Director, Construction – Real Estate Development

Job Type: Full time

Job Number: JR-025537

Location: Salt Lake City,
UT

If you’re passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country-and you’re committed to working hard
to play your part in building that future-consider WGU as the next step in your career.

Driven by a mission to expand access to
higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse
workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received
praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping
students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.

The salary range for this position takes into
account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience
and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.

At WGU, it is not typical for an individual
to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of
each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is:

Grade: Management_Executive 612 Pay Range: $168,100.00 – $302,500.00

Job
Description

Reporting to the Head of Global Real Estate, this executive-level role leads construction strategy execution and
governance, for a large-scale, multi-phase development program.
The Construction Executive (Owner’s Representative) is accountable for
end-to-end construction performance, including cost, schedule, quality, safety, risk management, and operational readiness, ensuring
alignment with enterprise objectives and long-term asset value.

This role operates as the owner’s senior construction representative,
providing strategic direction, executive oversight, and leadership across all construction activities.
The position establishes delivery
standards, project controls expectations, governance protocols, and performance accountability across internal and external partners while
ensuring disciplined execution throughout the full project lifecycle.

Primary Responsibilities

• Lead overall
  construction strategy and execution across a multi-phase development program, ensuring alignment with enterprise priorities, investment
  objectives, and design intent, operational requirements, and long-term asset performance.
• Serve as the owner’s executive
  representative with general contractors, consultants, and field teams, maintaining clear accountability commercial, operational, and
  construction outcomes..
• Establish and enforce standards for construction delivery, including governance, reporting, project
  controls, procurement oversight, risk management, and performance tracking across all phases of development.
• Provide executive
  oversight of cost management, including budgeting, forecasting, contingency management, cash flow, change management, and mitigation of cost
  escalation risks.
• Lead strategic contracting and procurement approaches, including delivery model selection, bid packaging strategy,
  negotiation of major agreements, and oversight of contractual compliance and commercial performance.
• Own schedule integrity and
  drive proactive risk identification, mitigation planning, sequencing coordination, and recovery strategies to maintain project timelines and
  milestones and delivery objectives.
• Oversee integration and coordination of complex building systems including structural, MEP,
  utility, infrastructure, and specialty systems, and ensure execution aligns with technical standards and operational requirements and design
  intent.
• Guide successful commissioning, turnover, and operational readiness, occupancy readiness, and closeout activities, to ensure
  assets are delivered in alignment with operational, technical, and business requirements.
• Lead, develop, and mentor construction
  leadership teams, including senior managers, construction managers, and specialist leads, establishing clear expectations, accountability,
  and performance standards.
• Drive alignment across Development, Design, Finance, and external stakeholders, including Operations,
  Legal, and Procurement, ensuring coordinated execution and clear communication of priorities, constraints, risks and
  tradeoffs.
• Present complex issues to executive stakeholders with clear analysis of cost, schedule, and quality impacts, operational
  impacts, and risk exposure,along with recommended paths forward and recovery strategies to support decision-making.
• Foster a
  high-performance, collaborative environment while maintaining clear ownership and accountability for construction outcomes.

This job description includes a general representation of job requirements rather than a comprehensive inventory of all required
responsibilities or work activities. The contents of this document or related job requirements may change at any time with or without
notice.

Qualifications

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Strong executive leadership and
  decision-making capabilities in complex, high-value construction environments.
• Deep expertise in construction delivery methods,
  procurement strategy, project controls, contracting approaches, and large-scale project execution.
• Advanced financial and commercial
  acumen with the ability to manage budgets, forecasts, and cost controls, contingencies, and change management at scale.
• Ability to
  lead through ambiguity, manage risk, and drive results in high-pressure environments while making decisions under pressure and driving
  accountability in high-performance environments..
• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the credibility to influence and
  challenge senior leaders and external partners, contractors, and consultants..

Education

• Bachelor’s degree
  in Construction Management, Engineering, Architecture, or related field required.

Experience

• 10+ years of
  progressive construction leadership experience with demonstrated accountability for large-scale projects including commercial,
  institutional, mixed-use, hospitality, campus, and high-rise developments..
• Proven track record of delivering complex, mixed-use or
  high-rise developments in urban environments.
• Experience leading projects valued at $500M+ through the full lifecycle from
  preconstruction through closeout.
• Background working with institutional owners, nationally recognized developers, or major
  commercial general contractors.

Additional Requirements

Experience in lieu of education

Equivalent
relevant experience performing the essential functions of this job may substitute for education degree requirements. Generally, equivalent
relevant experience is defined as 1 year of experience for 1 year of education and is the discretion of the hiring manager.

Preferred Qualifications

• Relevant certifications such as OSHA 30, PMP, CCM, or similar professional credentials
  including DBIA or LEED preferred..
• 20+ years of experience

Travel

This position requires occasional
travel of up to 20%, including required attendance at designated company summits (typically one to two per year). Additional travel may
include conferences, visits to company locations, and other business-related events as needed. Additional travel may be assigned as needed
to support business requirements

Position & Application Details

Full-Time Regular Positions (classified as regular and
working 40 standard weekly hours): This is a full-time, regular position (classified for 40 standard weekly hours) that is eligible for
bonuses; medical, dental, vision, telehealth and mental healthcare; health savings account and flexible spending account; basic and
voluntary life insurance; disability coverage; accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity supplemental coverages; legal and identity
theft coverage; retirement savings plan; wellbeing program; discounted WGU tuition; and flexible paid time off for rest and relaxation with
no need for accrual, flexible paid sick time with no need for accrual, 11 paid holidays, and other paid leaves, including up to 12 weeks of
parental leave.

How to Apply: If interested, an application will need to be submitted online. Internal WGU employees will need to apply
through the internal job board in Workday.

Additional Information

Disclaimer: The job posting highlights the most
critical responsibilities and requirements of the job. It’s not all-inclusive.

Accommodations: Applicants with disabilities who
require assistance or accommodation during the application or interview process should contact our Talent Acquisition team at recruiting@wgu.edu.

Equal Employment Opportunity: All qualified applicants will receive
consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristic as required by law.

Tagged as: Employment