Executive Search for the Real Estate and Construction Industries

Hot Candidates

Project Manager - Candidate has extensive Construction Management of big box retail buildings. Projects Managed are in the range of $1-$25 million. Salary is $85K

Construction Project Executive - Experience includes extensive mission critical and corporate project experience. 20+ years experience. Bachelor of Architecture. Salary is $120K.

Construction Manager Retail - 10 plus years experience with numerous restaurant retail building projects. B.S. degree.

Real Estate Capital Project Manager - Seasoned professional with diverse corporate real estate experience in managing new construction, additions and renovations. Proven ability to manage projects efficiently. A history of achieving business partners’ needs while maintaining a financial responsibility and meeting critical deadlines. Demonstrated success developing team work throughout the company. Salary is $98K.

Commercial Real Estate Broker - Responsible for marketing commercial properties, negotiating leases and coordinating lease negotiations with property owners and tenants in the New York City market.

For more information about one of more of these candidates, contact John Kreiss at jpkreiss@morgansullivan.com.

Project Manager Certification: Is it really necessary in construction and real estate development? By Joe Turner, PMP

We know that successful general contractors and developers earned their stripes over the years by getting things done on time and within budget on numerous projects. So, is certification for project managers really necessary? What advantages are associated with the Project Management Institute (PMI), an internationally recognized professional association, and its Project Management Professional (PMP) certification process?

In a few words: profitability, predictability, and competitive advantage. A surprising fact is that, across all industries, firms often struggle with complex projects of all types, and estimates show that these projects can be as much as 34% late and 34% over budget. In the construction industry, a two-year project budgeted at $20 million that is 34% late and over budget would amount to an eight- month delay in turning over a property and additional expenses of about $6.8 million.

That would change the outcome of Return on Investment calculations, changing Net Present Value from a comfortable positive to a negative amount, and a desirable Internal Rate of Return to one as low as a meager passbook savings rate. How many projects can a company undertake with such a loss rate?

An equally important question is: When will you know that you’re going to be late and over budget? If you knew early enough, wouldn’t you do something about it? A PMP has proven tools like Earned Value Analysis that predict end results in the earliest stages of a project.

Late, over-budget projects have a substantial negative impact across the board. They decrease revenue, increase costs, delay benefits, lower profit and customer satisfaction, and tie up assets when they are needed elsewhere. One way to ensure that project plans are well prepared is to have them guided by a project professional. A comprehensive project plan is a terrific predictor of downstream activities and cost at completion.

Any certified project manager worth his or her salt will insist on a rigorous process for laying out and executing a project. This includes a plan with a sound basis for estimating schedule and cost that is predicated on a clear project charter, a carefully prepared business case, risk analysis, work breakdown structure, quality plan and network diagram. The likelihood of delivering full scope on time and on budget is significantly increased when all aspects of the project are integrated into the plan. Project plans prepared by a PMP include the management of integration, scope, time, cost, quality, human resources, communication, risk and procurement.

Surely, no firm would undertake a major project without the guidance of a licensed architect and a professional engineer. Yet, one of the most commonly proliferated job titles—Project Manager—doesn’t require any license or certification. A firm is better off if the plan for a sizeable project is guided by a professional who is thoroughly acculturated in the planning process. Behind the PMP certification granted by the PMI is a meticulous process assuring that the certified project manager:

1. Meets specific educational/project management experience requirements: more than 7,500 hours of project management experience leading and directing specific tasks, 60 months project management experience in total, and 35 hours of project management training (with a high school diploma or equivalent). Applicants with a bachelor’s degree don’t need as many on-the-job hours, but must still fulfill 35 hours of project management training.
2. Follows a Code of Professional Conduct.
3. Passes a rigorous multiple-choice examination.
4. Accumulates Continuing Certification Requirements (CCR).

Depending on the company, the addition of a staff PMP might cause a firm to alter its processes. Most companies new to the concept undergo process and organizational changes that eventually result in increased project effectiveness. Project managers recognize that an organization will work its way up the Competency Maturity Model (CMM)—from having few stable processes (ad hoc and chaotic), to using a defined and institutionalized (qualitative) process, to a firm characterized by continuous improvement (learning). Firms that embrace process improvements are rewarded with reduced project cycle time and improved productivity.

Great companies are ones that operate at “Level 5 Leadership.” They generate cumulative stock returns that are better than twice the results delivered by a composite index of the world’s greatest companies. They let go of outdated and unproductive processes, stop reinventing new processes for each project, and instead embrace a standard project management methodology that will assure repeated attainment of their business strategy. Leaders of such companies foster a culture of discipline and competence. A PMP applies proven knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements reliably, and thereby maximizes efficiency and profits.

Joe Turner, PMP, is the Principal of Turner Consulting. He assists clients in aligning the completion of critical projects with their corporate objectives.