value Proposition You'll operate as Client's on-site delivery leader — not just executing tasks, but making real-time decisions that keep multi-million-dollar programs on track. You'll have high autonomy, direct influence on how Client's leased DC capacity comes online, and the opportunity to set the operating standard for a growing CW team. This is a role where strong construction leaders get to run scope like it's their own project, with the backing and resources of one of the world's largest infrastructure builders.
Typical Day in the Role
Morning huddle with CW team, landlord, GC/Subs: set priorities, clear blockers, align on the day's critical path activities.
Walk the site: quality checks, safety observations, progress verification against schedule.
Contractor coordination meetings: drive accountability on deliverables, RFIs, submittals, and change orders.
Schedule and risk: Track updates, flag slippages, propose and drive recovery plans, and update trackers.
Interface with Client FTE (your lead): escalate decisions that exceed CW authority, provide concise status reporting.
Documentation: close out inspection records, update logs, maintain audit-ready files.
How Will Performance Be Measured
Schedule adherence – Delivering scope packages on or ahead of baseline milestones.
Risk identification & resolution – Proactively flagging and closing risks before they become schedule impacts.
Process compliance & documentation quality – Maintaining Client-standard records, RFI turnaround times, and inspection close-out rates.
Team leadership effectiveness – CW team productivity, clarity of direction, and reduced escalation frequency to FTEs.
Safety – Reduce the TCIR/TRIR on a project not to exceed 0.35 and regularly provide leading trends.
Quality – Manage and minimize punch-list/rework items in a manner that will not interfere with turnover and provisioning of the data halls.
Applicant Notices & Disclaimers
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At SPECTRAFORCE, we are committed to maintaining a workplace that ensures fair compensation and wage transparency in adherence with all applicable state and local laws.This position's pay range is $122.00/hr - $146.00/hr.
