Pre Construction Manager in Houston, Texas at Camp Construction Services

Founded in 1978, CAMP Facility Services offers a vibrant work environment and a strong commitment to quality, accessible support, and holistic project management. We prioritize relationships with clients and staff alike, treating everyone like family.

Specializing in commercial construction and building maintenance, we serve construction managers, property managers, and building owners across diverse sectors. Our mission emphasizes partnership, continuous improvement through teamwork and education, and exceeding expectations to build lasting relationships based on respect and professionalism.

Why join our CAMP?

Our employees are encouraged to take advantage of an array of benefits and opportunities, including:

• Health Benefits - Medical, Dental & Vision
• 401K and Company Match Benefits
• Paid Holidays, Vacation, and Personal Time Off
• 1 Paid Day Off for Community Service
• Auto & Cell Phone Allowances
• Employee Referral Bonuses
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Advancement Opportunities

Position Summary:

We are seeking an experienced and disciplined Preconstruction Manager to own budgeting, competitive buyout, and project commitments for all Operations projects within the market. This role serves as the bridge between sold work and built work, converting what Sales and Estimating have won into a bought, committed, and buildable project budget before subcontractors mobilize. The Preconstruction Manager is responsible for establishing and maintaining the budget of record, executing competitive subcontractor and material buyout, ensuring all project commitments are properly documented, and supporting the Operations team in maintaining strong margin performance. The role will also coach Project Managers on budget and buyout process discipline and provide preconstruction support to Sales, Estimating, and Operations. The primary objective of this position is to convert sold work into a bought, committed, and buildable budget on every Operations project, protecting net profit pull-through and maximizing one of the company's largest margin opportunities.

The Preconstruction Manager is responsible for all Operations projects within the market, excluding Maintenance and Repair and Mitigation. The level of rigor may vary based on project size and complexity; however, the established preconstruction, budgeting, buyout, and commitment processes are required on every applicable project.

How you will contribute to our Team:

Project Budgeting

• Build and own the working budget for every Operations project at handoff from Sales and Estimating.
• Reconcile the sold estimate to the execution budget and identify scope gaps, contingencies, allowances, and other potential cost exposures.
• Establish and publish a single budget of record before work begins.
• Maintain budget accuracy throughout the preconstruction process and incorporate approved changes and RFI impacts.
• Ensure the project budget accurately reflects the scope and anticipated execution requirements.

Competitive Buyout

• Lead competitive buyout for all Operations projects.
• Solicit multiple subcontractor and material bids against the applicable COE-standard Scope of Work (SOW).
• Level and evaluate bids to ensure scope, pricing, schedule, and qualifications are appropriately compared.
• Negotiate subcontractor and vendor pricing and terms to maximize project margin.
• Capture and track buyout savings against the approved project budget.
• Ensure buyout decisions are consistent with established company and National COE standards.

Commitments & Subcontracts

• Issue complete and accurate subcontracts and purchase orders before subcontractors mobilize.
• Ensure all commitments include clearly defined scope, schedule, pricing, and applicable terms.
• Ensure every committed dollar is accurately entered into the appropriate system.
• Maintain visibility of committed costs so subcontractor invoices can be validated against funded commitments.
• Identify and address commitment gaps before they create project cost exposure.

Subcontractor & Vendor Base

• Work directly with Subcontractor Management and the recruiting team to maintain a qualified and competitive subcontractor and vendor base within the market.
• Support compliance with national COE qualification standards.
• Evaluate subcontractor capacity and availability to support current and future project requirements.
• Help maintain subcontractor resources capable of supporting out-of-footprint and out-of-market work when needed.
• Provide subcontractor performance feedback to support future award decisions.
• Identify opportunities to increase competition and improve pricing, capacity, and project execution.

Standards Adoption & Continuous Improvement

• Execute national COE standards locally, including cost sheets, scopes of work by line of business, and subcontractor qualification requirements.
• Ensure preconstruction processes are consistently applied across Operations projects.
• Provide field and market feedback to National COE Leads to improve and strengthen companywide standards.
• Help ensure local practices support a consistent national process rather than creating market-specific variations.

RFI Creation & Management

• Create and maintain the project RFI log during preconstruction.
• Track questions, clarifications, responses, and potential cost impacts.
• Identify and quantify budget impacts resulting from RFI responses.
• Update the project budget when approved RFI responses affect project cost.
• Hand off open RFIs and outstanding clarifications to the Project Manager for continued follow-through during execution.

Preconstruction Support to Sales

• Provide preconstruction input during project pursuits and sales activities.
• Evaluate constructability, subcontractor availability, pricing conditions, and schedule feasibility.
• Provide realistic market feedback regarding anticipated project costs and execution requirements.
• Serve as the named preconstruction contact for LAMs, NAMs, and clients regarding preconstruction process questions.
• Support Sales and Estimating in identifying potential cost and execution risks before projects are awarded.

Schedule Creation

• Develop a project schedule that can be used to manage the project from an operational, Accounts Payable, and Accounts Receivable perspective.
• Ensure the schedule reflects realistic procurement, subcontractor, material, and project execution requirements.
• Coordinate with Project Managers to ensure the established schedule can effectively support field execution and financial management.
• Monitor schedule alignment during the transition from preconstruction to project execution.

Buyout Review & Process Management

• Own and facilitate the buyout review working session for applicable projects.
• Keep buyout reviews focused on preconstruction, budget, commitment, and procurement decisions.
• Ensure appropriate issues are identified and resolved before work begins.
• Reduce unnecessary General Manager and Project Manager meeting load while increasing accountability for buyout and budget performance.
• Maintain consistent documentation and follow-through from each buyout review.

Decision-Making Authority

• Own subcontractor and vendor awards and pricing within the GM-approved budget.
• Own the issuance of subcontract agreements and purchase orders.
• Own the project budget of record, subject to GM approval of exceptions and contingency releases.
• The Field Operations team owns field execution, labor management, and subcontractor performance while work is being performed on site.
• National COE owns cost sheets, templates, scopes of work, and subcontractor qualification standards. The Preconstruction Manager is responsible for local execution and providing feedback to improve those standards.

Our Requirements:

Required

• 5+ years of experience in construction or restoration preconstruction, estimating, competitive buyout, or project management.
• Demonstrated experience with competitive subcontractor buyout and subcontract negotiation.
• Ability to read, develop, and manage detailed project budgets and cost sheets.
• Strong quantitative, analytical, and financial discipline.
• Working knowledge of subcontract terms, insurance requirements, purchase orders, and commitment systems.
• Ability to influence, coach, and hold Project Managers accountable without direct reporting authority.
• Strong communication, organization, negotiation, and problem-solving skills.

Preferred

• Experience across multiple markets or lines of business, including restoration, exteriors/roofing, interiors, and/or Maintenance and Repair.
• Experience implementing or rolling out a new buyout or preconstruction process.
• Xactimate and/or other estimating platform proficiency.
• Prior P&L, job-cost, or project margin accountability.
• Bachelor's degree in Construction Management, Engineering, Business, or a related field.

CAMP is an EOE employer and pay is DOE.