Houston Cost Center Leader
About The Position
Turner & Townsend is seeking a Houston Cost Center Leader to lead our combined Project Management (PM) and Cost Management (CM) business in the South Central region. This is a senior leadership role accountable for the overall financial performance, operational management, and people leadership of the Houston cost center. The role is central to scaling a high-performing, commercially disciplined business aligned to regional growth objectives. The successful candidate will operate as a visible, in-office leader (5 days per week), bringing executive presence, strong commercial acumen, and the ability to lead across financial performance, business development, and team leadership.
Requirements
- Proven experience in a senior leadership role within project, program, or cost management
- Demonstrated success in owning financial performance (P&L responsibility)
- Strong commercial acumen, including forecasting, margin management, and utilization optimization
- Track record in business development and client relationship management
- Experience leading high-performing, multi-disciplinary teams
- Excellent leadership presence with the ability to influence and build credibility internally and externally
Nice To Haves
- A strong leadership presence and credibility
- A data-driven, commercially minded approach to running a business
- The ability to balance financial management, client engagement, and people leadership
- A proactive, hands-on leadership style with a bias for action and accountability
Responsibilities
- Own full cost center P&L performance, including revenue, margin, utilization, and forecast accuracy
- Drive financial discipline, transparency, and predictable performance across all commissions
- Lead weekly cost center operations reviews to monitor performance, risks, and opportunities
- Ensure alignment with regional targets and strategic priorities
- Lead capacity planning, utilization, and hiring decisions for the Houston PM+CM business
- Partner with Service Line Leads to align resources with delivery needs
- Oversee resourcing, deployment, and workload balancing across the cost center
- Intervene on at-risk projects, driving recovery actions and escalation where required
- Act as a senior representative for the Houston business, supporting key client relationships
- Contribute to pipeline development, pursuits, and capture strategies
- Partner with Sector and Growth leaders to validate capacity and commercial viability of opportunities
- Support strategic account growth and regional business priorities
- Lead, develop, and retain a high-performing PM and CM team
- Own hiring, performance management, and succession planning
- Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and high performance
- Serve as a visible leader in the Houston office, promoting engagement and team cohesion
- Ensure adherence to risk management, contract governance, and financial controls
- Lead implementation of the Three Lines of Defense (LOD1–LOD3) for commission oversight
- Drive proactive identification and management of risk across the portfolio
- Lead response to underperforming or high-risk projects
- Act as a key member of the South Central leadership team
- Collaborate across Service Lines, Sectors, and Enterprise accounts
- Contribute to regional strategy, planning, and performance improvement initiatives
Benefits
- Competitive compensation and benefits package
- Opportunities for professional growth, development, and career advancement
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
Education Level
No Education Listed
