Cost Controls Lead

Job Summary/Goals

This role provides program-wide leadership for cost controls and estimating functions within the Center of Excellence (COE). Key goals include:

• Own and enforce cost governance, estimating standards, and financial discipline across the program
• Lead and develop the Program Estimators team to deliver consistent, phase-appropriate cost outputs
• Improve cost predictability through benchmarking, analytics, and risk visibility
• Support early-phase decision-making through high-quality estimates and value opportunity insights
• Provide leadership focus to address historical cost challenges and improve portfolio outcomes

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

Cost Governance & Estimating Leadership (Program-Level)

• Own program-wide cost controls standards, estimating methodologies, and governance frameworks
• Establish and maintain disciplined estimating practices across scoping, engineered drawing, and final pricing phases
• Ensure consistent application of cost assumptions, exclusions, and risk documentation
• Provide leadership oversight to ensure estimates are complete, defensible, and aligned with approved scope
• Serve as the senior escalation point for cost-related risks, variances, or confidence concerns

Team Leadership & Development

• Lead, mentor, and develop the Program Estimators team
• Create performance expectations, prioritize workload, and ensure consistent quality of deliverables
• Create clear development pathways and growth opportunities for estimating team members
• Promote collaboration between Estimators, Design, Scheduling, and Industrialized Construction teams

Budget Development & Validation

• Oversee development and validation of: Scoping budgets, Engineered Drawing budgets, Final Pricing budgets
• Validate alignment between scope, quantities, and pricing at defined milestones
• Support bid reviews focused on scope completeness and pricing reasonableness
• Ensure “apples-to-apples” bid comparisons through compliance and completeness checks

Benchmarking & Market Intelligence

• Establish and maintain historical cost benchmarks by project type, prototype, and market
• Lead annual program-level benchmarking updates
• Monitor market conditions, cost drivers, and pricing volatility
• Provide standardized variance narratives and market context to leadership and clients

Cost Risk Visibility & Analytics

• Lead portfolio-level analysis of budget movement across pricing stages
• Identify recurring scope gaps, cost growth drivers, and estimating accuracy trends
• Maintain program-level cost assumption and risk registers
• Provide early warning insights to support recovery planning and decision-making

Value Opportunity Identification (Advisory)

• Identify repeatable scope, specification, or constructability alternatives with cost implications
• Support value engineering discussions through data-driven analysis and recommendations
• Provide advisory input only; no negotiation, approval, or implementation authority

Cross-Pillar COE Integration

• Partner with Scheduling to align cost and schedule assumptions
• Collaborate with Design Enablement to influence early-phase decisions
• Coordinate with Industrialized Construction to embed standardization and innovation
• Support PMO and Program Support functions with cost insight, data, and reporting alignment