Pre-Construction Manager

Get every home from sale to site on time, on budget, and right the first time.

About Prominent Homes

Prominent Homes is a family-owned residential homebuilder based in Calgary, Alberta, founded in 1990. We've grown from a small local builder into a company building 120+ homes a year across single-family, duplex, and townhome communities — with a clear plan to scale past 150+ homes next year. We're led by our second-generation President, Pal Shergill, who has spent 30+ years in every part of this business before taking the seat. Decisions here are made close to the ground, hands-on, and accountable — not layered in bureaucracy.

Our current employee engagement score (eNPS) is 75+, a level most companies never get close to, and it's a company-wide goal every leader is accountable for.

The Opportunity

This is an exciting opportunity for a results-driven leader who understands residential homebuilding, excels at coordinating multiple functions, and knows how to build strong teams and scalable processes.

Reporting to the Director of Operations, the Preconstruction Manager will oversee the Drafting, Estimating, Construction Administration, and Design functions. This individual will be accountable for ensuring that presold and specification homes progress efficiently from firm sale or spec approval to construction-ready release.

The successful candidate will lead departmental performance, manage capacity and timelines, protect project margins, improve estimating accuracy, and ensure construction teams receive complete and accurate plans, pricing, permits, and design selections.

As Prominent Homes grows toward delivering more than 150 homes annually, this role will be instrumental in building the systems, processes, and team capacity required to support that growth without compromising quality or the homeowner experience.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership and Team Management

• Lead and develop the Drafting, Estimating, Construction Administration, and Design functions.
• Manage departmental hiring, onboarding, coaching, performance management, and employee development.
• Establish clear performance expectations, quarterly goals, and accountability measures for functional leads.
• Conduct regular one-on-one meetings and monitor departmental performance against company objectives.
• Forecast staffing and departmental capacity in alignment with sales volumes, land development, and projected construction starts.

Preconstruction Planning and Delivery

• Oversee the preconstruction process from firm sale or specification home approval through construction release.
• Manage timelines to achieve construction release for presold homes within 60 days of firm sale and Shelf Ready status for specification homes within 45 days of Schedule A/B submission.
• Monitor active files, identify potential delays, and proactively implement corrective actions.
• Maintain accurate task ownership, workflow tracking, and milestone reporting through BuildPro.
• Coordinate priorities across Sales, Operations, Construction, Drafting, Estimating, Design, and external consultants.
• Maintain the specification home priority list and plan departmental capacity to support future construction demand.

Drafting, Design and Architectural Control

• Oversee drafting standards, standard plan libraries, elevations, and community-specific product requirements.
• Ensure plans are accurate, coordinated, and suitable for construction.
• Manage architectural control submissions, revisions, and resubmissions to prevent unnecessary delays.
• Oversee interior selections and exterior colour updates, ensuring customer selections are documented and correctly reflected in the home specifications.
• Ensure design selections are appropriately priced and incorporated into estimates before construction release.

Estimating, Cost Control and Profitability

• Oversee estimating processes, pricing accuracy, purchase orders, and cost-to-complete reporting.
• Protect project margins by ensuring estimates meet approved company margin requirements.
• Monitor estimated costs against actual construction costs, investigate variances, and implement corrective measures.
• Review trade and supplier pricing quarterly, negotiate cost reductions, and identify value-engineering opportunities without compromising quality.
• Ensure customer selections, allowances, pricing, and approved changes are accurately reflected in estimates and supporting documentation.
• Work with the Controller and Construction Manager on margin reviews and cost performance.

Permits, Engineering and External Partnerships

• Oversee permit applications, architectural control submissions, exterior colour submissions, and related administrative processes.
• Manage relationships with external engineering consultants and trade partners, including selection, pricing, turnaround times, and performance.
• Monitor municipal review timelines and proactively address permitting or engineering delays.
• Ensure documentation is complete, accurate, and submitted within required timelines.

Construction Release and Change Management

• Coordinate construction reviews and handoffs with the Construction Manager.
• Ensure every home undergoes a final plan review before release, confirming that construction drawings, permits, pricing, and design selections are complete and consistent.
• Recommend specification homes for release based on readiness and construction priorities.
• Manage late customer changes through the established change-order process, confirming cost and schedule impacts before work proceeds.
• Enforce change deadlines, including restrictions on structural changes after permit application and all changes once framing is complete.
• Maintain clear communication with Sales and Operations regarding changes that may affect construction schedules or customer expectations.

Customer Experience and Continuous Improvement

• Review homeowner satisfaction results, including Avid Move In and Would Refer scores, and identify issues originating in preconstruction.
• Investigate plan, selection, pricing, and change-management errors and implement corrective actions.
• Partner with Customer Care to resolve warranty issues arising from preconstruction and prevent recurring problems.
• Communicate timing changes on sold homes to Sales promptly so customer expectations can be managed appropriately.
• Identify opportunities to improve workflows, reduce errors, increase efficiency, and strengthen the overall homebuilding process.

Qualifications and Experience

The ideal candidate will bring a combination of residential construction knowledge, operational leadership, financial acumen, and strong organizational skills.

• 5-10 years of experience in residential homebuilding, preconstruction, or a closely related construction management function.
• Demonstrated leadership experience managing multiple functions or teams.
• Strong understanding of residential construction drawings, drafting coordination, estimating, construction budgets, and cost control.
• Experience with permits, architectural control, engineering coordination, and construction documentation.
• Proven ability to manage multiple projects, competing priorities, and strict deadlines.
• Strong financial and analytical skills, including budget management, cost variance analysis, and margin protection.
• Experience developing and improving operational processes, systems, and performance metrics.
• Strong communication, negotiation, problem-solving, and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to hold teams accountable while fostering collaboration and continuous improvement.
• Experience with construction management software and workflow tracking systems; familiarity with BuildPro and HomeFront would be beneficial.

What Success Looks Like

Success in this role will be measured by the ability to:

• Deliver presold homes to construction release within established timelines and specification homes to Shelf Ready status within target timelines.
• Support the company's growth toward 150+ homes annually while maintaining accuracy and quality.
• Protect budgeted margins and continually improve estimate-to-actual cost performance.
• Maintain accurate, complete, and timely construction documentation.
• Build a high-performing department with clear ownership, accountability, and effective processes.
• Improve homeowner satisfaction and eliminate recurring issues attributable to preconstruction.
• Identify cost savings and operational improvements while maintaining the quality of Prominent Homes' product.

Why Join Prominent Homes?

This is an opportunity to take ownership of a critical function within a growing homebuilding organization. You will have the opportunity to shape departmental processes, develop a strong team, influence operational performance, and help establish the foundation for sustainable growth.

If you are a strategic, hands-on leader who takes pride in getting the details right, protecting profitability, and delivering an exceptional homebuilding experience, we would love to hear from you.

How to Apply

Interested candidates are invited to submit their resume outlining their relevant experience and qualifications. We thank all applicants for applying but only those selected for interviews will be contacted.

Prominent Homes is an equal opportunity employer committed to a professional, respectful, and inclusive workplace.

Pay: $110,000.00-$120,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Company events
• Dental care
• Extended health care
• On-site parking
• Paid time off
• Vision care

Work Location: In person

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