Job Title: Contractor Manager
Company Overview: 123NET, LLC is headquartered in Southfield, Michigan, and has been providing High-Capacity Business Internet, Colocation, and Telecommunications services successfully for 25 years from small to Fortune 500 companies. We are one of Michigan’s fastest-growing privately held companies offering competitive wages, healthcare benefits, and a great work environment. We attract top talent, bringing diverse experiences and creativity to our team and fostering an environment that enables employees to apply their skills, creativity, and experience in an independent and impactful way. Our people are at the core of our success. We attract and retain top talent who bring diverse experiences, creativity, and leadership to our team. We are growing rapidly and are passionate about making a difference every day.
Our Mission – Building network to make Michigan communities and businesses the best connected on the planet.
Job Description: The Contractor Manager is responsible for the overall strategy, performance, and management of 123NET's construction contractor ecosystem for commercial builds. This role serves as the primary owner of contractor relationships and is accountable for contractor performance, quality, safety, schedule adherence, pricing, and operational scalability. The Contractor Manager will lead the contractor inspection and oversight team while building strong partnerships with construction vendors that support successful fiber construction delivery.
This is a manager-level role that requires strategic thinking, negotiation capability, relationship-building skills, construction knowledge, and people leadership. The ideal candidate has project management experience, hands-on knowledge of fiber construction, and the ability to manage multiple contractor relationships across active construction projects.
Key Responsibilities:
Contractor Strategy & Vendor Management
· Develop and execute a contractor management strategy that supports fiber construction goals, project timelines, quality expectations, and operational growth.
· Build, maintain, and strengthen relationships with construction contractors, subcontractors, inspectors, and strategic vendor partners.
· Identify, evaluate, and onboard contractor partners to support current and future construction capacity needs.
· Maintain a diversified contractor network to reduce operational risk and avoid over-reliance on any single vendor.
· Serve as the primary escalation point for contractor-related issues, performance concerns, field conflicts, and relationship matters.
Contract Negotiation & Commercial Management
· Lead negotiation of contractor pricing, scopes of work, service expectations, and project-specific terms.
· Partner with Finance, Legal, Procurement, and Operations leadership on contractor agreements, master service agreements, purchase orders, and commercial terms.
· Balance competitive pricing with quality, responsiveness, safety, and schedule expectations.
· Monitor contractor spending, project costs, change requests, and budget impact.
· Recommend process, pricing, or vendor changes that improve cost control and operational performance.
Construction & Project Delivery
· Ensure contractor-completed work is delivered safely, on schedule, within budget, and in accordance with company standards.
· Coordinate with Project Management, Engineering, Construction leadership, and field teams to align contractor resources with project priorities.
· Support workload forecasting, crew capacity planning, and contractor resource assignment across active projects.
· Monitor contractor progress, remove barriers, and drive timely resolution of field issues.
· Drive continuous improvement in contractor processes, communication, documentation, and job closeout practices.
Quality, Safety & Compliance
· Establish and enforce contractor quality expectations, inspection standards, safety requirements, and documentation practices.
· Lead quality review processes and ensure recurring issues are addressed through corrective actions.
· Partner with inspectors and field oversight personnel to verify contractor work quality and compliance.
· Ensure contractor activities follow company policies, safety requirements, permitting expectations, and applicable regulatory standards.
· Review contractor trends, inspection results, safety concerns, and performance metrics to identify improvement opportunities.
People Leadership
· Directly manage contractor inspectors and other contractor oversight personnel.
· Provide coaching, performance feedback, development planning, and accountability for direct reports.
· Set clear expectations for inspection quality, communication, escalation, documentation, and project follow-through.
· Create a team culture built on 123NET core values.
· Support hiring, onboarding, training, workload planning, and performance management for the contractor oversight team.
Reporting & Executive Communication
· Provide regular updates on contractor performance, project progress, capacity, quality metrics, cost trends, and operational risks.
· Prepare recommendations for contractor utilization, vendor mix, pricing strategy, staffing needs, and process improvements.
· Communicate clearly with senior leadership regarding contractor challenges, opportunities, and strategic decisions.
· Maintain accurate documentation, dashboards, trackers, and reports needed to manage contractor performance and project execution.
Required Qualifications:
Experience
· 7+ years of experience in telecommunications, utility construction, fiber construction, or a closely related field.
· 3+ years of leadership, supervisory, or people management experience.
· Experience managing construction contractors, subcontractors, vendor partners, or field service providers.
· Experience negotiating pricing, scopes of work, contractor expectations, or service agreements.
· Demonstrated project management experience across multiple concurrent projects or workstreams.
· Strong working knowledge of fiber construction processes, field execution, inspection practices, and construction quality standards.
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
· Strong leadership, coaching, and people management skills.
· Excellent contractor relationship management and vendor management capability.
· Strong negotiation, conflict resolution, and issue-escalation skills.
· Ability to balance strategic planning with day-to-day operational execution.
· Strong project management, organizational, and prioritization skills.
· Ability to analyze contractor performance, identify trends, and implement corrective actions.
· Strong financial acumen related to pricing, project cost control, and contractor utilization.
· Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to communicate with field teams, contractors, executives, and cross-functional stakeholders.
· Ability to work in a fast-paced construction environment with changing priorities, urgent field issues, and multiple active projects.
Preferred Qualifications
· Construction management training, or equivalent project management experience.
· Experience managing large contractor programs or multiple vendor relationships simultaneously.
· Experience with B2B commercial fiber, long-haul fiber, or grant-funded infrastructure projects.
· Experience with contractor KPIs, scorecards, safety metrics, and quality assurance programs.
· Experience working with legal, finance, and operations teams on contractor agreements and commercial terms.
Role Purpose
The Contractor Manager creates a dedicated leadership layer for contractor strategy, relationship management, field quality, and inspection team leadership. This role allows the Director of Fiber Construction to remain focused on broader construction execution while ensuring contractor partnerships, pricing, performance, and field accountability are consistently managed by a single owner.
Benefits:
- 401(k) - Savings plan with Company Match
- Health insurance - For you and your family on day 1 of employment
- Dental insurance - For you and your family on day 1 of employment
- Vision insurance - For you and your family on day 1 of employment
Work Location: In person
