Project Controls Specialist

Position Overview
The Portfolio Projects Controls Specialist plays a critical, highly technical role in development and monitoring the Current Year capital Plan (CYP) and provides accurate information concerning development of 5-Year capital Plan (5YP) at Client's site. This position integrates cost control, schedule control, weekly reporting, advanced analytics, and continuous improvement. The specialist provides decision-support modeling, identifies trends and variances, ensures adherence to Client's controls standards, and delivers insights that influence timing of engineering and procurement activities, risk identification, execution performance, cost exposure, and schedule readiness. The role collaborates across Engineering, Capital Projects, Procurement, Expediting, Contractors, and the Central PMO Team to ensure data accuracy, visibility, and alignment with corporate controls strategies.
Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of experience in Project and Portfolio Controls, including schedule control, cost control, reporting, risk identification, and scope management.
• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, finance, business, accounting, or equivalent experience (PMP, AACE, or similar certifications are assets).
• Advanced experience in Microsoft Office Suite including Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook.
• Proficient in Oracle-based software including Primavera P6, Oracle EAM, and cost/procurement modules.
• Experience with CMMS systems such as Oracle EAM, SAP, Maximo, or similar platforms.
• Experience with Planisware for project, cost, and portfolio management (preferred)
• Strong analytical skills with exacting attention to detail and the ability to interpret cost and schedule data.
• Power BI reporting and dashboard creation experience; Power Apps experience is an asset.
• Experience performing Earned Value Management (EVM), forensic schedule analysis, or variance root‑cause analysis.
• Experience building or supporting decision-support models such as Monte Carlo simulations (preferred).
• Strong communication and collaboration skills, with ability to influence diverse stakeholders.
• Ability to work in a high-intensity turnaround environment with compressed timelines.
• Ability to challenge assumptions, identify inconsistencies, and ensure data accuracy across multiple systems.

Key Responsibilities
1. Scope & Schedule Controls

• Consolidate all projects into a single master list for full visibility.
• Maintain and update the project schedules and support baseline development.
• Track schedule logic, progress, variances, critical path changes, and delays.
• Perform forensic schedule assessments to identify root causes and recommend recovery actions.
• Support integration of estimating, scheduling, and cost data for lifecycle visibility.
• Coordinate with Project Managers, Planners, Schedulers, and Project teams to ensure schedule accuracy and compliance.

2. Cost Controls

• Develop, track, and manage the cost baseline, including changes to scope, commitments, accruals, and actuals.
• Monitor cost‑to‑date and cost‑to‑complete metrics across Engineering, Procurement, and field Execution for all projects.
• Identify and escalate cost variances early with recommended corrective actions.
• Perform earned value analysis (EVM) to measure performance against budget and schedule.
• Support development and management of cost estimates, contingency analysis, and risk‑based prioritization.
• Ensure procurement activities align with budgets and long‑lead risks are proactively identified.

3. Reporting

• Compile and distribute monthly reports summarizing cost, schedule, resource usage, KPIs, and critical risks.
• Ensure contractors and internal teams submit accurate progress and timesheet data.
• Track earned hours, productivity, progress constraints, and execution barriers.
• Provide leadership with actionable insights that drive rapid in‑window decision‑making.

4. Advanced Analytics & Continuous Improvement

• Identify trends, variances, and anomalies in cost and schedule data and escalate when required.
• Support development of decision‑support tools, including Monte Carlo simulations or risk models (preferred).
• Contribute feedback to Client's digital roadmap on data systems and workflows.
• Support corporate benchmarking and continuous improvement through metric analysis.
• Ensure QA/QC of all schedule and cost data across systems.

5. Risk Ranking & Prioritization

• Support risk‑ranking of capital projects early in the planning cycle.
• Integrate cost, schedule, and resource impacts into risk evaluation.
• Maintain and monitor the risk register and communicate risk impacts.

6. Reporting & Communication

• Prepare weekly and monthly performance dashboards using Power BI and related tools.
• Facilitate alignment meetings with planning, engineering, procurement, and leadership.
• Provide transparent reporting on scope growth, cost exposure, data integrity, and schedule threats.
• Support TAR review processes and assist with audit readiness.
• Work with existing site resources to develop cost controls strategy

7. Documentation, Governance & Field Data Integrity

• Maintain documentation for scope changes, budget adjustments, procurement status, and risk actions in Planisware.
• Ensure all cost and schedule processes comply with Client's governance standards.
• Validate accuracy of data collection, ensuring data reliability without direct supervisory authority.
• Support audits and identify opportunities to standardize and improve controls processes.
• Drive continuous improvement of Project controls tools, systems, and standards.

Working Conditions

• Combination of office and field work; PPE required in designated areas.
• High‑intensity environment during TAR field execution (6–7 days/week, 10–12 hours/day).
• Frequent collaboration with multiple internal and external stakeholders.
• Requires strong professionalism, discretion, and sound judgment.

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.