Engineering Assistant Project Manager

Dashiell is a leading national provider of technical services to the electric utility, power generation, industrial, renewable and energy industries. These services include planning and systems studies, design and engineering, maintenance and testing, program management, construction, and turnkey EPC projects. Built on 50 years of experience handling large scale complex projects; Dashiell is unique in that we are a turnkey Engineering, Construction, and Testing company that specializes in medium and high voltage electrical infrastructure. More information about Dashiell can be found at www.dashiell.com.

Job Title: Engineering Assistant Project Manager

Job Location: 12301 Kurland Drive, Houston, TX 77034.

Primary Function:

The Assistant Project Manager (APM) for Dashiell Engineering will assist the Engineering Project Manager (EPM) and Engineering Management in achieving on-time, on-budget engineering project deliverables. The APM will assist in the preparation of project budgets, schedules, change management, subcontractor invoicing, internal and external project reporting, and pricing support as needed. Working closely with internal and external stakeholders, the APM will monitor, track, and report status of engineering activities.

This position reports to the Engineering Project Manager or other PM management designated by the Executive Management Team and may require travel within the United States.

Duties & Responsibilities

Set-up, monitor, and maintain project management tools and reports for engineering projects, including:

Project Schedule

• Work with Engineering Supervisors/Leads, EPMs, and Construction Project Managers to develop and maintain individual project schedules integrating all required tasks (i.e., design packages, requisitions, construction support);
• For EPC projects, actively monitor engineering schedule and PM schedule to confirm alignment; promptly elevate and communicate any deviations;
• Maintain alignment between client’s scheduling system and Dashiell’s engineering schedule;
• Obtain weekly progress updates from engineering teams and update schedules in Smartsheet; and,
• Promptly elevate schedule issues/deviations to EPM and Engineering Supervisors/Management.

Budget Tracking

• Support development of engineering project budgets; ensure budgets are timely entered into Dashiell’s accounting system and Smartsheet assets;
• Actively track project performance against budget and prepare related reports, as directed by the EPM;
• Update Budget logs and ETC in Smartsheet on a weekly basis – elevate issues to EPM as necessary;
• Work with Supervising Engineer to get accurate % complete updates for each project and update the % complete in Smartsheet;
• Work with Supervising Engineer and EPM to prepare accurate monthly cost and resource forecasting reports; and,
• Assist in preparation and review of project invoices; ensure all invoices are timely prepared and sent to clients.

Action Items

• Maintain the Action Item Log for each project – work with Engineering Supervisor and EPM to ensure each task is assigned to appropriate personnel and includes an accurate due date, and
• Actively monitor, maintain updated status in report tools, and follow-up on all Action Items for assigned projects, coordinating with Engineering Supervisor and EPM as necessary to drive results.

Change Orders

• Work with engineering team and EPM to identify, evaluate, document, and track any scope changes that may lead to a change orders;
• Coordinate with EPM and other stakeholders to develop formal Change Order documentation and submittals; track to completion;
• Review contractor and vendor change order requests for validity and accuracy; facilitate through closure; and,
• When the ETC exceeds available Engineering budget, elevate to EPM and relevant stakeholders to discuss change orders.

Requests for Information

• Maintain the RFI Log for each project – ensure that the project team is tracking and monitoring all RFIs to/from the client or subcontractors, and
• Actively follow-up on all open RFIs as necessary to facilitate timely completion and close-out.

Weekly Team Meetings

• Work with Supervising Engineers and EPMs to develop agendas including upcoming milestones/deliverables, financial status, change orders, and open action items;
• Prepare meeting minutes and distribute to relevant team members;
• Update Smartsheet project assets and assign tasks discussed in the meeting;
• Provide regular verbal and written reports on project progress and metrics; and,
• Update Smartsheet to reflect accomplishments, agreements and comments discussed in weekly meetings.

Issue Identification and Management

• Coordinate with team members to identify issues affecting project performance;
• Elevate issues as necessary and drive issues to closure, working with relevant project stakeholders;
• Provide regular updates to the EPM (or client at the PM’s direction) on schedule, open/outstanding action items, potential change orders, or project issues; and,
• Facilitate and document lessons learned with project stakeholders and as part of the project closeout process.

Subcontractor management

• Work with EPM to solicit proposals from subcontractors as needed for engineering proposals;
• Review scope and pricing to align with RFP requirements;
• Work with EPM to obtain a fully-executed subcontractor agreement between Dashiell and subcontractor;
• Submit required paperwork to Project Controls for PO creation in line with project budget;
• Track remaining PO value against subcontractor invoices and ensure the invoices comply with the contract and the work completed; and,
• Monitor subcontractor progress and invoicing to ensure they remain on schedule, on budget, and ensure Dashiell does not pay for any out of scope work.

Additional duties as assigned by EPM or PM management.

Minimum Qualifications / Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, construction management, or a business-related field;
• High voltage electrical experience preferred but not required; and,
• Advanced proficiency in office software, Excel, Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Smartsheet.

Physical Requirements:

• This position requires minimal physical effort.
• Must be able to endure prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer for a minimum of 8 hours a day
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee will primarily work indoors, with occasional outdoor exposure to year around weather conditions and noise.
• Must be able and willing to travel overnight for trainings and/or meetings as required (10%)
• Working extended hours, including weekends, may be required periodically.
• May occasionally lift up to 25 pounds at a time.
• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions as defined per Company policy.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Dashiell is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, non-disqualifying physical or mental disability, national origin, veteran status or any other basis covered by appropriate law.

Dashiell Corporation provides a competitive compensation and benefits package. The Company provides life insurance, accidental death & dismemberment insurance, long term disability insurance, and an employee assistance plan at no cost to the employee. Benefit offerings also include a choice of traditional PPO or one of two HDHPs, with corresponding FSA or HSA, dental, vision, supplemental life insurance, short-term disability insurance, critical illness insurance, group

accident insurance, hospital indemnity insurance, a 401(k) with immediate vesting, and more!

Must be at least 18 years of age and legally authorized to work in the United States on a permanent basis without visa sponsorship. No third-party recruiters, please.