Assistant Project Manager - Construction Division

At Mid-Ohio Air Conditioning it is our mission to provide customers with professional, value based, relational services tailored to each specific need. We provide preventive maintenance, equipment replacement, tenant build out, service, and design-build services.

POSITION SUMMARY

Mid-Ohio Air Conditioning (MOAC) is a design-build commercial and industrial HVAC contractor serving central Ohio. Our Construction Division self-performs mechanical projects ranging from $25,000 to $5 million for owners, general contractors, and institutional clients.

The Assistant Project Manager (APM) owns the operational execution of assigned projects under the direction of a Project Manager. This is a hands-on, field-facing role: helping to organize the start of job, coordinating manpower and equipment, driving the schedule, pricing and pushing change orders, managing subcontractors, measuring progress, and protecting job cost. The APM plays a key role in how projects actually get built through supporting the peripheral items that make projects successful and allowing project managers to focus on project milestones.

This position is intentionally structured as the development path to Project Manager at MOAC. An APM who performs is expected to take full P&L ownership of small projects within 12 months and to progress to Project Manager within 18 to 36 months. Career progression milestones are defined in this document. APMs also participate in and have impact to the continuous improvement process at MOAC.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Project Execution & Field Operations

• Manage day-to-day operational execution of assigned projects under the direction of the Project Manager, including small projects assigned for independent ownership as skill develops.
• Develop and maintain project schedules; coordinate MOAC scope with general contractor milestones, other trades, and owner-driven constraints.
• Coordinate manpower requirements with Operations and field leadership — forecast crew size, skill mix, and duration by phase, and communicate changes early.
• Visit jobsites regularly to verify installed work against drawings, monitor productivity, identify field issues, and support foremen with the information and materials they need.
• Lead or attend jobsite coordination meetings, pre-installation meetings, and owner/GC progress meetings; represent MOAC professionally.
• Identify and resolve field conflicts, coordination clashes, and constructability issues before they become schedule or cost impacts.
• Support job-specific safety expectations in partnership with Meriton Safety; confirm crews have required equipment, task-specific plans, and site orientations.
• Drive punch list completion, system startup, testing and balancing coordination, commissioning support, and owner training scheduling.
• Maintain project logs and trackers — submittal log, RFI log, change order log, equipment delivery log — and keep them current without prompting.
• Distribute drawing revisions, addenda, and specification updates to the project team and field crews, and confirm the field is working from current documents.

Buyout, Procurement & Subcontractor Management

• Assist with procurement and project buyout: convert the estimate into committed costs through equipment releases, material purchases, and subcontract agreements.
• Review and negotiate vendor and subcontractor pricing as directed; confirm scope alignment against contract documents before commitment.
• Define scopes of work for subcontracted trades and manage subcontractor performance, schedule adherence, and quality in the field.
• Determine equipment and material requirements, quantities, and delivery sequencing;
• Review submittals and shop drawings for technical conformance with plans, specifications, and design intent prior to transmittal.
• Manage long-lead equipment risk — identify exposure early, evaluate alternates, and escalate schedule impacts.

Cost Control & Financial Performance

• Track committed cost, labor hours, and productivity against the estimate.
• Based on project progress and input from project managers, prepare monthly cost-to-complete projections and percent-complete inputs in the ERP software for review with the Project Manager and division leadership.
• Identify cost variances early, determine root cause, and recommend corrective action rather than reporting the variance after the fact.
• Price change orders and time-and-material work; prepare pricing backup, negotiate with the general contractor or owner, and pursue approval to execution.
• Under direction of the project manager, identify out-of-scope work in the field and convert it to approved, billable change orders — no scope performed without authorization.
• Review labor time entries and job cost coding for accuracy; correct miscoded cost before month-end close.
• Report accurate percent complete assessments in work in process (WIP) meetings to promote accurate monthly progress billings.

