Director of Capital Projects

Position Summary :

The Director of Capital Projects (“Director”) serves as the Trust’s primary point person for capital projects, providing centralized oversight, coordination, and accountability from project initiation through closeout. The Director provides oversight for project planning, schedule and budget tracking, stakeholder communication, and documentation to ensure projects are delivered in a timely, cost-effective, and high-quality manner while minimizing disruption to Trust business operations.
This is a term position anticipated to last 3–5 years, to align with the Trust’s current capital project portfolio and near-term delivery needs.

Knowledge, Skills & Experience Required :
Education: Bachelor’s degree in engineering, architecture, construction management, facilities management, or related field preferred, or comparable experience.

Work Experience: Demonstrated experience managing multi-phase capital projects to include planning and design through construction, commissioning, and closeout as well as oversight of consultants/contractors, schedule and cost controls, and regular progress reporting.

Supervisory Experience: Proven experience leading cross-functional project teams and directing the work of consultants and contractors; ability to exercise independent judgment and coordinate across departments.

Technical Skills: Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office suite required; working knowledge of project documentation, drawing/spec review, contract administration, budgeting, schedule tracking, and change management.

Intangibles: Outstanding communication skills and attention to detail; proactive and solutions-oriented; strong organizational skills; comfortable navigating competing priorities and operational constraints in active venues; collaborative and diplomatic with internal and external partners.

Essential Functions

Main Job Responsibilities:
Capital Project Delivery & Oversight

• Serve as the Trust’s day-to-day lead and primary contact for capital projects, coordinating internal stakeholders and external partners from initiation through closeout.
• Develop, maintain, and communicate project scopes, delivery approaches, milestones, and project roadmaps/timelines in coordination with external partners, designers, contractors, and Trust leadership.
• Track progress against schedule, proactively identify risks/constraints, and implement mitigation strategies to support on-time delivery and cost control.
• Coordinate project phasing and site logistics to reduce impact to performances, rentals, tenants, public access, and day-to-day operations across Trust properties.

Budget, Cost Controls & Financial Coordination

• Prepare and manage project-level budgets, cost forecasts, and expenditure tracking to establish cost controls and flag variances.
• Oversight, update, and tracking of the Trust’s 10-year rolling capital plan.
• Collaborate with Trust leadership to review and discuss decision points.
• Review and route invoices/pay applications for approval in alignment with signed contracts and internal controls. Work with the finance department to maintain accurate, auditable project cost records and supporting documentation.
• Work closely with finance staff and consultants on appropriate documentation of the use of funds from grant, state, and/or regional funding sources for capital projects.
• Support capital reporting needs by maintaining current dashboards/status summaries for leadership, finance, and other internal stakeholders as required.

Procurement, Contracts, and Change Management

• Coordinate RFP scope development, bid comparisons, and consultant/contractor selection documentation with internal teams.
• Coordinate with external project managers for externally-managed capital projects.
• Support administration of consultant/contractor agreements and track deliverables, key dates, insurance/certifications, and compliance requirements.
• Review and track change orders, scope changes, and potential claims. Maintain a clear, consistent change log and update asset management records.

Quality, Compliance, and Project Closeout

• Coordinate document reviews (drawings, submittals, schedules) with appropriate internal stakeholders; support quality management practices through punch lists, commissioning readiness, and closeout requirements.
• Support permitting, inspections, and coordination with relevant authorities and utilities as applicable; ensure project documentation is organized and retrievable.
• Lead closeout activities in collaboration with external and internal partners, including turnover documentation, training coordination (as applicable), warranty tracking, and final cost reconciliation.

Stakeholder Communication & Coordination

• Serve as the internal hub for project communications, ensuring timely updates to Trust staff, third party renters, and other impacted teams.
• Prepare concise project updates and meeting notes; facilitate regular check-ins with internal and external stakeholders to keep work aligned and moving.
• Perform other responsibilities as assigned.

Supervisory responsibility: This position does not directly supervise Trust employees; however, the Director will direct and coordinate the work of consultants, contractors, and project partners and may provide functional oversight to assigned project support resources, as applicable.

Decision-making responsibility: This position exercises significant discretion in day-to-day project coordination, issue resolution, and escalation, including recommendations regarding scope, schedule impacts, and cost variances for leadership consideration and approval.

Budgetary responsibility: This position is responsible for tracking, monitoring, and reporting on project budgets and forecasts for assigned capital projects, with direct oversight of an annual capital budget. Oversight must include identifying variances and supporting cost control practices in coordination with Finance and project partners.

Strategic responsibility: This position supports the Trust’s broader capital planning goals by improving visibility, coordination, and delivery consistency across projects and by strengthening project controls and documentation practices.

Reporting requirements: This position prepares recurring project status updates, budget/schedule summaries, and documentation needed for internal leadership review and other required reporting related to capital expenditures and project progress.

Travel requirements: Limited travel (less than 5%) is required for this position.

Physical demands: This position involves mainly office work – occasional lifting up to 20–30 lbs. may be required. The individual should be able to sit and/or view a computer screen for extended periods of time; periodic walking/standing in venues and active project areas may be necessary.

Salary range starting at $90,000

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants are considered for employment without attention to race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, ethnicity, veteran, or disability status.
Employees are expected to be able to perform the essential duties and responsibilities of this position, with or without job modification/reasonable accommodation. If an employee believes a job modification/reasonable accommodation is needed, please contact Human Resources so that a review can be conducted. The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust strives to comply with the accommodation provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, and other related federal, state, and local laws.