What does a Property Development Project Manager Do?
A Project Manager’s Role:
This question about a Project Managers role surprises us to some degree. It seems that what appears obvious to us is not to others. So here is the answer.
The Property Development Project Manager is the one who pulls all aspects of a property development project together to make it happen. He gathers a team of appropriate building industry professionals and contractors around him that are suited to the task at hand. He is the team leader or coordinator who ensures, among many other things, that the correct project sequencing occurs –
So you can see that a project managers role requires generalised but never the less detailed knowledge that spans numerous specialty property development disciplines such as town planning, surveying, construction, engineering to name just a few.
He also needs to be licensed – It’s the law in Queensland.
“……we were finding it challenging to get clear advice and simple solutions from the various professionals we were consulting…..” Dell & Philip Anthon – Clayfield
The Project Manager’s role has been likened to that of a Movie Director
A project managers role is to take charge of the project acting for and on behalf of the project’s owner. To fulfill this role adequately he needs to be a ‘Generalist’. 
There are many ‘Specialists’ in Property Development who are specifically trained in their field and, whilst they may be experts in that field, and necessary to the success of the project, almost always their ‘whole of project’ knowledge is limited, in which case, appointing them to manage your project is potentially very risky. These are people such as Builders, Civil contractors, Surveyors, Town Planners, Designers, Ecologists, Engineers etc.
In Queensland these days the law requires Project Managers to be licenced by the QBCC and many ‘so called’ project managers are not licenced, which means that the client is not protected by the law. What’s more, they probably don’t carry the appropriate Professional Indemnity Insurance either, or in some cases, any at all. Quite a few of these people were once or still are specialists in their chosen field and come from a wide variety of specialist disciplines, and whilst they do mean well, and possibly do hold some qualifications in their specialised field they are in truth NOT project managers.
“We were struggling with a Town Planner to make headway in sub-dividing our residential lot…..SCM both simplified and managed the process for us…..They took most of the pain away, got it done” G Clarke – Ashgrove
A Good Project Manager is a ‘Specialist’ at being a ‘Generalist’
Another way of looking at that statement is that a successful property development needs a Project Manager who specializes in Property Development.
Whereas, distinct from a ‘Specialist’ who has been trained specifically in the Science of their profession [e.g. a Surveyor], good Project Management is as much an acquired art as it is a learned science and is therefore a product of wide and varied experience garnered over many years. The more complicated and involved a project is the more of a generalist you need – a strange conundrum but true when you think about it.
A good team is made up of good specialists in their particular role. In a cricket team the ‘Wicket Keeper’ cannot, at the same time, fulfill the role of ‘bowler’, just as the ‘Coach’ is not going to take on the role of ‘opening batsmen’ nor the ‘fast bowlers’ keeping wicket. Each are specialists in their role.
Not that the Property Development Project Manager’s role is that of Coach but his role is to facilitate an environment that enables a Team of Specialists to perform their respective roles so that the property development project comes in on time and on budget as specified and to perform that role he will need to have generalised but never the less detailed knowledge of each of the specialised fields involved.
he puts the ‘O’ into ‘Teamwork’ where ‘O’ stands for ‘Optimise’ – ‘Organisation’ – ‘On Time’ – ‘On Budget’.
Teamwork Is The Key
At SCM Projects, we have assembled a trusted network of property development and building professionals and contractors {‘specialists’} from whom we are able to choose those that are best suited to your project – ‘horses for courses’ so to speak, who are able to get the job done and provide the best value for money. Thanks to these longstanding relationships, we enjoy excellent service at realistic prices which you can benefit from. And we are certain that the contractors we have selected for your project have quoted for the work required.We know which Consultants are likely to be best suited to your job, though that does not preclude us from working in with your chosen consultants if that’s your preference. Here at SCM we put the “O” into Teamwork.
So, in summing up, the Project Manager runs all aspects of the real estate project. A Project Manager’s job includes giving the construction manager and everyone else on the project, including the builder [to a limited degree] the tools and support they need to get the work done. He’s the team leader. He does all this on behalf of the project owner – that’s who he is ultimately responsible to.
