In brief, construction project management is the process of managing construction projects. But when you’re talking about managing a construction project in comparison to other types of projects, the distinction is mostly that construction is mission-based. That means that the project’s organisation ends with the end of the project build. Construction projects are highly structured endeavours, whether that’s building a shopping mall or a single-dwelling residence. They have a lot of moving parts and people that must be precisely coordinated. Construction project management has phases, from design to planning to scheduling to the build itself. Each of these phases are complicated enough by themselves, but in congress with the whole project, they grow exponentially more complex.

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The management of construction projects requires knowledge of modern management as well as an understanding of the design and construction process. Construction projects have a specific set of objectives and constraints such as a required time frame for completion. Project management is the art of directing and coordinating human and material resources throughout the life of a project by using modern management techniques to achieve predetermined objectives of scope, cost, time, quality and participation satisfaction.

Contract management is the process of managing contracts that are made as part of the delivery of a built asset. It involves the creation, analysis and execution of contracts by the parties to those contracts to ensure operational and financial performance is maximised, and risks are minimised.

Contract management can be categorised into three main phases:

1. Pre-contract phase: Tenders documents are prepared, tenders are sought and contract negotiation is undertaken.

2. Contract execution phase: The final contract documents are prepared for execution.

3. Post-award phase: Compliance with conditions of the contract.

Construction contracts typically relate to the supply of goods or services as part of the delivery of a built asset. Traditionally, suppliers might have been considered to be organisations contracted to provide physical supplies such as goods, materials, plant and so on, however, PAS 1192-2 now defines a supplier as any, ‘…provider of services or goods either directly to the employer or to another supplier in a supply chain’. The ‘supply chain’ is the interconnected hierarchy of suppliers.

• Being able to manage multiple projects

• Having a good knowledge of construction activities and technologies.

• A good knowledge of contract law.

• Good maths and IT skills.

• Being good at problem-solving.

• Negotiation skills.

• Communication and presentation skills.