Project Financial Controls Specialist
Milhouse · Chicago, IL · 1 mo ago
Project Management$68k–$81k/yrFull-time
We need to output HTML fragment with sections: About the role, Responsibilities, Requirements, Qualifications, Skills, Benefits, Pay, Schedule. Only include sections if posting has real specific content.
We need to parse the posting.
First paragraph: "The Project Financial Controls Specialist provides independent financial validation and analysis across assigned projects to support accurate billing, sound forecasting, and profitable delivery. Operating within the Milhouse Project Management Methodology (PMM), this role reviews project financial structure and performance before invoices advance for Project Manager approval and works with Project Finance and project teams to identify exceptions, financial risk, and corrective actions."
That's a description of the role. Could be "About the role". Use
About the role
thenwith that paragraph. Then "What You Will Do" list of duties. That's responsibilities. Use
Responsibilities
then- each bullet.
We need to preserve all substantive information. The bullet list includes many sentences. We'll split each sentence as a bullet.
Let's extract bullet points from "What You Will Do" section:
- Validate new and existing project setups in Deltek before billing, including contract type, billing structure, rate tables, fees, revenue method, budgets, phases/tasks, and other key financial fields; confirm Deltek aligns with the contract and approved project assumptions before invoices advance for Project Manager review.
- Review project P&Ls and financial performance, including revenue, direct labor, subconsultants/ODCs, overhead, multipliers, margin, burn, backlog, EAC, ETC, and remaining fee.
- Maintain and update project forecasts using current project inputs and identify risks to budget, fee, revenue, margin, or cash flow.
- Evaluate T&M/cost-plus and lump-sum/fixed-fee project structures and understand how contract terms, rate tables, staffing, and scope affect project profitability.
- Analyze resource and staffing plans based on billing rates, cost rates, overhead burden, remaining budget, and expected margin; recommend changes when the planned labor mix creates financial risk.
- Identify revenue leakage, unbilled exposure, recurring invoice issues, margin deterioration, and other control exceptions and document findings.
- Recommend staffing, scope, rate, change-order, billing, or delivery actions that improve project profitability and financial performance.
- Work with Project Finance to resolve financial-control exceptions and verify corrections before an invoice is released to the Project Manager for approval.
- Support Project Managers and Group Leaders with project financial analysis, forecasting, and interpretation of project performance.
- Maintain clear validation records, financial-review documentation, and supporting evidence in accordance with PF&G and PMM requirements.
- Participate in recurring percent-complete (% complete) and project financial reviews; evaluate PM inputs for percent complete, ETC/EAC, staffing, backlog, remaining fee, billing direction, and forecast changes; document required actions and confirm approved updates are reflected in Deltek.
Now "Who You Are" section includes qualifications: education, experience, etc. Could be split into Requirements, Qualifications, Skills. We need to decide.
The posting includes: "Four-year bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Business, Construction Management, Engineering Management, or a related field from an accredited College or University. Equivalent relevant experience may be considered. 3–5 years of relevant experience in project controls, project finance, project financial analysis, FP&A for a project-based business, or related financial operations. Experience in engineering, construction, consulting, or another project-based professional services environment strongly preferred. Strong understanding of project financial management, project P&Ls, profitability, multipliers, labor and billing rates, overhead/burden rates, and margin analysis. Working knowledge of T&M/cost-plus and lump-sum/fixed-fee contract structures and their impact on project financial performance. Experience with project forecasting and controls, including EAC, ETC, backlog, burn rate, remaining fee, percent complete, and revenue leakage. Ability to evaluate staffing/resource plans and understand how labor mix, rates, cost, and overhead affect project profitability. Strong quantitative analysis, forecasting, attention to detail, and ability to identify and explain financial variances and risks. Ability to independently challenge financial assumptions while working collaboratively with Project Finance, Project Managers, and Group Leaders. Experience with Deltek Vantagepoint/Vision or a comparable project-based ERP preferred; strong Microsoft Excel skills. Knowledge of project management principles and professional-services or engineering/construction project delivery preferred."
We can categorize: Requirements (education, years experience), Qualifications (preferred experience, knowledge), Skills (specific abilities). But we need to avoid thin sections. Could combine into one "Qualifications" section covering education, experience, knowledge, skills. However the instruction says use headings for sections like About the role, Responsibilities, Requirements, Qualifications, Skills, Benefits, Pay, Schedule. We should include only those with real content.
We have About the role, Responsibilities. Then we have qualifications/requirements/skills content. We could split into Requirements (education + experience), Qualifications (preferred experience/knowledge), Skills (specific abilities). Let's see if each has enough content.
Requirements: Four-year bachelor's degree in ...; 3–5 years of relevant experience ...; Equivalent relevant experience may be considered. That's enough.
Qualifications: Experience in engineering, construction, consulting, or another project-based professional services environment strongly preferred; Strong understanding of project financial management, project P&Ls, profitability, multipliers, labor and billing rates, overhead/burden rates, and margin analysis; Working knowledge of T&M/cost-plus and lump-sum/fixed-fee contract structures and their impact on project financial performance; Experience with project forecasting and controls, including EAC, ETC, backlog, burn rate, remaining fee, percent complete, and revenue leakage; Ability to evaluate staffing/resource plans and understand how labor mix, rates, cost, and overhead affect project profitability; Strong quantitative analysis, forecasting, attention to detail, and ability to identify and explain financial variances and risks; Ability to independently challenge financial assumptions while working collaboratively with Project Finance, Project Managers, and Group Leaders; Experience with Deltek Vantagepoint/Vision or a comparable project-based ERP preferred; strong Microsoft Excel skills; Knowledge of project management principles and professional-services or engineering/construction project delivery preferred.
