Director Project Controls - Life Sciences Construction

Turner & Townsend•Philadelphia, PA

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Turner & Townsend are seeking an experienced Director-Project Controls to join our team. The ideal candidate has a proven track record of successful client delivery and managing project control teams. This individual will lead project controls services for major client accounts and will help with wider business initiatives as needed. The Project Controls Director (PCD) will lead the project controls function on a major/mega capital project. The Project Controls Director role is a project steering team level role responsible for driving consistency through rigorous administration of global control standards and processes. The ideal candidate should have experience as an owner's representative, be action-oriented, and able to think strategically as well as participate in direct execution. This position requires a leader who can develop and manage a project controls team with limited supervision. This is a high-impact leadership role requiring on-site presence at least four days per week (80%+). The PCD will have responsibility for developing comprehensive project control plans, including cost, risk, change, invoice, and performance management plans. Such plans should be fit for the scale of multi-billion-dollar capital projects across the full project controls lifecycle, including estimating and cost planning, stage gate (capital value) process, budget appropriations, budget allocation, commitments management, cost control, commercial management and contracting strategy and administration, quantitative risk management, Critical Path Method, resource loaded schedule management, scope management and change control, earned value management, and advanced financial accrual process, cashflow management, forecasting, and data analysis. The PCD will develop the project control Organizational Breakdown Structure (OBS), identifying critical project control roles and on-boarding timelines that consider phases of the project delivery lifecycle. The PCD will be a champion of the adoption and use of the GFD Project Management Information System (Oracle Unifier Accelerator (UA)). The PCD will ensure that UA is properly configured for the project and is being used to manage all estimates, commitments, expenditures, changes, risks, forecasts and reporting. The PCD will closely coordinate with the PCO to drive consistent application of project controls standards and procedures and to inform a continuous improvement process.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Construction Management, or related field, or equivalent work experience
Willing to travel or relocate for minimum 80% on-site presence (4 days/week)
Deep understanding of capital project lifecycles from concept to handover
Proven leadership in complex corporate environments and stakeholder engagement
Hands-on project project controls experience on mega capital projects ($3B+)
Strong team leadership, coaching, and communication skills
Self-starter with ability to operate independently
Proficient in English (written and verbal)
Knowledgeable in Primavera P6, Oracle Unifier (or similar), and Power BI
Experience building and managing large, multi-organization project project controls teams
Advanced knowledge in estimating, budgeting, forecasting, earned value, contracts, invoice and change validation, risk management, and reporting for mega projects ($3B+)
Comfortable presenting to executive leadership

Nice To Haves

Strategic, proactive, and hands-on leader
Experience in life sciences or pharmaceutical manufacturing
Skilled in stakeholder engagement and cross-functional collaboration
Preferred certifications: MRIQS, PMP, CCP (AACE), or equivalent
Experience in senior project leadership roles
Expertise in implementing new technologies
Familiarity with GMP environments and life science project delivery
Understanding of pharmaceutical project lifecycles and key drivers, including Commissioning, Qualification, and Validation

Responsibilities

Lead all project controls lifecycle functions including funding appropriations, capital value/stage gating, estimating, value engineering, budget and cost control, vendor invoice management, change and risk contingency management, schedule and earned value management, and scope management.
Represent project controls on program/project steering teams.
Plan and implement project controls structure, resources, and timing for each project phase in alignment with the PCO.
Establish and enforce governance processes aligned with PCO procedures, systems, and tools.
Oversee cost, schedule, change, and risk assurance processes.
Implement standardized data gathering and reporting across all project phases.
Ensure quality and timeliness of all project reports (e.g., Executive Steering Committee, Monthly Reports, Contractor Reports).
Develop and maintain comprehensive project controls plans (cost, schedule, change, risk, earned value, invoice validation, communications, document management).
Collaborate with Capital Procurement on contract and commercial strategy.
Ensure project controls requirements are embedded in all contracts.
Define and support procurement of project controls services and resources.
Support onboarding and training of control personnel.
Lead and mentor the project controls team, fostering a collaborative culture.
Perform additional duties as assigned by the PCO or project leadership.
SOX control responsibilities may be part of this role, which are to be adhered to where applicable.