Director, Project Controls, Life Sciences

Cushman & Wakefield • Raleigh, NC

21h

About The Position

The Director is responsible for serving as the Project Controls Lead for a $1B+ capital program supporting the controls strategy and governance during the design, planning, construction and CQV phases of the project. This role must be experienced in cGMP life science capital projects. This role is responsible for ensuring the project team, program leadership, and client stakeholders have accurate, timely, and actionable information to deliver projects safely, on schedule, within budget, and in compliance with project requirements. The Project Controls Lead will oversee the cost management, schedule management, risk, change control, reporting, and governance across all project phases

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Architecture, Engineering, Construction Management, Business Administration or related field.
• Fifteen or more years of related experience with 2 or more years of management experience required.
• Must have Life Sciences Experience
• Ability to contribute to the strategic direction of the assigned department or assigned practice area.
• Advanced project management skills with expertise in the project management business.
• Expert in client relations, client management and consulting.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Highly organized with strong analytical skills.
• A proficient working knowledge of accounting and financial reporting, budgeting, scheduling and processes as they relate to corporate real estate, design and construction.
• Software skills: Microsoft Office applications, MS Project.

Nice To Haves

• Master's degree preferred.
• Certification preferred.

Responsibilities

• Implement and oversee the integrated project controls framework across cost, schedule, risk, change, and reporting.
• Support the development and management of the total project cost structure, including budgets, forecasts, cash flow, trending, and earned value metrics.
• Lead monthly cost and schedule performance reviews with project management, engineering, construction, and client leadership.
• Support the creation and management of the integrated master schedule (IMS) across design, procurement, construction, CQV, and operational readiness; perform critical path and schedule risk analysis.
• Review contractor schedules, cost reports, and progress updates to ensure alignment with program objectives and project controls standards.
• Implement and oversee the formal change control process covering scope, cost, schedule, and risk impacts; maintain a comprehensive change log.
• Facilitate qualitative and quantitative risk workshops and maintain the active program risk register, coordinating mitigation strategies and contingency management.
• Produce executive dashboards and monthly status reports that clearly communicate progress, variances, risks, and decision-making needs.
• Maintain consistent reporting standards, data governance, document control interfaces, and version control across the program.
• Coordinate closely with the PMO, engineering, procurement, construction management, estimating, finance, and CQV teams to ensure fully integrated planning and accurate performance measurement.
• Oversee contractor compliance with reporting, cost coding, scheduling logic, and risk management requirements.
• Lead and mentor a team of schedulers, cost engineers, and analysts, ensuring high-quality deliverables and consistent processes.
• Support capital approval processes, stage-gate reviews, and scenario planning through cost/schedule modeling and risk-adjusted forecasting.
• Monitor project performance trends and develop recovery plans when deviations occur.

Benefits

• Cushman & Wakefield also provides eligible employees with an opportunity to enroll in a variety of benefit programs, generally including health, vision, and dental insurance, flexible spending accounts, health savings accounts, retirement savings plans, life, and disability insurance programs, and paid and unpaid time away from work.
• In addition to a comprehensive benefits package, Cushman and Wakefield provide eligible employees with competitive pay, which may vary depending on eligibility factors such as geographic location, date of hire, total hours worked, job type, business line, and applicability of collective bargaining agreements.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director