Project Manager

PCSD is a non-profit real estate development organization that advances the educational reform movement by assisting high performing charter schools with acquiring facilities. PCSD finds, acquires, finances, and builds low cost facilities for high quality charter schools.

The Project Manager’s role will include day-to-day management of his/ her Project(s). While previous real estate development experience is a plus, demonstration of ability to quickly learn and solve problems is preferred. The Project Manager’s direct responsibilities may include but are not limited to the following:

Site Selection:

• Work with brokers to identify potential sites and vet sites via site walks with brokers, contractors, architects, and others

• Create preliminary budgets based on square footage and existing structure condition to evaluate site potential for Regional Director signoff

• Draft Letter of Intents and necessary contracts for site acquisition

• Obtain client signoff, with board approval, to pursue site; finalize client contracts with operators

Due Diligence:

• Identify necessary environmental and entitlement-related due diligence studies to be conducted on the specific site

• Coordinate bids from multiple vendors for each study, comparing and making recommendations to clients and internally to Regional Director

• Finalize all reports for later distribution to Lenders, City Agencies, etc.

Design Development:

• Understand PCSD-process for managing design development to ensure “affordable” final product based on client’s financial objective (e.g., annual expense per student)

• Source and finalize contract with architecture team, managing day-to-day interaction between architect and client

• Work with architecture team to ensure on-time delivery of work product, particularly tied to key milestones: schematic design, design development and construction documents

• Iterate continually on design scope and affordability, making recommendations to client and architecture team on necessary and “nice to have” features based on overall project affordability

Entitlements:

• Research zoning restrictions on a particular site, flagging whether formal change of use required for school use on-site

• Work with local land use attorney to complete entitlement application (e.g., Conditional Use Permit, Site Plan Review, Variance), identifying timeline risks internally to project team and externally to client

• Lead community outreach process with school support for key stakeholder buy-in; draft and collect Letters of Support, as needed

• Track entitlement process through city, attending Public Hearing and other key meetings with presentation materials (e.g., project boards)

Financing:

• Support PCSD’s Los Angeles-based finance team in creation of lender package by providing any project-related materials (e.g., project summary, budget)

• Obtain client signoff on lender Letter of Intent and Term Sheet that Finance received

Construction:

• Manage budget and schedule during construction

• Attend bi-weekly updates with client on-site

• Run invoicing and change order process between contractor and PCSD, leveraging PCSD construction managers, when available, for expert opinion on change orders

• Review all change orders and ensures budget reconciliation process with Finance Team occurs

• Serve as primary lead for any conflict resolution, leveraging Director if issue escalates

Closeout & Occupancy:

• Ensure completion of punch list walk with contractor and school, as well as final inspections with city, through to point of obtaining Certificate of Occupancy

• Support school in coordinating move-in, providing training day on key systems (e.g., HVAC)

• Managing cross-functional teams, including senior management, in implementation of strategic initiatives (identifying critical issues, scoping initiatives and creating appropriate work plans)

• Defining, conducting and driving appropriate analyses to support strategic initiative execution. Analyses include gathering peer and industry intelligence, conducting interviews and observations, building quantitative models, and creating new tools and processes

• Accessing, analyzing and synthesizing data from various information systems to develop

• recommendations and plans of action

• Monitoring project progress and resolving or escalating issues to sr. management as appropriate

• Ability to demonstrate strong sense of problem solving (independently overcoming roadblocks and offering “workaround” solutions)

• Effective communication skills, with ability to communicate issues clearly to diverse stakeholders and across a large, cross-functional project team

• Ability to synthesize information from multiple sources and distill the most important takeaways to guide next steps

• Organized, detail-oriented, proven history of excellent performance

• Strong teamwork skills

• Interest in reforming public education; mission-driven

• Bachelor's degree from a leading university required (business, economics, finance, real estate, architecture or engineering preferred); relevant industry experience or graduate degree in management consulting, commercial or charter school lending, real estate development, business, finance, or architecture is a plus.