Freelance Operational Risk Manager Jobs in Houston, TX

Transwestern is a vertically integrated commercial real estate firm dedicated to serving investors, partnersand clients through expertisein investment, development, brokerageand property management. Our experience spans diverse property types, including logistics, multifamily, retail, mixed-use, healthcare, office, data centers, hotel, and life sciences. Across 35 offices nationwide, our team is united by a culture that cultivates agility, mutual trustand high performance.

Transwestern Services turns strategy into reality with consistency and accountability, collaborating to provide dynamic, tailored solutions. Whether representing a tenant, advising an investor or repositioning an asset, we operate with tenacity and own the outcome every time. Our 2,200-strong team works across service lines, ready to activate our full platform to deliver a customized, cohesive experience for clients.

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Director of Risk Management - Construction & Development is responsible for identifying, evaluating, and managing construction-related risk exposures across a national portfolio of ground-up developments, major capital projects, and tenant improvements. Reporting to the Senior Vice President of Risk Management, this role partners closely with Transwestern's Development, Construction Project Management, Legal, Procurement, and Operations to ensure that contractual risk transfer, insurance placement, and loss prevention strategies appropriately protect the firm throughout the project lifecycle.

The position focuses heavily on construction risk management, including builder's risk programs, Owner's Interest Liability, OCIP/CCIP participation, contractor insurance compliance, contract review, and claims management.

POSITION ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Construction Risk Management

• Identify, assess, and mitigate construction-related risk exposures for ground-up developments, redevelopments, and major capital projects
• Support project teams during pre-development, design, and construction phases to proactively address risk issues
• Advise on project-specific risk strategies including insurance structures, deductibles, retentions, and contractual indemnities
• Support underwriting submissions and portfolio-level analytics for construction exposures

Insurance Program Oversight

Manage and administer construction-related insurance programs, including:

• Builder's Risk
• OCIP/CCIP (owner-controlled or contractor-controlled programs)
• Contractor's Pollution Liability
• Professional Liability (design professionals)
• Installation Floater and Equipment Coverages
• Coordinate placement and renewal of construction insurance programs with brokers and insurers
• Evaluate project-specific insurance requirements versus enterprise programs

Contract Review & Risk Transfer

• Review and negotiate construction, design, and consulting agreements to ensure appropriate:
• Indemnification provisions
• Insurance requirements and risk transfer clauses

• Limitation of liability and consequential damages clauses
• Collaborate with Legal and Construction teams to align template contracts with corporate risk tolerance
• Assist in Contractor & Vendor Insurance Compliance for national development and construction project management operations

Claims & Loss Control

• Manage construction-related claims, including:
  • Property damage
  • Defective work
  • Construction accidents and third-party liability claims
• Coordinate claims handling with carriers, adjusters, legal counsel, and internal stakeholders
• Analyze loss trends and recommend corrective actions to reduce future incidents

Safety & Loss Prevention

• Partner with Construction and Safety teams to promote strong site safety and loss control practices
• Review builder's risk loss control reports and field inspections
• Support development of best practices for contractor safety performance and site controls

Reporting & Leadership Support

• Prepare executive-level reporting on construction risk exposures, claims, and insurance performance
• Support investment committee and project approval processes with risk assessments and insurance input
• Contribute to continuous improvement of enterprise risk management and construction governance

Enterprise Risk Governance Support

• Support enterprise-wide risk management initiatives and ensure alignment with corporate risk strategies
• Assist in maintaining accurate risk data and reporting within RMIS platforms to support analytics and underwriting
• Provide training and guidance to project stakeholders on risk management best practices
• Support Senior Vice President of Risk Management in enterprise wide risk management initiatives.

POSITION REQUIREMENTS

Education:

• A Bachelor's degree with emphasis in Risk Management, Finance, Business, or a related field.,
• Relevant certifications (e.g., Certified Risk Manager, Certified Financial Risk Manager) are a plus.

Experience:

• 7+ years of proven experience in construction risk management, insurance, or related field

Technical Skills:

• Familiarity with commercial real estate risk management strategies, insurance, and risk transfer issues.
• Thorough understanding of Owner and Property Manager risk and insurance exposures.
• Experience supporting large-scale commercial real estate development projects
• Strong working knowledge of:
  • Builder's risk insurance
  • Construction contracts (AIA and negotiated forms)
  • Construction liability and professional risk exposures
• Proficiency in Microsoft 365 (Teams, SharePoint, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook)
• Familiarity with use of online Risk Management Information Systems (RMIS)

Personal Skills:

• Ability to keep information and internal communications confidential.
• Demonstrate strong analytical capabilities with a high attention to detail.
• Ability to manage multiple projects, changing priorities and time-sensitive, workload(s).
• Ability to provide general direction/be self-managed/work independently.
• Ability to provide efficient, timely, reliable, and courteous service to internal and external customers.
• Exhibit excellent verbal and written communication for collaboration, negotiation, conflict mediation, and to work with a variety of personalities at all levels of the company.

Physical Skills:

• Travel may be required.

WORK SHIFT:

LOCATION:

ABOUT US

Our firm is built on a shared purpose: Empowering good people to do extraordinary things together. We hire smart, passionate, hard-working people who value both collaboration and independence. United by our brand promise, we own the outcome for clients, investors and partners. Learn more attranswestern.com.

All candidates selected for an offer of employment are subject to pre-employment background checks, which may include criminal history, education verification, motor vehicle records, credit history, and professional license verification. In addition, your employment with Transwestern is subject to successfully passing a drug screen check prior to you starting with the firm.