Project Manager/ Contract Administrator

PROJECT MANAGER / CONTRACT ADMINISTRATOR

Full-Time | Remote – Philippines | Australian Construction & Landscaping

About RYCOR

RYCOR is a Melbourne-based landscape construction company specialising in high-quality residential and commercial landscape projects.

We are looking for an experienced Project Manager / Contract Administrator based in the Philippines to join our team full-time.

This is not simply an administration role.

We are looking for someone who can take ownership of projects from quote acceptance through to project completion and handover, working closely with our Australian project managers, site teams, subcontractors and suppliers.

Your objective will be simple:

Help us deliver projects on time, on budget and as profitably and efficiently as possible.

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THE ROLE

You will become a key part of our construction and project management team.

Once a project has been accepted, you will assist in managing and coordinating the project through the entire construction lifecycle.

Your responsibilities will include:

Project Setup & Pre-Construction

* Review accepted quotations, plans, specifications and scopes of work.
* Prepare project files and construction documentation.
* Break projects into stages, activities and milestones.
* Develop detailed project schedules and construction programs.
* Identify long-lead-time materials and procurement requirements.
* Prepare procurement schedules.
* Identify required subcontractors and suppliers.
* Obtain and compare supplier and subcontractor quotations.
* Prepare and maintain project-specific scopes of work.
* Assist with mark-ups and amendments to construction plans.
* Ensure the construction team has the required information before works commence.

Procurement & Materials

Take ownership of procurement coordination, including:

* Material take-offs and ordering.
* Supplier quotation comparisons.
* Purchase order preparation and tracking.
* Delivery scheduling.
* Monitoring lead times.
* Confirming quantities and specifications.
* Coordinating deliveries with site teams.
* Identifying opportunities to reduce material costs.
* Preventing unnecessary freight, double handling and wasted materials.

You will be expected to continually look for opportunities to improve project margins through better procurement and planning.

Subcontractor Management

Assist with managing subcontractors throughout each project, including:

* Issuing scopes of work.
* Obtaining and comparing quotations.
* Negotiating pricing where appropriate.
* Scheduling subcontractors.
* Confirming site dates.
* Providing plans and project information.
* Tracking subcontractor progress.
* Reviewing invoices against quoted and completed works.
* Identifying variations or discrepancies.
* Following up outstanding work and documentation.

You must be comfortable communicating directly with Australian subcontractors and suppliers.

Project Scheduling

Develop and maintain detailed construction programs showing:

* Project stages.
* Activities and tasks.
* Dependencies.
* Labour requirements.
* Subcontractors.
* Procurement deadlines.
* Material delivery dates.
* Key milestones.
* Client decisions required.
* Critical-path activities.
* Target completion dates.

We currently use Microsoft Teams and intend to increasingly use Microsoft Planner for project scheduling and management.

You will be expected to help us develop and improve these systems.

Project Financial Management

A major part of this position is helping RYCOR deliver projects profitably.

Responsibilities will include:

* Maintaining project budgets.
* Tracking committed costs.
* Backcosting projects.
* Comparing estimated versus actual costs.
* Monitoring labour expenditure.
* Monitoring material expenditure.
* Monitoring subcontractor expenditure.
* Identifying potential cost overruns early.
* Tracking variations.
* Assisting with progress claims and invoicing.
* Forecasting project cost-to-complete.
* Reporting projected final project margin.
* Identifying opportunities to improve project profitability.

We don’t want someone who simply reports that a project has gone over budget.

We want someone who identifies potential problems early and helps the team prevent them from happening.

Construction Administration

You will also assist with:

* Project documentation.
* Filing and document control.
* Scope-of-work preparation.
* Plan mark-ups.
* RFIs.
* Variations.
* Purchase orders.
* Subcontractor documentation.
* Meeting notes.
* Project reports.
* Progress claims.
* Invoicing.
* Backcosting.
* Practical completion documentation.
* Defect lists.
* Project handover documentation.

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SOFTWARE, SYSTEMS & AI

RYCOR is focused on using technology, systems and AI to make our projects more efficient and profitable.

Our current systems include:

* Simpro – estimating, project/job management, purchasing and financial tracking.
* Groundplan – construction take-offs, measurements and estimating.
* Microsoft Teams – internal communication and collaboration.
* Microsoft Planner – project planning, task management and scheduling.
* Microsoft Excel – project budgets, reporting, analysis and financial tracking.
* Microsoft Outlook and Word – communication and documentation.

