Subcontracts Manager

Position Summary

Subcontract Administration & Contractual Compliance

• Manage the subcontractor lifecycle from prequalification and contract execution through project performance, payment, and final closeout.
• Partner with Contracts and Project Operations to ensure subcontract agreements are properly executed before work begins.
• Review prime contract and customer requirements to identify provisions that must be incorporated or flowed down into applicable subcontract agreements.
• Coordinate with Contracts and Legal to ensure subcontract terms align with Hays contractual obligations and risk requirements.
• Maintain visibility into subcontract values, approved change orders, retainage, payment terms, insurance requirements, performance obligations, and closeout requirements.
• Ensure subcontractors remain compliant with contractual, insurance, licensing, safety, tax, and documentation requirements.
• Oversee administration of master and project-specific subcontract agreements, exhibits, amendments, change orders, and related documents.

Pay-When-Paid & Project Funding Administration

• Administer subcontract payment terms including pay-when-paid, paid-if-paid where applicable and legally approved, retainage, milestone billing, and other conditional payment provisions.
• Work with Accounts Receivable, Project Accounting, and Project Operations to determine customer or general contractor funding status for subcontracted work.
• Maintain visibility into funded-through dates, customer payment applications, subcontractor billing periods, and amounts eligible for payment.
• Confirm subcontractor payment readiness aligns with contractual requirements, approved work, project funding, and established payment schedules.
• Identify and escalate funding gaps, delayed customer payments, disputed billings, threatened work stoppages, lien activity, or other material payment risks.
• Communicate payment status and requirements to subcontractors accurately and professionally while protecting Hays contractual and financial position.

Subcontractor Invoice & Payment Readiness

• Oversee validation and processing of subcontractor invoices, progress billings, and payment applications.
• Confirm invoices align to the correct project, subcontract, phase, cost code, schedule of values, billing period, and approved contractual amount.
• Validate approved work, authorized change orders, retainage, prior payments, remaining balances, and required supporting documentation.
• Coordinate resolution of invoice discrepancies, missing approvals, duplicate billings, incorrect amounts, and system issues.
• Monitor subcontractor invoice aging, payment holds, approval delays, and unresolved exceptions.
• Establish and enforce payment-readiness criteria to prevent overbilling, duplicate payment, payment beyond subcontract value, or payment for unapproved work.

Waivers, Releases & Closeout

• Manage collection, review, tracking, and retention of conditional and unconditional lien waivers, payment releases, affidavits, and other required payment documentation.
• Ensure waivers correspond to the correct project, billing period, payment amount, and subcontractor entity.
• Coordinate waiver requirements with customer, general contractor, lender, bonding, and internal contractual obligations.
• Track lower-tier subcontractor and supplier waivers when required.
• Manage final payment and closeout requirements including final waivers, consent of surety where applicable, warranties, as-built documents, punch-list completion, and other closeout deliverables.
• Maintain an auditable record of subcontractor payment and closeout documentation.

Subcontractor Prequalification, Risk & Performance

• Coordinate subcontractor prequalification with Safety, Contracts, Operations, Finance, and other stakeholders.
• Evaluate qualifications, financial capacity, safety performance, insurance coverage, licensing, experience, geographic capability, and past performance.
• Maintain approved subcontractor status and monitor qualification, concentration, financial, performance, and business-continuity risks.
• Serve as a primary enterprise contact for subcontractor administrative, invoicing, compliance, and payment-related matters.
• Partner with Project Operations to monitor subcontractor performance related to schedule, quality, safety, manpower, responsiveness, documentation, and contractual compliance.
• Establish subcontractor performance scorecards and corrective-action plans where appropriate.
• Provide leadership visibility into critical subcontractor relationships, payment exposure, performance risks, and emerging concerns.

Cross-Functional Coordination, Systems & Governance

• Coordinate with Project Managers and Project Executives on subcontract scope, progress, approvals, performance, and payment readiness.
• Partner with Project Accounting and Cost Accounting to reconcile commitments, actual costs, accruals, retainage, approved changes, and project funding.
• Coordinate with Accounts Receivable on customer billing status, funded-through dates, payment applications, and cash receipts associated with subcontracted work.
• Coordinate with Accounts Payable to ensure approved subcontractor invoices are accurately entered, supported, scheduled, and paid.
• Partner with Contracts, Safety, Risk Management, Finance, Legal, Enterprise Systems, and other stakeholders to establish consistent subcontract management standards.
• Maintain accurate subcontractor records and reporting across project, procurement, accounting, contract-management, and document-management systems.
• Develop dashboards and reporting for commitments, balances, invoices, funding, retainage, waivers, change orders, aging, prequalification, performance, and closeout.
• Establish standardized subcontract workflows, approval requirements, documentation standards, internal controls, training, and escalation paths.
• Lead or supervise subcontract administration personnel as the function grows.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Percentage of subcontractors fully prequalified before award or mobilization
• Percentage of executed subcontracts completed before work begins
• Invoice completeness, accuracy, approval, and payment-readiness cycle time
• Accuracy of subcontract balances, retainage, change orders, and funded-through reporting
• Percentage of payments supported by required waivers and releases
• Reduction in subcontractor payment disputes, work stoppages, overbilling, duplicate billing, and payment exceptions
• Compliance-document currency and subcontract closeout timeliness
• Subcontractor performance, relationship outcomes, and adherence to established controls

Qualifications & Skills – Required

• Minimum of 7 years of progressively responsible experience in subcontract administration, construction accounting, project controls, contracts, commercial management, or subcontractor management.
• Strong working knowledge of construction subcontract agreements and subcontractor administration.
• Understanding of pay-when-paid and conditional payment provisions, retainage, progress billing, schedule-of-values billing, change orders, and project closeout.
• Ability to interpret contract terms and identify subcontract flow-down requirements.
• Strong understanding of lien waivers, payment releases, notices, subcontractor prequalification, insurance, licensing, safety, financial, and compliance requirements.
• Demonstrated experience administering subcontractor invoices, progress billings, retainage, waivers, change orders, and payment requirements.
• Strong financial reconciliation, analytical, problem-solving, organizational, communication, and conflict-resolution skills.
• Ability to manage multiple projects, subcontractors, deadlines, and competing priorities while escalating material risks appropriately.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel and project-based ERP, accounting, procurement, or contract-management systems.

Qualifications & Skills – Preferred

• Bachelor’s degree in Construction Management, Business Administration, Accounting, Finance, Supply Chain Management, Contract Management, or related field.
• 3+ years of leadership or supervisory experience.
• Experience within electrical construction, specialty contracting, commercial construction, industrial construction, EPC, or a related project-based environment.
• Experience working across Project Operations, Contracts, Accounting, Accounts Receivable, and Accounts Payable functions.
• Experience with Vista by Viewpoint, Kojo, TradeTapp, Cobblestone, or similar platforms.

Key Internal Relationships

• Project Managers and Project Executives
• Project Accountants and Cost Accountants
• Accounts Receivable
• Accounts Payable
• Contracts and Legal
• Supply Chain and Purchasing
• Safety and Risk Management
• Finance and Accounting Leadership
• Executive and Operational Leadership
• Enterprise Systems and Information Technology

Key External Relationships

• Subcontractors
• Lower-tier subcontractors and suppliers, as applicable
• General contractors and customers
• Insurance and bonding representatives
• Compliance and prequalification service providers
• External auditors, legal counsel, and consultants, as required

Work Environment & Physical Requirements