Project Manager Network Deployment
Operations
East Peoria, IL, USA
Job Summary:
The Project Manager – Network Deployment is responsible for coordinating, tracking, and driving the deliverables required to activate telecommunications cabinets across remote and geographically diverse sites. This role does not have direct reports; instead, it relies on strong project coordination, follow-up, communication, and issue resolution across internal teams, contracted crews, third-party service providers, utilities, and permitting jurisdictions.
This Project Manager serves as the central point of coordination and accountability for cabinet activation efforts, ensuring stakeholders understand responsibilities, deadlines, dependencies, risks, and next steps. This position supports consistent execution by maintaining visibility to project status, escalating blockers, and helping move work forward across all stakeholders.
Key Responsibilities:
Project Planning & Execution
- Manage cabinet activation projects from initial readiness through completion by organizing milestones, deliverables, dependencies, and target dates
- Develop and maintain clear project plans that define required workstreams, owners, timelines, risks, and next steps
- Track progress across multiple geographically dispersed sites and identify items that may affect schedule, scope, or execution
- Drive project momentum by following up on open items, clarifying ownership, and escalating blockers when needed
- Support consistent execution by ensuring stakeholders understand priorities, deadlines, and project expectations
Stakeholder Coordination
- Serve as the primary project coordination point for internal teams, contracted crews, third-party providers, utilities, and permitting jurisdictions
- Coordinate work across groups that may not report directly to the company by maintaining clear expectations, commitments, and due dates
- Facilitate alignment between Design, Permitting, Supply Chain, Network Engineering, Construction Managers, external engineering providers, and field construction contractors
- Promote accountability by documenting decisions, action items, ownership, and unresolved issues
Risk, Dependency & Issue Management
- Identify and track project risks, dependencies, constraints, and issues that may impact cabinet activation timelines
- Coordinate resolution of blockers related to permitting, utilities, materials, engineering, construction readiness, jurisdictional approvals, or external dependencies
- Escalate schedule, scope, or dependency concerns with clear context, recommended next steps, and decision needs
- Monitor recurring issues and process gaps, and recommend improvements to reduce delays or improve project predictability
Communication & Reporting
- Provide timely project updates to leadership and stakeholders regarding progress, risks, priorities, decisions, and upcoming milestones
- Prepare and maintain status reports, action item lists, meeting notes, escalation summaries, and other project documentation as needed
- Facilitate meetings and working sessions that keep stakeholders aligned on timelines, responsibilities, and required outcomes
- Communicate project requirements and blockers clearly across technical, operational, construction, permitting, utility, and external stakeholder groups
Qualifications:
Education and Experience:
- Bachelor’s degree preferred in Construction Management, Engineering, Business, Operations, Project Management, or equivalent experience
- 5-8+ years of relevant experience in construction, OSP, utilities coordination, infrastructure deployment, network rollout projects or related expertise.
- Experience coordinating utility, construction, engineering, or infrastructure projects
- Proven ability to manage project schedules, dependencies, risks, and action items while driving stakeholder follow-up without direct authority
- Strong experience managing multiple concurrent projects across geographically dispersed locations
- Ability to read and interpret basic construction, engineering, site, or network documentation
- Effective communication skills with internal teams, contractors, utilities, municipalities, and permitting agencies
- Valid driver’s license with clean driving record
- Ability to travel locally or regionally as needed
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience supporting broadband, fiber, outside plant, or network deployment projects
- Experience working with utilities, municipalities, permitting agencies, and third-party contractors
- Working knowledge of telecommunications construction processes, field readiness requirements, and network deployment dependencies
- Experience with Sitetracker or similar project management tools
Skills and Competencies:
- Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
- Ability to manage multiple workstreams, schedules, risks, dependencies, and escalations simultaneously
- Ability to manage multiple workstreams, schedules, risks, dependencies, and escalations simultaneously
- Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to identify risks, assign ownership, and escalate issues appropriately
- Clear and effective communication with both technical and non-technical stakeholders
- Collaborative, professional approach when working with internal teams, vendors, utilities, and government entities
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office or other tools for reporting and presentation
Working Conditions:
- Office and project coordination role with periodic travel to remote cabinet sites, utility locations, construction areas, or jurisdictional meetings as needed
- Requires coordination across geographically diverse sites and stakeholders who may be located in different markets or organizations
- May require occasional field visits in active construction or utility environments and varying weather conditions
- Occasional extended hours may be required to support project deadlines, escalations, utility schedules, or activation milestones
- Ability to sit for extended periods of time up to 8 hours per day, in front of a computer
- Ability to stand and work in all weather conditions while in the field
Equal Opportunity:
i3 Broadband is an equal-opportunity workplace that respects the diversity of our customer base and our team. We will treat customers, employees, and applicants fairly without regard for gender, race, age, or any other characteristics protected by law. Our employment decisions are made on the basis of qualification, merit, and business need.