Contract & Technical Administration

• Read and apply contract documents, plans, specifications, and mechanical drawings; understand MOAC’s scope, exclusions, and contractual obligations on each project.
• Prepare and issue RFIs on technical questions and evaluate responses for cost and schedule impact.
• Maintain awareness of notice requirements, delay documentation, and contractual deadlines; escalate contract issues to the Project Manager promptly.
• Support permitting and inspection coordination with authorities having jurisdiction.
• Provide technical directions to the Project Coordinator on project setup, cost coding structure, and closeout requirements.

Customer & Team Relationships

• Serve as an operational point of contact for general contractors, owners, engineers, and subcontractors on assigned projects.
• Communicate proactively — deliver bad news early with a recommended solution rather than late with an explanation.
• Build relationships with field leadership and earn credibility with crews through preparation, responsiveness, and follow-through.
• Support the estimating and sales team with constructability input, budget pricing assistance, and lessons learned from completed work.
• Perform other duties as assigned in support of Construction Division goals.

ROLE BOUNDARY: APM AND PROJECT COORDINATOR

The Assistant Project Manager owns operational decisions and outcomes. The Project Coordinator owns administrative execution and documentation. Both support the Project Manager.

• Associate or bachelor’s degree in construction management, mechanical engineering, engineering technology, or a related field — or equivalent field experience in mechanical construction.
• Two or more years of experience in commercial construction in a project engineer, assistant project manager, estimator, coordinator, or field leadership role; strong HVAC field technicians or foremen moving into management will be considered.
• Ability to read and interpret mechanical drawings, plans, specifications, and contract documents.
• Working understanding of construction cost structure — labor, material, equipment, subcontract, and overhead — and how each affects job margin.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple concurrent priorities and drive work to completion without close supervision.
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Excel, Outlook, and Teams.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the confidence to hold general contractors and subcontractors accountable to commitments.
• Valid driver’s license, acceptable driving record, and willingness to travel daily to jobsites within the central Ohio market.
• Ability to pass pre-employment background screening and drug testing.

Preferred / Plus

• Oracle NetSuite experience, particularly project management, purchasing, or job costing modules. NetSuite experience is a significant plus.
• Direct commercial or industrial HVAC experience — air handling equipment, chillers, boilers, ductwork, hydronic and refrigerant piping, VRF, or building automation.
• Experience in a design-build delivery environment.
• OSHA 30 certification.
• Experience with Procore, Autodesk Build, Bluebeam, or comparable construction platforms.
• Familiarity with Ohio prevailing wage requirements and public bid work.
• EIT, PE, or CM-Lean / CAPM credentials, or progress toward them.

CORE COMPETENCIES & ATTRIBUTES

• Takes the job personally. Sees a problem, owns it, and closes it out without being assigned.
• Field orientation. Would rather be at the jobsite than behind a desk, and understands that projects are won or lost in the field.
• Commercial instinct. Thinks in dollars and hours. Understands that every decision has a margin consequence.
• Comfortable holding a general contractor, a vendor, or a subcontractor to what they committed to.
• Coachability and drive. Actively pursues the next level of responsibility and seeks feedback rather than waiting for a review.
• Judgment under pressure. Bad news travels fast and early, with a recommended path forward.

WORK ENVIRONMENT & PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

• Split environment between MOAC’s Columbus office and active construction jobsites; expect meaningful weekly time in the field.
• Jobsite conditions include exposure to heat, cold, noise, dust, ladders, lifts, and mechanical rooms; required PPE must be worn at all times.
• Must be able to walk jobsites, climb ladders and stairs, access roofs and mechanical spaces, and occasionally lift up to 50 pounds.
• Standard business hours with occasional early, late, or weekend work required by project schedules, shutdowns, or critical milestones.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

Quarterly incentive payments are earned against the performance measures described in this job description and are subject to the terms of MOAC’s incentive compensation plan in effect at the time of payment.

Employment practices will not be influenced or affected by an applicant’s or employee’s race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status or any other legally protected status.  Reasonable accommodations will be made for qualified individuals with disabilities unless doing so would result in an undue hardship.

Salary ranges listed are dependent upon a candidate’s qualifications, experience, internal equity, and the budgeted amount for the specific role and location.