Deputy Administrator / Chief of Construction Engineering (Engineering Manager XI)

Position Summary

The Deputy Administrator/Chief of Construction Engineering manages the day-to-day operations of the Construction department and oversees the construction of the Statewide Road and Bridge program which covers projects funded with federal aid, state bond cap, Western Turnpike revenues, Metropolitan Highway System and Tobin Bridge revenues, CARM funds, South Coast Rail, ABP and REP.  The construction program on an annual basis spends approximately $1.5 billion and this position is responsible for overseeing and managing all funds expended on an annual basis.  This involves monitoring the rate of expenditures across all funding sources.  In addition, it involves the processing and approval of all contract amendments which include fund increases, time extensions, extra work orders, credits and miscellaneous items.  The Boston Construction office has a Financial Controls unit which processes all financial transactions before they are sent to Fiscal Management for final approval. 

This position oversees Construction Contracts Unit that handles the weekly bid opening process for all construction projects. Evaluation of all bids received to determine the low bidder; Processing the awards of all contracts as well as issuing the Notice to Proceed for contractors.  Based on approved delegation of authority administered by the Highway Division Administrator this position is responsible as designated authority for signing all contracts up to $5 million. 

Once projects are under construction, this function is responsible for working with the district offices and contractors to troubleshoot field issues and resolve construction and contract related matters.  The Deputy Administrator/Chief of Construction Engineering is also responsible for negotiating major settlements with contractors on multi-million dollar construction projects.

In addition, this position is responsible for establishing overall MassDOT policy for all construction programs.  This includes establishing standard operating procedures, overall approval of the standard specifications, and development of construction-related directives. Under the leadership of The Deputy Administrator/Chief of Construction Engineering, MassDOT has made a significant transition to e-Construction whereby the majority of antiquated paper-based procedures have now been transitioned into fully electronic approval procedures. 

The position serves as the chair of the Specifications Committee as well as the Construction Claims Committee.  The Deputy Administrator/Chief of Construction Engineering is also a voting member of the Cost Recovery Committee and serves as MassDOT’s voting member on the AASHTO Sub-Committee on Construction. 

The position oversees Prequalification unit within the Highway Division.  Oversight requires strict adherence to MGL Chapter 81, §8B for the prequalification of all contractors seeking to bid on MassDOT projects.  The function appoints members to the Prequalification Committee who meet on a weekly basis to approve annual submissions of contractors as well as administer administrative actions regarding poor performance by contractors on MassDOT and/or municipal projects using MassDOT prequalification procedures.

The Deputy Administrator oversees the operations of the Research & Materials Laboratory facility.  This unit is responsible for all statewide materials approval and testing for all MassDOT projects. 

This position is critical for ensuring that MassDOT – Highway staff and construction contractors comply with established departmental standards for safety, quality, performance, and cost controls as well as for ensuring that those policies and procedures are implemented consistently across the Commonwealth.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Oversees the Highway Division’s Statewide Road and Bridge (SWRB) Construction Program which includes hundreds of active projects at any one time. Manages the evaluation of contractor bids and the issuance of Construction Contract Awards and the subsequent contractor Notice to Proceed. Ensure the timely revie