Senior Project Manager - Boutique Builder

The Fit-Out Kings Company

The Fit-out King has been under the radar for over two decades, not needing to advertise or market for work or staff due to his extensive clientele and fantastic reputation around town.

Over 25 years as the leader of this hidden kingdom, he has accumulated some of the most significant accounts for the largest pubs and clubs in South Australia.

If you like beer and a pub meal, no doubt you’ve been to one of his excellent beer garden fit-outs.

If you like wine and a fancy meal, no doubt you’ve been to one of his classy dining room fit-outs.

If you like poking and free games spin, no doubt you have been to one of his exciting pokie room fit-outs.

Whichever one it is, you can count on it being world-class, done right the first time, and, most notably for him, on time!

Turning over $10 million a year and, at its peak, over $20 million. He’s looking to pump those current rookie numbers back up to the top professional numbers of the past, but he knows he can’t do that without two leaders who treat the job and business as seriously as he does.

A construction manager runs the office, and an operations manager runs the sites.

This advert and opportunity are for the Senior Project Manager who will one day become the Construction Manager of the Fit-Out Kings Empire.

The Fit-Out King's Passion

Upon meeting the FOK, I immediately saw his passion and energy!

While sipping his coffee, the FOK explained his passion for fit-out, the hospitality niche, clients, creativity, craft, unique selling points, and employer value proposition.

The FOK reminisced about the stories of his past projects like a father would his son’s first steps.

The FOK explained his business model, values, principles, and vision.

In a nutshell, this was very inspiring. Without a Captain at the helm like him, his business would never have sailed the proverbial seven seas of the South Australian hospitality industry over the past three decades.

At its peak, his ship was full of hard-working sailors willing to do anything for their Captain.

He gave them whatever they needed to manage, fitting out the cave of treasures, helping them get back on the ship, recharge, and be ready to attack the next one with the ferocity they had shown the first.

Or, in your case, lead, manage, and instruct the sailors from the ship as the first mate below the captain.

The Fit-out Kings Reach Out

The FOK heard from a few of his colleagues that I was known for finding the best construction people in the market when a client took the time to provide me with accurate information, both personally and professionally.

If you are curious, see my reviews below for more about me and the CTA Group.

After a two-hour meeting, he agreed that I was the right fit for the job and that his two critical leadership positions were in good hands.

Once found, this would enable his business to thrive in the new-age construction landscape our great city has been developing over the past few years, post-COVID.

The two key positions are Senior Project Manager to one-day Construction Manager and Senior Site Manager to one-day Operations Manager.

As I mentioned earlier, this advert and opportunity are for the Senior Project Manager who will one day become the Construction Manager for the Fit-Out Kings Empire.

The Fit-Out Kings Frustrations

Once we got onto his staff, I immediately saw how stressed and deflated he was. His glow and excitement went to sadness and regret.

He explained that both positions require significant trust, autonomy, and accountability from the leader, and that these freedoms have been exploited rather than respected by his past employees.

The FOK began to express his disappointment in his staff for taking liberties, mistaking his kindness for weakness, over the years.

His culture and kingdom were in jeopardy if he didn’t bolster the ranks with New-Age A-Level Leaders and let go of the B, C-Level Old-Age Followers he’s sadly given several chances to lead over the past few years.

As none of them genuinely stepped up to the plate, he had let go of all the dead wood in the current crew, which took him years, mind you.

As you can imagine, it's not easy to say goodbye to people you have been given many chances but couldn’t level up.

Still, he did it because he knew he needed to make way for new blood, ready to join him in rebuilding his empire. If you see your hallmarks and traits below, it could be you.

The Fit-out Kings Senior Project Manager

The FOK began describing what he was looking for in his office, right-hand, and continued to outline the personal traits, professional responsibilities, and career opportunities this Senior Project Manager would need and would receive if given the position. Let’s go through them…

Personal Traits

1. Someone who prioritizes client outcomes over the bottom line. The FOK's reputation has been built over the decades on deliverability, not profitability. Which in turn gave him repeat business and made him more profitable!
2. Someone who excels with clients and enjoys working on multiple projects of varying sizes and scopes. If you want one solitary large project to sink your teeth into two or three times a year, then this isn’t the business for you.
3. He wants someone who can act as a leader to the younger, less-established FOK employees so they aspire to be like you in the future. This would be the difference between the SPM and the construction manager he hopes to find in this person.

Professional Traits.

1. Someone who has been a Project Manager in the fit-out and refurbishment sector for over 5 years in the South Australian market, serving as a Head Contractor. It doesn’t matter what type of fit-out projects exactly, but it would naturally be advantageous if you’ve completed some hospitality projects, but it's not essential.
2. You’ve got a contract administration or estimation background before Project Management. The FOK business model is an eat-what-you-kill model, meaning you estimate, win, administer the contract, and manage the project. This is why he’s looking for an SPM, not a PM: someone with the above traits should be able to come in and show everyone how it’s done.
3. You understand programming, scheduling, and sequencing of fit-out and refurbishment projects at a high level. You are the company's representative, and the buck stops with you, so it’s not a job for someone wanting to learn the fit-out business but for someone already an expert in this field.

Career Opportunities

1. If this individual demonstrates the leadership traits required for this position, they could progress to the Construction Manager role within the business.
2. More significant projects are on the way, so the more accountability, trust, and responsibility you can demonstrate to the FOK early on, the sooner he can unlock his client's Pandora's box of future blue-chip project opportunities.
3. Naturally, the salary is determined by your background and experience, but rest assured, it’s highly competitive, and as you progress, it will increase significantly.

CTA Thoughts

This business has the potential to grow significantly with the right people in the top leadership positions. He has a long list of blue-chip repeat clients awaiting his call to give him work and projects you’d never think existed as they don’t need to be tendered on or competed for.

Unlike larger organisations, this business doesn’t have layers of reporting or a structure of unrealistic KPIs to meet. Instead, the client and the FOK will assess your performance primarily based on the project's success, as measured by the metrics they consider valuable.

I’m sure after two or three projects, you’d get a feel for how things are done at the FOKs and how you’d excel in the position, knowing that, in the future, this would benefit you from both a leadership and management perspective.

Construction Talent Authority

I’ve been recruiting and headhunting for 11 years this month as a Construction Talent Authority at The CTA Group, hence the name.

So, feel free to do your due diligence by clicking the Sourcr link below. It will provide over 150 reviews of CTA from top talent and employers across SA who have evaluated CTA's consulting and recruitment expertise over the years.

This earned me SA Construction Recruiter of the Year in 2022, 2023, and 2025. You can apply or call me confidently, knowing you’ll receive the best service in SA for construction consulting and recruitment, helping you find the most sought-after roles in the market based on your background and experience.

I look forward to speaking with you on January 5th.

Have a great day!

David – CTA

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