What does a Construction Manager do?
A construction manager oversees a construction site and its workers, ensuring efficiency in the workforce and overall operations. They work in an office within the construction site to meet and coordinate with architects, contractors, and clients. They must also hire the required workforce, identify and resolve issues, maintain daily reports and communication with clients, and prioritize a safe work environment. Above all, they must see that all of the required protocols are met, including the target completion time and budget.
Construction manager responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real construction manager resumes:
- Manage three geotechnical engineers, a general contractor , 45 sub-contractors, and consultants.
- Manage all contractor-relate tasks from RFI submissions through payment administration.
- Manage and coordinate architects, structural engineers, MEP engineers and subcontractors technical departments.
- Manage complete design and construction coordination of company's retail properties throughout the Washington/Baltimore area market.
- Manage third party contractors, including safety oversight, control inspection and environmental design specification compliance, and also direct consultants.
- Implement and maintain construction safety regulations according to OSHA requirements, and ensure environmental protection regulatory compliance with engineering standards.
- Issue RFPS/RFQS/RFIS initiate by A/E bulletins.
- Perform trouble-shooting and maintenance of cable broadband systems.
- Apply knowledge of rough carpentry, finish carpentry, roofing.
- Ensure that all construct OSP meet schedule and budget guidelines.3.
- Direct all federal and state historic mandate requirements involve in scope of adaptive reuse projects.
- Meet with inspectors and handle any and all issues that may arise during the building process.
- Insure collection of funds from third party firms and utility companies causing damage to broadband facilities.
- Project types cover transportation, rail, environmental, water resources, infrastructure, and energy sectors.
- Serve as the primary point of contact between the home office, A/E firm and the client.
Construction manager skills and personality traits
We calculated that 12% of Construction Managers are proficient in Project Management, Construction Management, and Construction Projects. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Business skills, and Customer-service skills.
We break down the percentage of Construction Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Project Management, 12%
Provided complete contract project management and consulting services from design, estimating, business plan, proposal development through project delivery/completion.
- Construction Management, 12%
Developed expertise in all aspects of Construction Management including contracts, negotiations, design, leadership, engineering and labor management.
- Construction Projects, 9%
Participated in the conceptual development of construction projects, purchased building materials & oversaw its organization, scheduling, & implementation.
- OSHA, 5%
Conducted daily site inspections for excavation slope stability and risk assessment of other construction-related hazards to evaluate and ensure OSHA compliance.
- Customer Service, 4%
Initiated customer service philosophy to proactively address customer and general contractor concerns through timely responses and face to face meetings.
- Oversight, 4%
Manage third party contractors, including safety oversight, controlled inspection and environmental design specification compliance, and also direct consultants.
"project management," "construction management," and "construction projects" are among the most common skills that construction managers use at work. You can find even more construction manager responsibilities below, including:
Analytical skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a construction manager to have is analytical skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "construction managers must be able to plan strategies, investigate project cost variances, and solve problems over the course of a project." Construction managers often use analytical skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "reviewed and approved construction drawings, structural analysis, and radio frequency interference reports. "
Business skills. Another essential skill to perform construction manager duties is business skills. Construction managers responsibilities require that "construction managers need to prepare and follow project budgets, hire and manage staff, and coordinate with other workers and managers." Construction managers also use business skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "interacted with various general contractors for development of new business. "
Leadership skills. A commonly-found skill in construction manager job descriptions, "leadership skills" is essential to what construction managers do. Construction manager responsibilities rely on this skill because "construction managers must effectively delegate tasks to construction workers, subcontractors, and other lower level managers to ensure that projects are completed accurately and on time." You can also see how construction manager duties rely on leadership skills in this resume example: "coordinated installation of rooftop equipment, power upgrades and leadership of general contractors. "
The three companies that hire the most construction managers are:
- CDM Smith900 construction managers jobs
- CBRE Group469 construction managers jobs
- GPAC385 construction managers jobs
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Compare different construction managers
Construction manager vs. General superintendent
A general superintendent is primarily in charge of overseeing projects and programs, ensuring operations adhere to standards and requirements. In the construction industry, a general superintendent supervises the daily procedures in a construction site to ensure the project's completion within budget, schedule, and quality standards. They also have other administrative duties, such as coordinating with contractors and suppliers, monitoring the inventory of materials, purchasing supplies according to project requirements, developing reports, conducting inspections, and implementing safety policies and regulations.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, construction manager responsibilities require skills like "real estate," "project scope," "building codes," and "strong computer." Meanwhile a typical general superintendent has skills in areas such as "safety program," "safety compliance," "site safety," and "site supervision." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
General superintendents earn the highest salaries when working in the energy industry, with an average yearly salary of $87,760. On the other hand, construction managers are paid more in the technology industry with an average salary of $90,768.general superintendents tend to reach similar levels of education than construction managers. In fact, general superintendents are 3.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Construction manager vs. Superintendent
Superintendents oversee the administration of schools in a specific school district. They manage the educational programs of each school and create strategic decisions to ensure that the students are learning important subjects. They also supervise school administrators or principals and are responsible for hiring and guiding them. Superintendents should be familiar with their constituents and must always be ready to listen to their needs. It is important that superintendents are good decision-makers and communicators. They are expected to lead their respective districts in achieving their vision. Superintendents drive the team towards their goals and create strategic steps to ensure success.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that construction manager responsibilities requires skills like "real estate," "project scope," "building codes," and "strong computer." But a superintendent might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "logistics," "safety program," "site safety," and "qc."
On average, superintendents earn a higher salary than construction managers. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, superintendents earn the most pay in the construction industry with an average salary of $85,679. Whereas construction managers have higher pay in the technology industry, with an average salary of $90,768.superintendents earn similar levels of education than construction managers in general. They're 2.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Construction manager vs. Project superintendent
The construction or project superintendent's role is to oversee the operations of construction sites, from the planning phase to completion. They have varied duties and responsibilities based on specific projects that include scheduling and budgeting, communicating and negotiating with external partners, and acquiring materials and equipment. A construction superintendent also earns construction permits, resolving on-site emergencies and issues, and supervising staff. This position requires several skills, including a degree in construction management or a similar field, relevant experience, and in-depth knowledge of construction processes and operations.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from construction manager resumes include skills like "customer service," "real estate," "project scope," and "strong computer," whereas a project superintendent is more likely to list skills in "safety program," "cleanliness," "project safety," and "safety procedures. "
Project superintendents earn the highest salary when working in the construction industry, where they receive an average salary of $95,092. Comparatively, construction managers have the highest earning potential in the technology industry, with an average salary of $90,768.When it comes to education, project superintendents tend to earn similar degree levels compared to construction managers. In fact, they're 3.4% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Construction manager vs. General contractor
The job of general contractors is to oversee the day-to-day operations of projects in the organization. General contractors are considered seasoned experts when it comes to home improvement. They provide the material, equipment, labor, and services for a construction project. Often, they hire specialized subcontractors who will be working on some part of the construction work. They should have attained a bachelor's or associate's degree in construction management. Their experience in the industry is highly coveted.
Types of construction manager
Updated January 8, 2025
