Senior Foreman / Estimator / Project Director

MXG Construction (RBQ 5739-4124-01) is a Quebec-based general contractor working in hotel renovations and multi-unit building construction. The company runs lean, moves fast, and keeps crews on site until deficiencies are closed and the client signs off. Its operating standard is simple: build with confidence — on time, on budget, no surprises.

Price it. Plan it. Run it.

The right person is a builder first. They can walk a gut-and-rebuild floor of guestrooms, tell you what it costs, tell you how long it takes, and then hold the trades to that number and that date. They own the outcome rather than reporting on it.

This is not a role for someone who needs a large support structure. It suits an experienced operator who runs their own sites, brings their own crew relationships, and communicates upward without being chased.

Core Responsibilities

Estimating and Preconstruction

• Prepare full estimates from drawings, specifications, and site walkthroughs for renovation and ground-up scopes
• Perform quantity takeoffs and build unit-cost pricing that reflects real market conditions, not book rates
• Validate and pressure-test third-party estimates and subcontractor pricing — identify gaps, scope overlaps, and missing allowances before they become change orders
• Solicit, level, and compare trade bids on an apples-to-apples basis
• Develop and manage the project budget, including contingency, general conditions, and escalation
• Support scope development, value engineering, and cost-saving alternatives during design and tender
• Track budget-to-actual throughout construction and flag variances early

Scheduling and Sequencing

• Build realistic, resource-loaded construction schedules — and deliver against them
• Sequence trades correctly, including all rough-in, inspection, and dry-in dependencies
• Identify long-lead items and coordinate procurement so material arrives ahead of the crew
• Manage phasing on occupied properties, including floor-by-floor turnover, guest and tenant impact, noise windows, and elevator/loading access
• Maintain look-ahead schedules and update the critical path as conditions change

Multi-Site Field Management

• Run multiple active projects concurrently across different cities and provinces
• Establish daily site routines, quality standards, and safety expectations at each location
• Conduct site inspections, verify installed work against drawings and specifications, and reject non-conforming work before it gets covered
• Maintain daily reports, site photos, manpower counts, and deficiency logs
• Manage site logistics: material staging, hoarding, protection, waste removal, and site security
• Drive punch list and deficiency close-out to zero, and stay on site until the client confirms satisfaction

Trade and Crew Management

• Bring and maintain a network of reliable subcontractors and labour capable of mobilizing on short notice
• Staff each project appropriately to the schedule — scale crews up and down as the work demands
• Communicate scope, sequence, and expectations to trades clearly and in writing
• Hold subcontractors accountable to their contracts, their schedules, and their quality — including issuing back-charges when warranted
• Chair coordination meetings and resolve trade conflicts in the field rather than escalating them

Client, Consultant, and Ownership Communication

• Serve as the primary field-side point of contact for owners, property managers, architects, and designers
• Provide clear, proactive, no-surprise reporting to ownership on cost, schedule, risk, and manpower
• Manage RFIs, submittals, shop drawings, change orders, and site instructions
• Prepare and support monthly progress billings, quantity verification, and holdback release
• Coordinate closeout: as-builts, warranties, O&M manuals, and final acceptance

Required Qualifications

Experience

• 15+ years in commercial or hospitality construction, with demonstrated time in both ground-up construction and renovation of multi-unit buildings (hotels, apartments, condominiums, seniors residences, or similar)
• Proven track record running multiple concurrent projects as the senior person on site
• Hands-on estimating experience — not oversight of estimating, but producing and defending numbers personally
• Experience working in occupied buildings and phased turnovers

Technical Capability

• Fluent in reading architectural, structural, mechanical, and electrical drawings and specifications
• Strong working knowledge of trade sequencing, means and methods, and building envelope, MEP, and interior finish scopes
• Solid command of construction costs across labour, material, equipment, and general conditions
• Working knowledge of applicable codes and jurisdictional requirements, including Quebec CCQ and RBQ frameworks and out-of-province equivalents

Software

• Procore, Buildr (billdr), or comparable construction management platforms
• Scheduling software (MS Project, P6, or equivalent)
• Estimating and takeoff tools (Bluebeam, PlanSwift, On-Screen Takeoff, or similar)
• Excel at a working level for budgets, cost tracking, and bid levelling

Credentials

• Valid driver's licence and ability to travel across Canada on short notice, including overnight and multi-week stays
• Contractor's own insurance, CNESST/WSIB registration, and business registration in good standing (independent contract engagement)

Language

• Professional working proficiency in English required; French an asset for Quebec-based projects
• Maîtrise professionnelle de l'anglais requise pour les projets réalisés à l'extérieur du Québec et les communications avec les clients, propriétaires et professionnels hors Québec

Who Succeeds in This Role

• Honest and accountable. Reports the bad news as fast as the good news. Owns mistakes and fixes them.
• On time and on budget as a default setting, not an aspiration.
• Clear communicator. Sets expectations plainly with trades, clients, and ownership — and follows up in writing.
• Self-directed. Builds the plan, works the plan, and reports without being asked.
• Well connected. Can pick up the phone and get qualified crews mobilized in a new market.

Terms

• Independent contract engagement, renewable and project-based, to start.
• Compensation negotiable based on experience and scope of concurrent projects
• Travel, accommodation, and site expenses covered by MXG Construction per project