Commercial Manager

Commercial Manager

Department: Project Controls / Commercial Management
Reports To: Vice President, Special Projects(Direct Supervisor and for applicable projects) and Vice President, Construction Operations (for applicable projects)
Employment Type: Full-Time
Location: Lombard, IL (Headquarters)
The Commercial Manager is responsible for leading and integrating all commercial functions across Pernix International's project portfolio, including cost engineering, planning and scheduling, and subcontract administration. This role provides strategic and operational oversight of commercial performance from project inception through closeout, ensuring that cost, schedule, and contractual outcomes align with company objectives and client requirements. The Commercial Manager directly supervises Senior and intermediate-level Cost Engineers and Planners in both the home office and project field locations, as well as Subcontract Administrators embedded within project field teams.

This is a senior management role requiring deep technical expertise in either cost engineering or planning and scheduling, combined with strong commercial acumen and the ability to drive performance across a geographically distributed team.

• Provide direct oversight and line management of all Cost Engineers, Planners/Schedulers, and Subcontract Administrators across home office and project field locations.
• Establish clear performance expectations, conduct regular performance reviews, and support the professional development of all direct and indirect reports.
• Manage resource allocation across the project controls team, ensuring appropriate staffing levels on active and upcoming projects relative to scope, complexity, and contract type.
• Recruit, onboard, and retain high-performing commercial professionals; partner with HR and project leadership to build bench strength across all disciplines.
• Foster a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and cross-disciplinary collaboration within the commercial function.

• Develop and maintain the company's commercial management framework, including standards, procedures, and templates governing cost control, schedule management, change management, and subcontract administration.
• Establish and enforce governance protocols ensuring consistent commercial reporting, risk identification, and escalation practices across all projects and locations.
• Define and monitor key commercial performance indicators (KPIs) at both the project and portfolio levels, providing executive leadership with timely visibility into cost and schedule performance.
• Serve as the primary commercial point of contact for the Vice President, Special Projects, and Vice President, Construction Operations, providing regular briefings on portfolio performance, emerging risks, and recommended actions.

• Oversee the development and maintenance of project budgets, cost baselines, cost-to-complete (CTC) estimates, and estimates-at-completion (EAC) across the project portfolio.
• Review and approve cost reports, forecasts, and dashboards prepared by Cost Engineers prior to submission to project managers and clients.
• Ensure consistent application of Earned Value Management (EVM) principles and variance analysis across all projects.
• Direct cost engineering activities related to value engineering, constructability reviews, and cost optimization initiatives during pre-construction and execution phases.

• Oversee the development, maintenance, and analysis of CPM project schedules across all project phases, ensuring alignment with project scope, contract milestones, and execution strategies.
• Review and approve schedule baselines, updates, and recovery plans prepared by the planning team.
• Ensure consistent application of schedule performance measurement, critical path analysis, and Earned Value schedule metrics across the portfolio.
• Direct the planning team's support of delay analysis, claims avoidance, and dispute resolution activities.

• Provide strategic direction and oversight…