Hornblower Group is a global leader in experience and transportation. Spanning a 100-year history, Hornblower Group’s portfolio of international offerings includes water- and land-based experiences and ferry and transportation services. City Experiences, Hornblower Group’s premier experience division, offers dining and sightseeing cruises and walking and food tours through the City Cruises, Walks, and Devour brands. City Ferry, part of Hornblower Group’s Ferry and Transportation Division, is the largest private operator of high-speed passenger and vehicle ferries in the United States, carrying more than 10 million passengers annually and operating services including NYC Ferry, Puerto Rico Ferry, and other regional ferry systems. Hornblower Group’s subsidiaries include Hornblower Marine, which provides vessel outhaul and maintenance services at Bridgeport Boatworks in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and Seaward Services, Inc., a full-service shipping, waterfront logistics and management company that specializes in the operation and maintenance of government and commercial vessels. Additionally, Anchor Operating System, LLC, a Hornblower Group subsidiary and independent entity, provides reservation, ticketing and website integration services for clients in the transportation, tourism and entertainment industries. Today, Hornblower Group’s global portfolio covers over 10 countries, over 50 U.S. cities and serves more than 20 million guests annually. Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, Hornblower Group’s additional corporate offices reside in San Francisco, California; Boston, Massachusetts; Chicago, Illinois; London, United Kingdom; New York, New York; Dublin, Ireland; and across Ontario, Canada. For more information, visit hornblowercorp.com.
Position Summary:
The Senior Project Manager is responsible for leading complex new construction, vessel renovation, ship repair, and development projects from planning through final closeout. The position provides senior-level project leadership, customer representation, commercial and financial oversight, risk management, cross-functional coordination, on-site inspections, and project control. The Senior Project Manager is expected to independently manage multiple projects, mentor Project Managers and Coordinators, and ensure projects are delivered safely, on schedule, within budget, and in accordance with contractual and regulatory requirements.
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Serve as the Senior Project Manager and primary point of accountability for assigned complex vessel construction, repair, refit, and development projects from initiation through closeout.
- Manage new construction, repair, refit, and renovation projects for yachts, commercial vessels, government vessels, and other marine or special projects as assigned.
- Lead multiple projects concurrently, establishing project execution plans, priorities, schedules, budgets, staffing requirements, milestones, and deliverables.
- Create, maintain, and actively manage detailed project schedules using Microsoft Project or other approved project scheduling software; identify critical-path activities and implement recovery plans when required.
- Own project financial performance, including labor costs, material and subcontractor expenses, committed costs, forecasts, cash flow, margin performance, and final project profitability.
- Provide regular executive-level project reporting, including schedule status, cost performance, risks, opportunities, change orders, customer issues, and recommended corrective actions.
- Lead project risk management by identifying technical, commercial, schedule, regulatory, and execution risks and developing mitigation plans before they impact project performance.
- Lead customer communication and maintain strong professional relationships with vessel owners, operators, brokers, consultants, regulatory agencies, subcontractors, and key vendors.
- Maintain a strong customer-service-oriented approach throughout the project lifecycle by proactively understanding customer needs and expectations, communicating clearly and professionally, addressing concerns in a timely manner, and maintaining a high level of customer satisfaction while balancing schedule, cost, quality, safety, and contractual requirements.
- Organize and lead internal, customer, on-site, and virtual project meetings; establish action items, assign ownership, and ensure timely follow-through.
- Coordinate engineering, production, procurement, finance, contracts, quality, safety, and regulatory activities to ensure alignment with project requirements and priorities.
- Review contract requirements, specifications, drawings, work packages, inspection reports, and technical documentation to confirm scope, schedule, quality, and compliance requirements are understood and executed.
- Lead the development and review of project proposals, RFP responses, tenders, budgets, estimates, cash flows, preliminary schedules, and execution strategies in support of new business opportunities.
- Manage contract administration, including Letters of Intent, Purchase Orders, subcontract agreements, contract execution logs, notices, change orders, claims documentation, and commercial correspondence.
