Assistant Project Manager – Transmission & Distribution Program Support

Job description

**Assistant Project Manager – Transmission/Substation Program Support** **Location:** Akron, OH; Reading, PA; or Morristown, NJ **Job Type:** Full-Time **Experience Level:** 2+ years **About Us** CARIAN is a purpose-driven, woman-owned consulting and advisory firm dedicated exclusively to the power sector. We partner with leading electric and gas utilities to provide strategic advisory and disciplined execution across program management, business intelligence, and field execution oversight. Guided by integrity, trust, excellence, and accountability, our team helps deliver complex capital programs and build the resilient energy infrastructure that communities depend on. **Position Overview** CARIAN is seeking an **Assistant Project Manager – Transmission/Substation Program Support** to support a major electric utility transmission and distribution program. This role will support Senior Project Managers with project coordination, cost management, schedule tracking, documentation, stakeholder communication, construction coordination, and project closeout activities. The Assistant Project Manager will work closely with project managers, engineers, schedulers, construction teams, contractors, client stakeholders, and other project partners to help drive successful project execution. This role is intended for a motivated project professional who wants to build deeper experience in utility transmission, substation, networks/telecommunications, and construction project management. This is a hands-on project support role requiring strong organization, communication, follow-through, and the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced utility program environment. This role may be based in Akron, OH; Reading, PA; or Morristown, NJ. his role is expected to be approximately **80% office-based and 20% field-based**, with field visits to support project coordination, construction progress tracking, stakeholder alignment, and field visibility. Project site visits are typically within a reasonable distance from the reporting location. **Key Responsibilities** - Support Senior Project Managers with planning, execution, monitoring, and closeout of transmission, substation, and related utility infrastructure projects. - Assist with scope review, project work plan development, and coordination with engineering, client stakeholders, construction teams, and subject matter experts. - Support development of outage requests, sequenced work plans, and construction coordination activities. - Coordinate with engineering teams to support material planning, major and minor equipment procurement, and project readiness. - Support environmental and non-environmental permitting review, tracking, and submittal coordination. - Assist with development of RFP packages for construction bid events, including scopes of work, baseline schedules, permitting packages, and supporting documentation. - Support contractor bid evaluation, recommendation packages, and award coordination as needed. - Participate in pre-construction meetings, progress meetings, and regular project coordination discussions. - Help drive schedule and project progress during design, procurement, construction, and closeout phases. - Meet regularly with schedulers to support updates and maintenance of detailed Primavera P6 project schedules. - Support project budget management, financial forecast updates, accrual tracking, and cost reporting. - Track project action items, deliverables, milestones, risks, issues, procurement concerns, and open decisions. - Support contract administration activities, including invoice review support, change order tracking, field change documentation, and contractor coordination. - Navigate client systems for financial updates, contract management, project documentation, reporting, and project controls support. - Prepare and support internal and client-facing project reports, meeting materials, dashboards, and status updates. - Report on construction progress, cost and schedule metrics, procurement issues, safety or environmental concerns, design questions, potential impacts, and items requiring escalation. - Maintain organized project files, logs, trackers, reports, and closeout documentation. - Build and maintain clear communication between project site teams, project office teams, client stakeholders, contractors, and internal leadership. - Support project closeout activities, including pre-energization support, final documentation, punch list tracking, lessons learned, and turnover packages. **Qualifications** - Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Business, Project Management, or a related field required. - 2+ years of experience supporting construction project management, utility projects, infrastructure projects, engineering projects, project controls, or capital project delivery. - 2–5 years of experience in a construction project management or utility project support role preferred. - Experience with high-voltage transmission line, substation, distribution, utility, or energy infrastructure projects preferred but not required. - Strong interest in developing deeper knowledge of substations, transmission lines, networks, telecommunications, and utility construction. - Strong understanding of project coordination, documentation management, cost tracking, scheduling support, reporting, and stakeholder communication. - Ability to support project managers across multiple active projects and priorities. - Ability to work effectively with project managers, engineers, schedulers, contractors, construction staff, client representatives, and other stakeholders. - Strong written and verbal communication skills. - Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills. - Proficiency with Microsoft Office, including Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook. - Experience with project management, scheduling, document control, financial, or client reporting systems preferred. - PMP, CAPM, or similar project management certification is a plus but not required. - Utility client or consulting experience is a plus. - Valid driver’s license required. - Ability to travel to project sites as needed, typically within a reasonable distance from the reporting location. - Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and adapt to changing project needs. **Why CARIAN** - **Purpose-driven work** – Help deliver infrastructure that powers communities - **Industry reputation** – Trusted by leading utilities for our reliability and results - **Career growth** – Opportunities to support major grid modernization programs and expand technical leadership capabilities - **Collaborative culture** – Join a team that values delivery excellence and long-term relationships - **Competitive total rewards** – Strong compensation, full benefits, 401(k) match, and meaningful work **Equal Employment Opportunity** CARIAN is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We hire and develop talent based on qualifications, performance, and business needs. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic. As a women-owned firm dedicated to the power sector, we are committed to building a team that reflects professionalism, expertise, and integrity at every level. **Compensation** The base salary range for this role is $85,000 – $125,000 annually. This range represents a good-faith estimate at the time of posting; actual compensation will depend on experience, qualifications, location, and other factors permitted by law. In addition to base salary, the role includes eligibility for bonus incentives, a comprehensive benefits package, paid time off, paid holidays, health benefits, retirement benefits, and a company 401(k) match.