Cost Controller

Join us and unleash your energy within a future-focused company reimagining ambition across the energy sector. We celebrate individuals who know their potential and are eager to grow as we tackle some of the largest projects on the global energy stage. Our diverse and inclusive community supports all employees to thrive and develop from day one, with family-friendly policies, flexible working arrangements, and employee networks.

About the role

The Cost Controller is responsible for comprehensive tracking, analysis, forecasting, and reporting of project costs throughout the project lifecycle. This role works 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.

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 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.
  • 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Requirements

• 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.

Qualifications

• Excellent command of the English language in both oral and written communication.
• Executive-level presentation and reporting skills.
• Ability to maintain accurate and reliable project cost data.
• Proven ability to provide early identification of cost risks and potential overruns.
• Experience producing credible and defensible forecasts.
• Ability to 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.

Core Competencies

• Excellent communication and stakeholder management.
• Observance of Health, Safety, Sustainability, Environment, and Quality (HSSEQ) rules of the Company, its clients, and governing authorities.

Details about the role:
Location: Houston, TX
Travel required: Limited project travel
Contract type: Regular full-time
Experience level: 5+ years of progressive project controls experience