Lead Project Cost Controller - Electric Utilities

United StatesRemoteFull-timelead

Finance & AccountingCost Controller

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Overview

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps.

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Finance & AccountingCost Controller

The Lead Project Cost Controller will provide senior project controls leadership across a large portfolio of utility capital projects. This role focuses on ensuring the accuracy, consistency, and integrity of budgets, forecasts, schedules, and performance reporting. You will work closely with project directors, managers, engineers, financial stakeholders, and contractors supporting complex transmission, substation, and distribution infrastructure programs. The position combines cost management, forecasting, earned value analysis, governance, reporting, and management information systems. You will translate long-term capital investment objectives into practical project controls strategies that support informed decision-making. This is an opportunity to influence major infrastructure programs while driving stronger controls, transparency, and continuous improvement across the project portfolio.

Develop and maintain detailed project budgets, forecasts, cash flow projections, and cost plans for large, multi-year transmission, substation, and distribution capital projects.
Design, implement, and oversee Project Controls, Program Management, and Management Information Systems (MIS) supporting program-wide planning, reporting, governance, and performance management.
Collaborate with project teams and facilitate regular status meetings to ensure timely, accurate collection and validation of cost, schedule, and performance information.
Monitor and analyze variances between budgets, forecasts, and actual costs, providing clear explanations, identifying trends, and recommending corrective actions.
Prepare and deliver project controls reporting, including earned value metrics, cost and schedule performance indicators, management reports, and executive-level dashboards.
Support project managers and stakeholders in identifying cost trends, risks, opportunities, financial exposures, and appropriate mitigation strategies.
Act as a trusted project controls advisor to leadership, aligning cost and performance management practices with broader capital investment objectives.
Ensure adherence to financial controls, governance processes, organizational policies, and applicable regulatory requirements.
Serve as a project controls liaison during contract award and execution, validating that contractors implement agreed-upon controls and escalating deviations when necessary.
Oversee and support accurate and timely cost accruals, financial reporting, forecasting updates, and related project accounting activities.
Drive continuous improvement across project controls processes, systems, reporting tools, data quality, and program governance practices.
Support effective communication across technical, financial, project management, and executive stakeholders within complex infrastructure programs.

Requirements

~1 min read

Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree preferred in a relevant discipline such as finance, accounting, engineering, construction management, project management, or a related field.
15+ years of experience in Project Controls, Program Controls, Cost Engineering, Finance, Accounting, Construction Management, Project Management, or a comparable field.
Demonstrated experience designing, implementing, and overseeing Project Controls, Program Management, and Management Information Systems for large-scale capital programs or enterprise initiatives.
Extensive experience supporting utility, infrastructure, engineering, construction, or similarly complex capital projects involving multiple stakeholders.
Strong knowledge of forecasting, budgeting, scheduling, cost management, variance analysis, cash flow, and project performance reporting.
Experience with earned value management (EVM), project governance frameworks, and portfolio-level reporting.
Advanced Microsoft Office skills, particularly Excel, including pivot tables, VLOOKUPs, reporting, financial analysis, and data interpretation.
Experience with SAP and Procore is preferred.
Strong analytical, problem-solving, communication, organizational, and leadership skills.
Ability to interpret complex financial and project information, identify meaningful trends, and translate analysis into practical recommendations.
Ability to understand strategic capital-program objectives and translate them into effective project controls processes and performance-management practices.
Comfortable working with project leadership, engineering teams, finance professionals, contractors, and executive stakeholders.
Ability to manage competing priorities and operate effectively within complex, deadline-driven project environments.