Previous experience with Simpro and/or Groundplan would be highly regarded, particularly within an Australian construction environment.

AI Experience – Highly Regarded

RYCOR is actively looking at ways to incorporate AI and automation into our construction and project management processes.

Candidates with practical experience using AI tools will be highly regarded.

We are particularly interested in people who can demonstrate how they have used AI to improve areas such as:

* Project administration.
* Construction scheduling.
* Procurement.
* Cost analysis.
* Budget tracking.
* Reporting.
* Scope-of-work preparation.
* Meeting summaries and action lists.
* Document preparation.
* Data analysis.
* Subcontractor comparison.
* Estimating and take-offs.
* Process automation.

We are not simply looking for someone who has used ChatGPT occasionally.

We are particularly interested in candidates who can demonstrate how they have practically used AI or automation to save time, reduce administration, improve accuracy or increase project profitability.

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WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR

We are looking for someone with previous experience in:

Construction Project Management and/or Contract Administration.

Experience working remotely for an Australian construction company would be highly regarded.

Experience in any of the following would also be beneficial:

* Landscaping
* Residential construction
* Commercial construction
* Civil construction
* Quantity surveying
* Estimating
* Procurement
* Contract administration

You must have excellent spoken and written English.

We intend to provide you with an Australian phone line, and you will regularly communicate directly with:

* RYCOR employees
* Project managers
* Site supervisors
* Subcontractors
* Suppliers

You therefore need to be confident, professional and comfortable having construction-related conversations over the phone.

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WHAT WE WANT TO SEE FROM APPLICANTS

We are particularly interested in evidence of what you have actually achieved.

Please don’t just send us a résumé telling us that you have managed construction projects.

Show us.

As part of your application, please provide examples or a portfolio demonstrating how you have previously managed construction projects.

We would particularly like to see examples of:

1. Project schedules or construction programs you have created.
2. Project budgets or cost trackers you have managed.
3. Procurement schedules you have developed.
4. Subcontractor management systems you have used.
5. Cost-to-complete or project forecasting reports.
6. Backcosting or estimated-vs-actual reporting.
7. Plan mark-ups or construction documentation you have prepared.
8. Examples where you identified a problem early and prevented a project from exceeding its budget or timeline.
9. Examples where you improved the profitability of a construction project.
10. Examples of systems or processes you introduced that made construction projects more efficient.
11. Examples of how you have used AI or automation in your previous roles.

For at least one previous project, we would like you to explain:

Original Contract Value:
What was the project worth?

Original Budget / Target Margin:
What was the expected construction cost and profit?

Your Role:
What were you personally responsible for?

Project Program:
How did you plan and track the project?

Challenges:
What problems occurred during construction?

Your Actions:
What did you personally do to resolve them?

Final Result:
Was the project delivered on time?

Financial Result:
Was it delivered on budget, and what happened to the project margin?

Lessons:
What would you do differently next time?

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THE PERSON WE WANT

The successful candidate will be someone who:

* Takes ownership.
* Is highly organised.
* Communicates confidently.
* Thinks ahead rather than reacting to problems.
* Understands construction sequencing.
* Understands project financials.
* Is commercially minded.
* Is comfortable questioning costs.
* Negotiates with suppliers and subcontractors.
* Identifies risks early.
* Follows people up without needing to be asked.
* Enjoys building systems and improving processes.
* Can manage multiple projects simultaneously.
* Is confident adopting new technology.
* Looks for opportunities to use AI and automation to improve the way they work.
* Understands that project management is ultimately about time, cost, quality and communication.

Most importantly, we want someone who treats the company’s money as though it were their own.

If there is a better, faster or more profitable way to deliver something, we expect you to identify it and bring it to the team.

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HOW SUCCESS WILL BE MEASURED

Success in this position will be measured by:

* Projects delivered to schedule.
* Projects delivered within budget.
* Gross profit maintained or improved against estimate.
* Accurate procurement and purchasing.
* Reduced project downtime.
* Materials and subcontractors organised ahead of site requirements.
* Accurate and timely project financial reporting.
* Variations identified and processed promptly.
* Accurate project documentation.
* Effective communication with site teams, suppliers and subcontractors.
* Problems identified before they affect project cost or program.
* Increased use of systems, AI and automation to reduce unnecessary administration.
* Continuous improvement of RYCOR’s project management systems.

This is an opportunity to become an important long-term member of RYCOR’s construction team and have a genuine influence over how our projects are delivered.