Pre-Construction Manager (ECI Specialist) – Data Centre PMC (West Area)
Application completed on Turner & Townsend
About This Role
Company Description
Turner & Townsend is a global professional services company with over 22,000 people in more than 60 countries.
Working with our clients across real estate, infrastructure, energy and natural resources, we transform together delivering outcomes that improve people’s lives. Working in partnership makes it possible to deliver the world’s most impactful projects and programmes as we turn challenge into opportunity and complexity into success.
Our capabilities include programme, project, cost, asset and commercial management, controls and performance, procurement and supply chain, net zero and digital solutions.
We are majority-owned by CBRE Group, Inc., the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm, with our partners holding a significant minority interest. Turner & Townsend and CBRE work together to provide clients with the premier programme, project and cost management offering in markets around the world.
Please visit our website: www.turnerandtownsend.com
Job Description
The Pre-Construction Manager (ECI Specialist) leads the critical planning, design optimization, and procurement phase of a greenfield data centre project in the Western Region of Singapore before main construction begins. This role manages the Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) framework, bridging the gap between the Client’s design consultants, local Qualified Persons (QPs), and the selected ECI Main Contractor. The primary goal is to drive constructability, budget control, high-voltage grid readiness, and contract certainty prior to breaking ground.
Key Responsibilities
ECI Contract Conversion & Commercial Governance
Contract Transformation: Lead the commercial and technical conversion of the ECI pre-construction agreement into the final execution contract. Manage the transition smoothly into either SIA (Singapore Institute of Architects) design-and-build forms, REDAS (Real Estate Developers’ Association of Singapore) design-and-build conditions, or the FIDIC Yellow Book (Conditions of Contract for Plant and Design-Build), depending on the client's risk profile.
Open-Book Cost Verification: Manage the open-book cost estimation process with the ECI contractor. Audit trade packages, market rates, and risk contingencies to establish a transparent, competitive Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) or Lump Sum contract.
Value Engineering (VE): Lead VE workshops to optimize project costs without sacrificing operational reliability, Uptime Institute Tier compliance, or Singapore BCA-IMDA Green Mark Platinum targets.
High-Voltage Grid Infrastructure & Utility Strategy
SP PowerGrid Liaison: Lead technical and administrative pre-construction coordination with SP PowerGrid to secure the critical 22kV or 66kV high-voltage power connection.
Substation Readiness: Oversee the design advancement and pre-construction clearance of the on-site Consumer Substation or Primary Substation (ESS). Ensure layouts, cable termination chambers, and transformer bays fully comply with SP PowerGrid’s transmission handbook and safety standards.
Grid Connection Sequencing: Integrate the utility provider’s cable laying, testing, and energization lead-times into the master construction schedule, ensuring power availability aligns perfectly with Level 4/5 testing and commissioning milestones.
Constructability Review & Sequencing Optimization
Design Validation: Lead thorough constructability reviews of Civil, Structural, Architectural (CSA), and Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing (MEP) systems. Identify design gaps, material lead-time risks, and spatial clashes before site mobilization.
Construction Sequencing: Work with the ECI contractor to build a highly optimized baseline construction schedule. Focus on site logistics, heavy lifting paths for long-lead equipment (like heavy diesel generators and transformers), and the transition from building envelope closure to cleanroom fit-out.
Site Logistics Planning: Coordinate complex site logistics plans for the Western Singapore industrial zones (such as Tuas or Jurong), managing earth retaining stabilizing structures (ERSS), deep foundation works, and multi-crane setups.
Regulatory, Authority & Sustainability Alignment
Authority Clearances: Coordinate pre-submission reviews with local authorities like the Building and Construction Authority (BCA), Jurong Town Corporation (JTC), Public Utilities Board (PUB), and National Environment Agency (NEA).
Green Certification: Partner with the Sustainability Manager to ensure the ECI contractor’s construction methods, low-carbon materials, and procurement logs align perfectly with the target sustainable data centre award.
Qualifications
Years of Experience: 10+ years of construction project management experience. At least 4+ years must be spent explicitly managing pre-construction stages or ECI frameworks for data centres, semiconductor plants, or heavy industrial facilities.
Contractual Expertise: Deep knowledge of administering and converting contracts using SIA, REDAS, and FIDIC Yellow Book frameworks, with a strong understanding of how risk is allocated between ECI and main construction phases.
High-Voltage Infrastructure Knowledge: Proven track record of handling 22kV and/or 66kV grid connection processes with SP PowerGrid in Singapore. Must understand the step-by-step approvals needed for high-voltage substations, switchgears, and transformer testing.
PM Software Proficiency:
Smartsheet: Power-user for tracking pre-construction milestones, design deliverables, authority submission logs, and master schedule development.
Procore: Advanced implementation for managing ECI pre-construction RFIs, design submittals, and budget adjustments.
Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC): Daily use for 3D BIM model reviews, design coordination, and resolving spatial clashes during the ECI design-build phase.
Education & Professional Credentials: Bachelor’s degree in Civil, Mechanical, or Electrical Engineering, or Construction Management. PMP certification or equivalent professional credentials (such as SPM, RICS, or PE) is highly preferred.
Additional Information
Our inspired people share our vision and mission. We provide a great place to work, where each person has the opportunity and voice to affect change.
We want our people to succeed both in work and life. To support this we promote a healthy, productive and flexible working environment that respects work-life balance.
Turner & Townsend is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees and actively encourage applications from all sectors of the community.
Please find out more about us at www.turnerandtownsend.com/
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Department: Real estate
