Finance & Project Controller

As Controller, you are the financial backbone of Deerns India. You act as an independent and trusted business partner to both Country Management and Project Management, taking responsibility for country financial control and project control.

From a country financial control perspective, you safeguard the financial health of the organization through full ownership of financial control, reporting, forecasting, cash flow management, and compliance with local statutory and tax requirements. You provide clear financial insights and analyses that support informed decision‑making at country management level and ensure transparency, accuracy, and control.

On the project control side, you are closely involved throughout the entire project lifecycle, from tender and contract review to project execution and close‑out. You monitor project budgets, forecasts, margins, cash flow, and risks, and proactively advise Project Managers on financial performance, opportunities, and potential risks to keep projects financially on track.

You manage the entire control cycle from A to Z, combining hands‑on execution with strong analytical insight. You work with structured financial and project data, supported by ERP systems, to ensure reliable reporting, robust controls, and scalable processes. With your mindset, you contribute to strengthening and professionalizing the finance function and preparing the organization for future growth.

This role is ideal for a hands‑on senior controller who enjoys balancing country‑level financial responsibility with active involvement in project control, while owning and improving financial processes end to end.

You are responsible for the financial control of the Indian legal entity:

• Full ownership of monthly, quarterly, and annual financial closing

• Preparation and analysis of management reporting, financial statements, dashboards

• Budgeting, forecasting, and scenario analysis for the country

• Cash flow management, liquidity planning, and working capital optimization

• Coordination of payroll processes and reconciliation

• Oversight of local accounting, statutory compliance, tax filings, and audit processes

• Coordination with Banks, Auditors, and Regulatory Bodies

• Acting as key contact for external auditors, tax advisors, and internal stakeholders

• Ensuring compliance with local regulations and Deerns internal policies

• Continuous improvement of financial processes, controls, and documentation

• Providing financial insights and recommendations to Country Management to support decision-making

You are the financial sparring partner for project teams across the full project lifecycle:

• Financial involvement in tender and contract review, including risk assessment

• Reviewing and validating project data entered in the ERP system to ensure accuracy, completeness, and compliance

• Monitoring and controlling project progress, budgets, forecasts, margins, and cash flow

• Identifying financial risks and opportunities and translating them into actionable insights

• Managing variation orders, claims, and contractual financial obligations

• Supporting project managers with best-/worst-case scenarios, forward-looking analysis

• Ensuring projects comply with Deerns’ Integrated Risk Management Framework

• Coordinating project-related audits where applicable

• Master’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, or equivalent

• 8–12+ years of relevant experience in financial control, project control, or similar role

• Proven experience with country-level financial control and project-based environments

• Strong understanding of Indian accounting standards, taxation, statutory requirements

• Experience working in an international or matrix organization is a strong advantage

• End‑to‑end ownership mindset: you see things through from start to finish

• Proactive mindset, anticipating issues and opportunities, acting timely and strategically

• Strong analytical skills combined with sensitivity to business/commercial implications

• Deep knowledge of Accounting Standards, minimum IGAAP/IND AS, preferably others

• Thorough understanding of Direct and Indirect Taxation, incl. GST, TDS, Income Tax, Withholding Tax

• Extensive experience with Financial Statement preparation, analyses, presentation

• Thorough understanding of payroll compliance and processes, incl. PF, ESI, PT, etc.

• Experienced in using ERP systems to support control, reporting, and decision‑making

• Able to balance hands‑on execution with continuous improvement and standardization

• Structured, accurate, and deadline‑driven

• Confident communicator who constructively challenges stakeholders

• Strong professional communication skills in English (spoken and written)

Deerns specialises in advisory, design and engineering services for buildings and facilities that require extreme conditions and are mission critical. For over 98 years, we have been undertaking major projects with world-class clients in the sectors airports, real estate, health care, life sciences, micro-electronics and data centres, generating about EUR 80+ mln in revenue (2025).

Our high-quality services range from strategic consulting, master planning, end-to-end design and specialist engineering to sustainability advice, transaction services and digital roadmaps. Our 750+ experts in mechanical, electrical and plumbing design (MEP), building physics, energy optimisation, digitalisation and sustainability are committed to make their work matter, whilst respecting our values of entrepreneurship, design reputation, integrity, cooperation and competence.

Deerns Spectrum Private Limited is our joint venture in India with Spectrum PharmaTECH Consultants, expanding our expertise across India, South Asia, and East Africa. We are in an exciting phase of growth in these regions and are looking for skilled professionals to join our teams and grow our business.