Cost Controller

About the job:

The Cost Controller is responsible for the comprehensive tracking, analysis, forecasting, and reporting of project costs throughout the project lifecycle. This position will work closely with the Project Manager, Project Controls team, Finance, Procurement, Construction, and the Client to ensure project financial performance is accurately monitored and proactively managed.

Skills and Responsibilities:

Responsibilities:

Cost Management & Control

• Establish and maintain project cost control systems, budgets, commitments, actual costs, accruals, and forecasts.
• Track project expenditures against approved budgets and identify cost variances and emerging trends.
• Monitor commitments, purchase orders, subcontracts, invoices, accruals, and actual costs.
• Perform detailed cost analysis by project phase, discipline, cost account, contractor, work package, or other appropriate control levels.
• Maintain the integrity and accuracy of the project cost data and ensure alignment between project controls and financial systems.
• Identify potential cost overruns and provide early warning to the Project Manager and Client.

Forecasting & Financial Performance

• Develop and maintain the project Estimate at Completion (EAC), Estimate to Complete (ETC), and monthly cost forecasts.
• Analyze forecast changes and explain significant variances from the approved budget and previous forecasts.
• Monitor project margin, revenue, cost, and profitability performance.
• Provide management with forward-looking analysis of project financial performance and potential risks.
• Support development of project cash flow forecasts and funding requirements.
• Perform trend analysis to identify potential impacts to budget and margin.

Change Management

• Support and maintain the project change management process from identification through approval and implementation.
• Track potential, pending, approved, and rejected changes and their associated cost impacts.
• Evaluate cost impacts of scope changes, trends, claims, and client-directed changes.
• Ensure approved changes are incorporated into the project budget and forecast.
• Maintain change logs and provide regular change status reporting to the Project Manager and Client.
• Work with Procurement, Construction, and Commercial teams to validate the cost and schedule impacts of changes.

Reporting

• Prepare accurate and timely monthly project cost reports for Project Management and Client review.
• Develop cost reports showing budget, commitments, actuals, forecast, variance, contingency, changes, revenue, and margin.
• Prepare cost variance explanations and identify the underlying drivers of performance.
• Provide clear executive-level summaries of project financial health and key cost risks.
• Support Client and internal project review meetings with cost data, analysis, trends, and recommendations.
• Develop and maintain cost dashboards and performance metrics using tools such as Excel, Power BI, or project cost management systems.

Change Management

• Own the project change management and trend control process from a Project Controls perspective.
• Establish requirements for identifying, documenting, estimating, evaluating, approving, and implementing changes.
• Maintain visibility of approved changes, pending changes, trends, potential changes, and management reserve.
• Ensure cost and schedule impacts are fully evaluated before changes are incorporated into the project baseline.
• Monitor cumulative change impacts and identify potential scope growth and cost escalation.
• Ensure approved changes are incorporated into the project budget, forecast, schedule, and reporting systems.
• Work closely with Commercial and Contracts teams to evaluate contractor change requests and claims.

Client & Project Management Support

• Serve as a key cost control contact for the Project Manager and Client.
• Provide transparent and defensible project cost information to support management decisions.
• Participate in project cost reviews, forecast reviews, change reviews, and Client meetings.
• Proactively communicate financial risks, opportunities, and required corrective actions.
• Provide recommendations to Project Management based on cost trends and forecast performance.
• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Construction Management, Engineering, Business, or a related discipline.
• 5+ years of experience in project cost control, project controls, construction, EPC, engineering, or capital projects.
• Strong understanding of project budgeting, forecasting, commitments, actual costs, accruals, and cost variance analysis.
• Experience with change management and evaluating the financial impact of scope changes.
• Strong understanding of project financial reporting and project margin analysis.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills.
• Experience with project cost management or ERP systems.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

In addition to the responsibilities listed herein, the employee may be required to perform other ad-hoc tasks as needed or directed by the supervisor or management. These tasks will be within the reasonable scope of the employee's skills, capabilities, and role within the organization. The intent of this provision is to allow for flexibility and adaptability in meeting the dynamic needs of the organization, ensuring that operational requirements can be met efficiently. All such tasks will be assigned considering the employee's current workload and with respect to their professional development.

Your knowledge/skills, education, and experience:

Knowledge/ Qualification/ Training/ Certification:

Communication:

• Excellent command of the English language in both oral and written communication and skills.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management.
• Executive-level presentation and reporting skills.
• Maintain accurate and reliable project cost data.
• Provide early identification of cost risks and potential overruns.
• Produce credible and defensible forecasts.
• Maintain visibility of project margin and financial performance.
• Ensure changes are properly captured, quantified, approved, and incorporated into the project forecast.
• Provide Project Management and the Client with clear, concise, and actionable cost information.
• Establish strong integration between cost, schedule, progress, change management, and project performance.
• Act as a proactive business partner to the Project Manager rather than simply providing historical cost reporting.

Behavior/ Core Competencies:

• Excellent command of the English language in both oral and written communication and skills.

• Excellent communication and stakeholder management.

HSSEQ:

The Employee shall observe the Health, Safety, Sustainability, Environment and Quality rules of the Company; it’s clients and the governing authorities of the host country. 

Details about the role:

Location: Houston, TX

Relocation required: N/A

Travel required: Limited project travel will be required

Contract type: Regular full-time

Experience level: 5+ years of progressive project controls experience