Sonas Technical recruits construction project managers, programme managers and contracts managers for contractors, developers, utilities and public bodies across Ireland. Permanent, executive search and contract hiring.
A project manager hire is the one that costs most when you get it wrong. Everyone interviews well at that level. The difference shows up in whether they have carried a job of your size, in your sector, under your form of contract.
The roles we recruit
- Project manager. Single project delivery, programme, cost, subcontractors, client interface.
- Senior project manager. Larger or more complex single projects, or several smaller ones.
- Programme manager. A portfolio of projects, usually client side or in a public body.
- Contracts manager. Multiple sites, commercial and delivery ownership.
- Construction manager and site manager. Day to day delivery on site.
- Employer’s representative and client side PM. Oversight of a contractor on behalf of the client.
Three questions that separate candidates
- What was the value and duration of the last job you carried end to end? Not the value of the project they worked on. The part they owned.
- Which form of contract, and what did you do when it went wrong? Public works, NEC, FIDIC and bespoke all behave differently under pressure. The answer tells you whether they have actually run the commercial side or watched someone else do it.
- How many direct reports, and who did you hire? At PM level and above, the job is as much team building as delivery.
Contractor side and client side
These are different jobs and the move between them is harder than people expect. A contractor PM going client side has to stop solving and start assuring. A client side PM going contractor side takes on risk they have never carried. Both moves work, but not by accident, and not without a brief that acknowledges it.
Public sector client side roles carry their own requirements, including familiarity with public works contracts and the governance that goes with public money. See public sector recruitment.
Timing
| Level | Typical notice |
|---|---|
| Mid level, 3 to 8 years | 4 to 8 weeks |
| Senior, 8 to 15 years | 2 to 3 months |
| Director level | 3 to 6 months |
A senior PM hire is a four to six month exercise from brief to start, once you add search and interview time to a three month notice period. If a project starts sooner than that, hire on contract for the gap and run the permanent search alongside it.
Counter offers
At this level the counter offer is the biggest single cause of a failed hire. Two things reduce it: a process that moves quickly enough that the candidate is not left thinking, and a conversation about why they are leaving that happens at the first meeting rather than after the offer. We run both as standard.
How we work with you
- Permanent recruitment. A search commencement fee, then a placement fee when your hire starts. Committed search time, a mapped market and a shortlist rather than a pile of CVs.
- Executive and senior search. Confidential, mapped and fully managed, for roles you cannot advertise.
- Contract and temporary staffing. An hourly or daily charge rate with pay, employer PRSI, holiday pay, insurance and payroll inside it.
See the fees page. Public bodies, see public sector recruitment.
Hiring a project manager?
Tell us the sector, the project value and whether it is permanent or contract. You will hear back within 24 hours.
Send us your requirement or call 01 443 3917. Benchmarks are in our 2026 Salary & Benefits Guide.