- Proactively identify out-of-scope work and commercial changes; develop pricing and supporting documentation and drive timely customer approval of change orders.
- Lead negotiations with vendors, suppliers, subcontractors, and customers as required to protect project schedule, cost, quality, and company commercial interests.
- Plan and procure Owner Furnished Equipment and major project materials, monitor long-lead items, and coordinate delivery requirements with engineering, production, and customers.
- Evaluate progress and quality of work performed by designers, contractors, subcontractors, and internal production teams; escalate performance concerns and implement corrective actions as required.
- Conduct vessel arrival and condition inspections and work with the project team to identify additional work, repair needs, and potential customer work-list opportunities.
- Ensure project documentation, cost records, schedules, correspondence, technical submittals, inspection records, and project data are controlled throughout the project lifecycle.
- Coordinate with regulatory bodies and classification societies, including USCG and ABS as applicable, to support inspections, testing, approvals, trials, and project completion requirements.
- Lead commissioning, testing, sea trials, delivery, substantial completion, punch-list resolution, warranty transition, and final project closeout activities.
- Prepare substantial completion certificates and ensure all final documentation, as-built information, warranties, manuals, regulatory approvals, and closeout records are obtained and properly filed.
- Mentor and provide guidance to Project Managers and project support personnel; promote consistent project management processes, accountability, communication, and best practices across the team.
- Support department leadership with resource planning, workload prioritization, project assignment recommendations, process improvement, and development of project management standards and procedures.
- Act as a senior representative of Hornblower Marine in customer and project matters and exercise sound independent judgment when resolving project issues and making time-sensitive decisions.
- Travel to project sites within the U.S. and internationally as needed.
- Other duties as assigned.
Requirements & Qualifications:
- BS in a technical discipline or equivalent work experience is required. An advanced degree is preferred in a technical discipline associated with vessel construction or ship repair such as marine engineering.
- Minimum of 10 years of progressive shipyard, vessel construction, vessel repair, or marine project management experience, including experience leading complex projects.
- Demonstrated experience independently managing complex marine projects, including detailed schedules, budgets, forecasts, change orders, subcontractors, regulatory requirements, and project closeout.
- PMP certification or equivalent project management credential is strongly preferred.
- Understanding of aluminum, steel, wood, & fiberglass vessel design and construction
- Familiarity with classification society rules (ABS, USCG, etc.)
- A familiarity with current passenger vessel regulations (i.e. USCG T & K boat regulations)
- Must have strong written and oral communication skills
- Demonstrated leadership experience working in a cross-functional operational environment and mentoring project team members.
- Experience with Word, Excel and organizational documentation file management systems
- Proven ability to communicate with senior leadership, customers, regulatory representatives, technical teams, and production personnel.
- Strong knowledge of project financial management, contract administration, change-order management, forecasting, and commercial negotiations.
- Must thrive in a fast-paced environment
- Must have a valid driver’s license
- Must be able to board vessels, enter confined spaces with limited visibility and have the ability to climb up and down stairs and/or ladders of varying heights to complete inspections
- Submit to and pass alcohol and drug tests as mandated by the USCG including but not limited to pre-employment, random, reasonable suspicion and post-accident/incident testing.
The RESPECT Service System embodies our mission, vision, values and operating principles. By creating a company culture that puts RESPECT at its core, we believe it will drive us to achieve our goal of becoming a Global Experiences and Transportation Leader.
EEO / Disabled / Protected Veteran Employer. Hornblower is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We offer equal employment opportunities to all qualified individuals and prohibit discrimination and/or harassment of any type, including but not limited to discrimination and or harassment based upon race, religion, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, pregnancy or relation medical conditions, childbirth, breastfeeding, parental status, veteran and/or military status, disability (physical or mental), medical condition, genetic information or characteristics, political affiliation, domestic violence survivor status, marital status, or other characteristics prohibited by federal, state, or local law. Additionally, as a federal, state, and local contractor, Hornblower complies with government regulations, including affirmative action responsibilities for qualified individuals, where and as they apply. The company also participates in the E-Verify program in certain locations.
