Senior Project Controls Specialist

Role Overview
We are seeking a highly experienced Senior Project Controls Specialist to support a large-scale ERP transformation program. This role reports to the Program Manager and works collaboratively with the broader project controls, PMO, finance, project management, vendor, and system integrator teams to strengthen delivery discipline across the program. While the role will support integrated project controls practices across schedule, milestones, dependencies, change, risk, and governance, it will have a strong emphasis on cost control, forecasting, budget visibility, variance analysis, vendor cost validation, and executive-level financial performance reporting. The successful candidate must operate independently in a complex, multi-vendor environment and provide clear, disciplined, and transparent project controls insight to support leadership decision-making.

Key Responsibilities
Integrated Project Controls, Cost Planning & Baseline Management
Develop, refine, and maintain integrated project controls information, including cost baselines, budget assumptions, forecast inputs, work breakdown structures, milestone plans, dependencies, and supporting documentation.
Refresh cost, forecast, and project controls views through each stage of the project lifecycle: Concept, Initiation, Planning/Design, Execution, and Closure.
Integrate cost, forecast, schedule, and delivery information across workstreams, vendors, system integrators, project managers, finance, and key business activities to create a consistent view of program status.
Ensure accuracy and consistency in cost structures, budget assumptions, forecast logic, schedule inputs, milestone definitions, dependency mapping, reporting structures, and traceability.

Cost Performance, Forecasting & Variance Analysis
Monitor budget, actuals, commitments, accruals, forecast-to-complete, estimate-at-completion, schedule, milestone, dependency, and delivery performance against approved plans and baselines.
Maintain forecast views, scenario models, cost trend analysis, lookaheads, recovery inputs, and dependency maps to support predictable delivery and financial outcomes.
Analyze plan vs. actuals, baseline vs. current plan, and forecast changes; explain variances, identify delivery or financial risks, and recommend mitigation or recovery actions.

Executive Cost & Project Controls Reporting
Track and report key project controls KPIs, including budget, actuals, commitments, accruals, forecast-to-complete, estimate-at-completion, milestone health, dependency risks, variance trends, and recovery actions.
Prepare dashboards, variance reports, forecast summaries, milestone summaries, and executive narratives with clear cost drivers, risks, trends, and decision points.
Align project controls reporting outputs with PMO cadence, governance forums, delivery checkpoints, financial cycles, and leadership decision cycles.
·         Cost Controls Standardization & Project Controls Governance
Ensure cost controls templates, forecast routines, coding structures, reporting standards, and governance controls align with PMO standards, finance requirements, and program reporting expectations.

PMO, Project Team & Vendor Coordination
Partner with the Program Manager, project controls team, PMO Finance, Project Managers, workstream leads, vendors, and system integrators to maintain timely, complete, and accurate cost, forecast, and project controls reporting.
Facilitate update meetings, collect task-owner inputs, challenge incomplete information, and drive timely resolution of project controls gaps.
Support budgeting, forecasting, month-end, planning cycles, workstream planning, milestone reviews, dependency reviews, and governance preparation.

Change, Risk, Forecast & Project Controls
·         Document project controls impact from change requests, delivery risks, cost pressures, dependency shifts, forecast revisions, and baseline updates.
·         Maintain audit trails for budget changes, forecast revisions, baseline changes, dependency changes, milestone decisions, and governance approvals.
Cost Assurance, Project Controls Quality & Compliance
Validate vendor and system integrator project controls submissions for completeness, accuracy, cost alignment, forecast reasonableness, progress alignment, financial consistency, and alignment with program standards.
Review project controls data quality, including cost accuracy, forecast reasonableness, variance explanations, schedule health, milestone integrity, dependency alignment, and reporting completeness.
Maintain audit-ready documentation for budgets, forecasts, actuals, commitments, accruals, baselines, updates, change impacts, recovery plans, milestone decisions, and governance approvals.
 
Required Skills & Qualifications
15+ years of experience in project controls, with strong emphasis on cost controls, forecasting, project finance, cost governance, planning, or schedule controls for large capital, IT, ERP, infrastructure, or transformation programs.
Proven experience supporting programs greater than $50 million in multi-year, multi-vendor environments.
Deep expertise in cost baseline development, forecasting, variance analysis, accruals, commitments, estimate-at-completion, integrated project controls, milestone governance, dependency tracking, and executive reporting.
Advanced expertise with cost controls, project controls, reporting, and analytics tools, including Excel, Power BI, Azure DevOps, MS Project, OnePlan, Primavera P6, or comparable enterprise planning platforms.
Strong understanding of cost structures, budget management, forecasting, variance analysis, accruals, commitments, WBS structures, schedule logic, dependency management, milestone planning, resource assumptions, and audit-ready controls.
Experience working with program managers, project managers, project coordinators, PMO Finance, project controls teams, vendors, and system integrators.
Ability to independently challenge cost and forecast assumptions, identify delivery and financial risks, and provide clear project controls narratives for senior leadership.
Strong stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to translate complex project controls data, costs, forecasts, dependencies, schedules, and delivery risks into practical insights for technical and executive audiences.
Ability to independently support cost planning, forecasting, project controls planning, delivery discipline, and governance readiness.
Experience with Power BI, Azure DevOps, MS Project, OnePlan, Primavera P6, Excel, and enterprise project reporting tools; ERP or Oracle Fusion program experience is an asset.
Strong analytical discipline, attention to detail, and ability to manage complex project controls data across workstreams, vendors, budgets, commitments, actuals, forecasts, milestones, dependencies, costs, and delivery phases.
 
Preferred Qualifications
·         PMP, AACE, PMI-SP, or equivalent project controls, cost, scheduling, or project management designation.
·         Experience in Agile, waterfall, or hybrid project delivery environments.

With over 90 years' combined experience, NES Fircroft (NES) is proud to be the world's leading engineering staffing provider spanning the Oil & Gas, Power & Renewables, Chemicals, Construction & Infrastructure, Life Sciences, Mining and Manufacturing sectors worldwide. With more than 80 offices in 45 countries, we are able to provide our clients with the engineering and technical expertise they need, wherever and whenever it is needed. We offer contractors far more than a traditional recruitment service, supporting with everything from securing visas and work permits, to providing market-leading benefits packages and accommodation, ensuring they are safely and compliantly able to support our clients.