About this role
Site Senior Project Manager - Construction
Introduction
This section outlines the role and expectations for the Verne Site Senior Project Manager - Construction. The role provides senior site leadership and is accountable for the safe, timely, commercially controlled and quality-driven delivery of construction, commissioning and handover activities, while upholding Verne's standards and representing Verne with contractors, customers and key stakeholders.
Project & Construction Management
- Has full ownership and a clear understanding of the Project Scope, Contractual Obligations, Employer's Requirements, programme, budget and key project deliverables.
- Provides senior site leadership across all construction activities and manages the day-to-day operational, technical, scheduling, commercial and tactical aspects of the Project.
- Leads and coordinates Managers, Supervisors, consultants, contractors, subcontractors and vendors engaged in project delivery, reviewing high-level deliverables and intervening where performance is below required standards.
- Owns the integrated construction programme at site level, ensuring that design, procurement, construction, testing, commissioning and handover activities are appropriately sequenced and aligned with key milestones.
- Drives constructability reviews, design coordination and resolution of technical interfaces to minimise rework, delay and disruption during construction.
- Implements engagement review and quality assurance procedures in accordance with Verne methodology to support successful project execution against contractual goals and stakeholder expectations.
- Implements and ensures compliance with all VERNE HSE policies and procedures and actively promotes a strong safety culture across the site.
- Minimizes Verne's exposure and risk across the Project through early identification, escalation and mitigation of construction, programme, commercial and technical risks.
- Manages scope and ensures changes are identified, assessed, documented and controlled.
- Oversees established key performance indicators (KPIs) for safety, quality, programme, cost, contractor performance, commissioning readiness and project close-out.
- Encourages a culture of continuous improvement by capturing lessons learned and ensuring relevant improvements are implemented during the Project and shared for future projects.
- Ensures compliance with all applicable health, safety and environmental requirements and maintains a safe working environment for all parties involved.
- Maintains and actively manages the project risk management plan throughout the project lifecycle
Contractor Management
- Provides senior oversight of main contractors, subcontractors, consultants and vendors, ensuring clear accountability for scope, programme, quality, HSE and commercial performance.
- Sets clear expectations for contractor performance and holds contractors accountable for agreed deliverables, milestones, reporting requirements and recovery actions.
- Reviews contractor programmes, look-ahead schedules, resource plans, method statements and progress reports, challenging assumptions and identifying emerging constraints.
- Leads regular contractor performance and coordination meetings and ensures actions are assigned, tracked and closed in a timely manner.
- Ensures interfaces between contractors, subcontractors, designers, vendors and operational stakeholders are actively managed to prevent gaps, duplication and delay.
- Escalates material contractor performance issues to the Project Director and Verne Senior Management, with clear recommendations and corrective action plans.
- Project Accounting
- Assists in integrating accurate project and financial data for the benefit of the Accounting Department and senior project reporting
Financial & Commercial Management
- Effectively allocates resources to ensure project milestones are achieved safely, on time, within scope and within approved budget.
- Tracks and manages the project budget, forecasts and committed costs, ensuring expenditures remain within approved limits and emerging cost pressures are identified early.
- Oversees review of financial and commercial reports and drives corrective action where required to maintain project financial performance.
- Oversees change requests and change control processes, ensuring appropriate documentation, technical and commercial assessment, approval and incorporation into the project baseline.
- Works with the commercial team to ensure contractor claims, variations, compensation events and potential disputes are identified and managed in a timely and contractually appropriate manner.
Communication & Stakeholder Management
- Acts as a senior Verne site representative and key participant in team, contractor, customer and stakeholder meetings.
- Ensures continuous, accurate and transparent communication with stakeholders on project progress, safety, quality, cost, programme, commissioning readiness, risks and emerging challenges.
- Proactively identifies and resolves conflicts or issues between project teams, contractors, clients and other stakeholders and attends key stakeholder meetings as VERNE's representative.
- Confronts issues openly and quickly, ensuring appropriate escalation where resolution is outside delegated authority.
- Effectively communicates relevant project and construction information to the Project Director and Verne Senior Management.
- Tactfully communicates sensitive information and handles difficult personnel or contractor situations with appropriate discretion, HR advice where applicable, and respect for individuals
Technical, Quality & Construction Assurance
- Possesses a thorough understanding of Verne's service offerings, technical preferences, project requirements and technical direction.
- Ensures quality control and construction assurance processes are followed and that completed works and deliverables meet required standards, specifications and customer expectations.
- Regularly assesses construction quality and drives corrective action when deviations, defects or non-conformances are identified.
- Ensures technical queries, RFIs, design changes, non-conformances and site instructions are managed through appropriate project controls and closed without avoidable impact to programme.
- Ensures inspection and test plans, quality records and completion documentation are progressively maintained to support commissioning and handover.
Commissioning, Completion & Handover
- Provides senior oversight of commissioning strategy, planning, readiness and execution, ensuring commissioning requirements are integrated into the construction programme from an early stage.
- Ensures clear transition from construction completion through pre-commissioning, testing, commissioning, integrated systems testing where applicable, and final handover.
- Coordinates contractors, commissioning teams, vendors, consultants, customer representatives and operational stakeholders to ensure systems are available, safe and ready for testing in accordance with the agreed sequence.
- Monitors commissioning progress, constraints, defects and dependencies and drives timely resolution of issues that could affect energisation, testing, acceptance or handover milestones.
- Ensures snagging, punch-list management and defect close-out are actively managed and that outstanding items have clear owners and completion dates.
- Ensures all required commissioning records, test certificates, as-built information, O&M documentation, training records and handover documentation are complete and appropriately controlled.
- Supports a structured handover to Operations and/or the customer, ensuring acceptance criteria are understood and that residual risks and outstanding works are formally documented and managed.
PROFESSIONAL QUALITIES
Leadership
- Provides visible senior leadership on site and establishes clear standards of accountability, ownership, collaboration and professional conduct.
- Encourages others to develop leadership skills while clarifying roles, responsibilities and decision-making authority.
- Pursues excellence in all aspects of the business and leads by example in safety, quality, delivery and stakeholder management.
- Possesses the expert knowledge to identify opportunities for change and the ability to convey and implement the need for change.
- Builds expert knowledge in the industry and actively shares knowledge, lessons learned and best practice with others.
Teamwork
- Evokes creative and innovative thinking from team members while helping them bring ideas and career plans to fruition.
- Determines effective ways to deploy project teams, clarify interfaces and distribute responsibilities according to project priorities.
- Works across the wider business to share lessons learned, construction knowledge and best practices.
Customer Management
- Manages senior day-to-day customer interaction and expectations throughout construction, commissioning and handover.
- Builds trusted customer relationships through transparent communication, reliable delivery and timely resolution of issues.
- Continually seeks opportunities to increase customer satisfaction while ensuring commitments remain aligned with the approved project scope and contractual obligations.
ORGANISATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES
Internal Operations
- Recognizes areas for internal improvement and develops practical plans for implementation.
- Lends expertise to internal teams, reviews and task forces.
- Reviews team and contractor status reports, challenges performance where required and ensures issues are addressed appropriately.
- Complies with and enforces standard policies and procedures across all facets of the Project.
- Generates clear, concise internal reports to keep Verne Senior Management informed of safety, construction progress, programme, cost, quality, contractor performance, commissioning and key project risks.
- Immediately reports any Safety breaches to Verne Senior Management and ensures appropriate investigation and corrective action is initiated.