Senior Vice President, Construction, NA

Vantage Data Centers powers, cools, protects and connects the technology of the world's well-known hyperscalers, cloud providers and large enterprises. Developing and operating across North America, EMEA and Asia Pacific, Vantage has evolved data center design in innovative ways to deliver dramatic gains in reliability, efficiency and sustainability in flexible environments that can scale as quickly as the market demands.

Construction Department

The Construction team is responsible for delivering data centers from conception through commissioning, working collaboratively with Sales, Operations, New Site Development, and Innovation and Engineering. Construction also works closely with partner contractors and consultants to come up with a vertically integrated design and manages these partners to deliver the projects on schedule and budget. Many times, a role like this at other companies is purely oversight. One thing that distinguishes Vantage is that our technical staff is given the responsibility and authority to directly drive the process with an appropriate level of autonomy. When compared to external resources, our internal team can align long-term operational sustainability with value engineering and cost metrics to deliver products aligned with corporate goals. This approach empowers each member of the team to drive high- impact decisions and even more impactful result.

Position Overview

This role will be based in West Texas or Port Washington, WI. Re-location or significant travel may be required where applicable (see job requirements).

The Senior Vice President, Construction is responsible for overseeing and managing all construction functions associated with the development of a fast track, multibillion dollar, multi building data center campus, ensuring the successful execution of all phases of construction to commissioning and closeout.

This role involves leading a team of construction VPs and Directors, and all associated team members providing overall project leadership managing capital expenditure budgets, optimizing costs, and ultimately ensuring customer satisfaction with a very demanding development. The SVP, Construction will also act as a thought leader, driving coordination and integration across internal stakeholders and supporting business-level decisions through professional cost analysis and estimating capabilities. This leader must thrive in a dynamic, fast-paced environment with aggressive timelines and robust stakeholder management, while building and mentoring a high-performing team of construction leaders and partners.

Essential Job Functions

Construction Management:

• Oversee the management and administration of construction functions for this campus

• Manage a team of construction VPs and Directors responsible for all project functions.

• Accountable for managing overall campus CAPEX budgets and comply with financial controls, policies, and reporting expectations.

• Champion excellence across the construction lifecycle phases including pre-construction planning, competitive bidding, team and vendor selection, project execution, commissioning, and closeout.

• Ensure customers are satisfied and any issues with their services are addressed in future builds.

Leadership and Coordination:

• Act as a strategic thought leader and drive coordination and integration of internal stakeholders.

• Integrate efforts across internal stakeholders including New Site Development, EH&S, Design, Project Controls, Procurement, Site Operations, Finance, Sales, People & Culture, and Legal to ensure unified project execution and business alignment.

• Own and optimize resource planning, organizational design, and project prioritization for both full-time and third-party teams.

• Foster a positive, high-performance culture through mentorship, coaching, and structured performance development, including formal reviews and talent planning.

• Practice, influence, and set the example for a safety focused culture; without safety, nothing else matters.

• Drive a partnership and collaborative relationship between internal Construction team and external contractors/vendors.

Budget and Cost Management:

• Partner with leadership on the development and stewardship of campus-CAPEX budgets.

• Support sales and real estate teams with customer engagement, lease execution support, and ensure alignment between lease commitments and construction delivery.

• Partner with the Construction Cost team and Finance to drive forecast/variance analysis, master service agreements (MSA), and project authorizations for new and existing contractors and vendors.

• Develop and maintain vendor/contractor relationships, including qualification and relationship building/maintenance.

• Ensure lessons learned are incorporated into the feedback loop to drive continuous improvement.

Reporting and Analysis:

• Drive the output of various reports and prepare updates, presentations, etc. on a monthly and/or quarterly basis for review at the C suite level.

• Generate proformas, review general contractor RFPs, and evaluate major trade bid packages.

• Provide professional cost analysis and estimating capabilities to support new site development and construction teams.

Collaboration and Support:

• Work closely with Operations to ensure the campus delivery, meets all internal and customer operational requirements.

• Support Construction teams with pre-construction estimating and cost optimization at a programmatic level.

• Provide immediate feedback on cost drivers, including unique site characteristics, cost savings opportunities, and alternate technology evaluation.

Additional Duties:

• Additional duties as assigned by Management.

Job Requirements

Education:

• Bachelor's degree in Construction Management, or a related field, or equivalent experience.

Experience:

• 15-20 years of progressive construction experience, including multiple years in a senior leadership or executive role overseeing complex, high-value data center projects.

• Direct experience managing large-scale data center or mission-critical infrastructure programs is required.

• Experience in CSA (civil, structural, architectural) and MEP (mechanical, electrical, plumbing) construction management is a requirement.

• Proven experience managing large-scale construction projects from inception to completion.

Skills:

• Excellent leadership and team management skills.

• Strong understanding of construction cost analysis, estimating, and budget management.

• Ability to drive cross-functional coordination and integration.

• Strong project management skills and attention to detail.

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

• Travel required is expected to be limited to visits to vendor prefab facilities for example ad this is largely a site-based leadership position.

• Willingness to relocate to the primary delivery region is required

We operate with No Ego and No Arrogance. We work to build each other up and support one another, appreciating each other's strengths and respecting each other's weaknesses. We find joy in our work and each other, actively seeking opportunities to inject fun into what we do. Our hard and efficient work is rewarded with an above market total compensation package. We offer a comprehensive suite of health and welfare, retirement, and paid leave benefits exceeding local expectations.

Throughout the year, the advantage of being part of the Vantage team is evident with an array of benefits, recognition, training and development, and the knowledge that your contribution adds value to the company and our community.

Don't meet all the requirements? Please still apply if you think you are the right person for the position. We are always keen to speak to people who connect with our mission and values.

Vantage Data Centers is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Vantage Data Centers does not accept unsolicited resumes from search firm agencies. Fees will not be paid in the event a candidate submitted by a recruiter without an agreement in place is hired; such resumes will be deemed the sole property of Vantage Data Centers.

We'll be accepting applications for at least one week from the date this role is posted. If you're interested, we encourage you to apply soon-we're excited to find the right person and will keep the role open until we do!