WEST REGION CAPITAL PROJECT MANAGER

The Role

This is a brand-new position for the West Region, created to give the region's highest-impact strategic capital projects a single, dedicated owner from planning through completion. The CAPEX Project Manager provides oversight across every business line and state in the West Region, working alongside corporate, regional, and state-level leadership, along with identified third-party project vendors, to keep capital investment on scope, on budget, and on schedule. The role also partners with the Regional Asset Manager on the West Region's capital budgeting and forecasting process, from initial planning through execution.

Role Impact

This is the one seat in the West Region built around the highest-impact strategic capital work happening across every business line and every state. Nothing about how the region governs, tracks, or delivers this level of work exists yet, and each state has largely managed its own high-dollar projects on its own. The person who steps into this role changes that, building the first consistent, region-wide approach to strategic capital project delivery, with the backing of the West Region President and Regional Asset Manager behind them.

In the first year, you will build the region's strategic capital project playbook from the ground up, establishing a consistent approach to cost estimating, scheduling, and project delivery across every state and business line. You will become the first consistent point of contact each state turns to on its highest-impact capital work, and the person the Regional Asset Manager relies on to move projects from plan to execution.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

• Bachelor's degree in Construction Management, Engineering, or a related field; equivalent experience considered.
• 10+ years of experience in capital construction project management within mining, materials processing, or heavy civil operations.
• Experience overseeing or coordinating capital construction projects across multiple sites, states, or business units.
• Experience partnering on capital budgeting and forecasting processes.
• Strong estimating and scheduling skills, with the ability to manage timelines and budgets across concurrent projects.
• Strong decision-making, communication, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to perform effectively in high-production, deadline-driven environments.

PREFERRED REQUIREMENTS:

• Holds a PMP or CCM certification or is actively working toward one.
• Brings a background spanning multiple construction materials business lines, such as aggregates, cement, ready-mix concrete, or asphalt.
• Has a history of building standardized processes or practices in a new or growing program.
• Versed in regulatory compliance, including MSHA, OSHA, EPA, and DNR requirements, and in coordinating vendor and contractor performance across project teams.
• Skilled in project management and scheduling software, such as MS Project or Primavera.

DUTIES AND/OR RESPONSIBILITIES:

What You Will Own:

Strategic Capital Planning & Governance

• Partners with the Regional Asset Manager to shape the region's capital budget and forecast, then tracks spend against plan and reports progress to keep every project accountable to its numbers.
• Builds the region's first consistent playbook for cost estimating, scheduling, and project delivery, standard practice where none exists today.

Project Leadership & Delivery

• Owns the region's highest-impact capital projects from first plan to final delivery, on budget and on schedule.
• Shapes project scope early, defining timelines, resource needs, and the right construction approach before work begins.
• Tracks progress in real time and adjusts as conditions change, keeping every project moving.

Cross-State & Corporate Coordination

• Connects state-level execution to regional and corporate capital strategy, becoming the person each state turns to on its biggest projects.
• Keeps regional leadership informed with clear, regular reporting on project status, risk, and progress.
• Works through technical and construction issues directly with project staff and engineering teams.

Vendor & Contractor Coordination

• Partners with state project teams on vendor and contractor performance, keeping cost and schedule aligned with regional standards.

Safety & Field Presence

• Holds every project to Knife River's safety standard, traveling across the West Region as the work demands.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:

• Financial acumen for capital budgeting, forecasting, and cost tracking, translating numbers into decisions leaders can act on.
• Sound judgment in scoping and planning capital projects, turning early-stage ideas into realistic timelines, budgets, and construction approaches.
• Comfort building structure and consistency where none exists yet, without waiting for established process or precedent.
• Skill in earning trust and alignment across state teams and vendors without formal authority over them, the kind of influence that makes a regional standard take hold.
• Ability to move fluidly between high-level capital strategy and on-the-ground construction realities, keeping leadership and field teams equally confident in the plan.
• Strong communication skills, able to represent project status, risk, and financial performance clearly to regional and corporate leadership.
• Sound safety judgment, holding every project and every partner to Knife River's standard regardless of who's executing the work.