That's a lot; could be considered Qualifications.
Skills: maybe we could separate out "Strong quantitative analysis, forecasting, attention to detail, and ability to identify and explain financial variances and risks." etc. But many overlap.
Given the instruction to prefer a few substantive sections over many thin ones, maybe we combine Requirements, Qualifications, Skills into one "Qualifications" section. But we have headings list; we can still include Requirements and Qualifications if they have content. However we risk thin sections if we split too much.
We could do: Requirements (education + years experience). Qualifications (preferred experience, knowledge, skills). That seems reasonable.
Now Benefits: The posting lists many benefits: Medical, Dental & Vision Coverage – Reach out to learn how your deductible could be covered 100% through Garner Health! Company Sponsored Life Insurance and Short-Term Disability – We’ve got your back when life takes unexpected turns. Voluntary Coverages – Take control of your well-being with added coverage options. Discounted Gym Membership – Stay active with wellness options that support your fitness goals. Competitive Base Salary – Earn what you're worth in a performance-driven culture. 401(k) Retirement Plan – Build your future with confidence. Professional Development Incentives – Get rewarded for growing your skills — including bonuses for earning your P.E. License. Milhouse University (Cross-Functional Training) – Expand your expertise with internal training built to elevate your career and receive PDH credits for applicable training towards professional engineering licenses, etc.. Employee Education & Development Program – Tuition assistance and learning opportunities to keep you moving forward. Generous PTO + Paid Holidays – Rest, recharge, and enjoy the moments that matter most. Paid Parental Leave – Bond with your new arrival — and yes, we’ll even cover a year of diapers! Extracurricular Sports Teams – Join our summer Volleyball and Softball squads for fun off the clock. Employee Recognition Program – Be celebrated for the impact you make. Employee Referral Bonus – Bring great people on board and get paid for it. Transit Benefits Program – Save on your daily commute. Charitable Events and Activities offered through non-profit affiliate – Milhouse Charities.
That's definitely benefits.
Pay: The posting includes "$67,700 - $80,600 a year The actual base pay depends upon many factors, such as education, experience, and skills. The base pay range is subject to change and may be modified in the future. While we provide a range, we'd love to hear from you if you are in or outside of this range as we are always looking to cater roles to the Talent we find!" That's pay info. So we need a Pay section.
Schedule: Not mentioned. No schedule info. So we should NOT include Schedule section.
Now we need to output HTML fragment with sections: About the role, Responsibilities, Requirements, Qualifications, Benefits, Pay.
We must not repeat job title as heading. Already not.
We must not include Job ID etc.
We must remove boilerplate: cookie/navigation/legal/EEO/equal-opportunity/scam-warning boilerplate, duplicated lines, application instructions. At the end there is a lot of boilerplate about Milhouse, EEO, AI, etc. We must remove that. Also the "Important Notice to US Applicants" etc. Remove.
Also remove the "Here's a little information on Milhouse Engineering and Construction, Inc." etc. That's boilerplate about company; we should remove as it's not substantive to the job? The instruction says remove cookie/navigation/legal/EEO/equal-opportunity/scam-warning boilerplate, duplicated lines, and application instructions. The company description might be considered boilerplate but not explicitly listed; however it's likely not substantive to the role. The instruction says preserve ALL substantive information; do NOT invent or summarize away detail. The company description is not about the role; it's generic. I'd consider it boilerplate and remove. Also the "At Milhouse, We’re More Than Just a Place To Work — We’re a Place To Grow, Thrive, And Be Celebrated. Here’s How We Invest In You" is benefits intro; we already captured benefits. The rest after benefits is more fluff; we can keep benefits but remove the fluff paragraphs that are not specific benefits.
We need to ensure we keep all substantive info: responsibilities, requirements, qualifications, benefits, pay.
Now format.
We'll produce:
About the role
The Project Financial Controls Specialist provides independent financial validation and analysis across assigned projects to support accurate billing, sound forecasting, and profitable delivery. Operating within the Milhouse Project Management Methodology (PMM), this role reviews project financial structure and performance before invoices advance for Project Manager approval and works with Project Finance and project teams to identify exceptions, financial risk, and corrective actions.
Responsibilities
- Validate new and existing project setups in Deltek before billing, including contract type, billing structure, rate tables, fees, revenue method, budgets, phases/tasks, and other key financial fields; confirm Deltek aligns with the contract and approved project assumptions before invoices advance for Project Manager review.
- Review project P&Ls and financial performance, including revenue, direct labor, subconsultants/ODCs, overhead, multipliers, margin, burn, backlog, EAC, ETC, and remaining fee.
- Maintain and update project forecasts using current project inputs and identify risks to budget, fee, revenue, margin, or cash flow.
- Evaluate T&M/cost-plus and lump-sum/fixed-fee project structures and understand how contract terms, rate tables, staffing, and scope affect project profitability.
- Analyze resource and staffing plans based on billing rates, cost rates, overhead burden, remaining budget, and expected margin; recommend changes when the planned labor mix creates financial risk.
- Identify revenue leakage, unbilled exposure, recurring invoice issues, margin