Lead Carpenter/Foreman

Do you want to work for a company that respects your experience and the skills you bring to the business? We are looking for a skilled Lead Carpenter to manage and produce residential remodeling projects in a fast paced remodeling business. Compensation is commensurate with experience and is competitive including benefits beyond industry norms (paid holidays, sick time, vacation, 401k ...) Please submit resume and/or relevant work experience and training/education history. This job requires being on job sites daily so only candidates with reliable transportation (a work truck or van) who live in Eastern Massachusetts will be considered.

Lead Carpenter – Job Description
Core Responsibilities: In the most simple terms, this position is responsible for providing the carpentry labor and project management of assigned residential remodeling projects from the time the contract is signed until the punch list is complete.

Understand the project . It is vital to the success of every project that you be thoroughly familiar with the project. Sales will let you know when a contract is signed and will coordinate a pre-construction meeting at the job site. To completely understand the project you need to:

• Prepare for the meeting: Prior to the meeting you will need to review any plans, photos, map and estimate that are available for the job. Bring a copy of the plans and a Time and Materials version of the estimate to the meeting. This meeting needs to take place as soon as the contract is signed to allow time for scheduling of subcontractors and ordering of materials.
• Be focused at the meeting: You will be expected to have 90%+ of the information needed to complete the project by the end of this meeting so don’t be afraid to ask questions and be sure to take detailed notes. Start to construct your list of selections that will need to be made & ordered.

Complete the project on schedule. All contracts list a length of the project. It is our contractual obligation to complete the project in this time frame. It is also the surest way to a happy customer (2nd only to good communication) To do this you need to:

• Create a detailed project schedule and monitor and update it daily.
• Notify subcontractors when they will be needed (2 months or ASAP, 2 weeks then 2 days before they are needed) and keep them updated as schedules shift.
• Plan your own time to ensure you will be available to provide carpentry and miscellaneous labor when it is needed.
• Ensure materials are available when needed. Give the customer a list of selections needed and when those selections must be made by. Follow up regularly with customers and vendors.
• Keep the customer updated daily as needed (but no less than weekly) about decisions they need to make, what will be happening the next day and if there are any schedule delays and why.

Complete the project on budget. We create a detailed estimate for each project listing the work we are planning to do. It is your job to complete the project within that budget as well as (nicely) bring to the customers attention if they are requesting work outside the scope of our contract. To do this you need to:

• Be very familiar with the estimate/ budget and plans for the project. Review them before the pre-construction meeting, at the meeting and regularly during the project.
• Talk to each subcontractor about what we have described doing (as it pertains to them) and how much we have carried for that work. Work with each subcontractor to try and find a way to get the work done for what we have carried in the estimate.
• If an area of the estimate is significantly lower (10% difference) than what a subcontractor thinks is necessary to complete the work, let sales know, negotiate with the subcontractor and see if there are creative solutions to reduce the cost and see if there are any other areas of the project where the cost overrun can be recovered.

Keep the customer happy! We have a great reputation because we care about our customers and do what we can to keep them happy. You are our front line and have more interaction with the customer than anyone else. To do this you need to:

• SMILE!!! Being pleasant to be around goes a long way towards building rapport and this goes a long way towards the customers experience and helps if any difficulties come up during the project.
• Be responsive. If the customer is asking for something that is less than $250 and you don’t think it is a wildly unreasonable request then just take care of it for them. If it is a larger request then run it by the office.
• Maintain consistent communication (daily in most cases). Nothing upsets a customer more then not knowing what is going on. Return all phone calls promptly and tell everyone the best way to reach you (e-mail, text or phone call).
• Ensure the jobsite is clean and secure at the end of each day (doesn’t always mean you need to be there).

Other Responsibilities: in addition to the day to day activities required for constructing projects, there are other items that can contribute to the improvement of the production department.

Develop Resources. Always be on the lookout for good trade partners and potential employees. Our ability to be productive and smooth in our operations is directly related to the quality of the people we are working with. To do this you need to:

• Build strong relationships with our current trades people. This means being on job sites regularly to interact with and provide the guidance that our trades people are looking for. People want to work with people they know, like and trust. Be that person!
• Ask for referrals. Ask current trade partners, vendors, other builders, etc… if they work with good plumbers, electricians, plasterers, painters, carpenters, roofers, flooring installers, etc…
• Maintain a database of people in the trades. People we work with, people you have spoken with but haven’t worked with, people you have only heard about, etc… along with contact information and any notes about their pros and cons.

Develop Systems. We know there are always better ways to get things done. Develop a consistent method of completing projects that keeps equal focus on speed, budget and quality. If we are producing 90% of our projects on time, on budget and with a happy customer then we are succeeding! Right now our tools for producing jobs are the estimate (QuickBooks), the Project Schedule (google calendar), the Project notes (google docs), the Product Selection List (excel spreadsheet) and weekly production meetings to review project status. Think through the process of producing jobs and voice your opinion if you think there are other methods for achieving the goals of 1) On Time, 2) On Budget, 3) Happy Customer.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $34.00 - $38.00 per hour

Expected hours: 40 – 45 per week

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Professional development assistance

Experience level:

• 5 years

Schedule:

• Day shift
• Monday to Friday

Ability to Relocate:

• Newton, MA: Relocate before starting work (Required)

Work Location: In person