Intermediate Project Financial Advisor

WSP•Valhalla, NY

1d•$73,000 - $95,000

About The Position

WSP is seeking an Intermediate Project Financial Advisor to support its Transportation and Infrastructure business line in Valhalla, NY; Houston, TX; or Austin, TX. The PFA serves as a financial partner to Project Managers, supporting project profitability, financial compliance, forecasting accuracy, and financial performance across a portfolio of projects. The role covers the project lifecycle, including budget setup review, revenue recognition, and project financial reviews. It provides financial stewardship and analysis, advising on profitability, working capital, compliance, decision-making, and risk identification. The advisor independently supports projects of varying complexity and assists with more complex projects under guidance. The position partners with project, finance, procurement, billing, and other business teams to support contract execution, project setup, forecasts, performance reviews, audits, and project closeout. It helps ensure that project financial activity and records comply with company policies and applicable revenue recognition standards. The role is expected to identify financial risks and variances, communicate actionable insights, and escalate recurring issues.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Business, or a closely related discipline, or demonstrated equivalent experience.
One to three years of project finance or commercial finance experience in engineering, construction, or professional services.
Relevant Accounting, Finance, or Business qualifications or accreditations for the jurisdiction in which the employee operates.
Solid understanding of project accounting, financial reporting, EAC/ETC forecasting processes, and margin analysis.
Experience in commercial support, such as project integration, contracts, WIP, or revenue recognition.
Demonstrated experience supporting a multi-project portfolio with hands-on forecasting and reporting accountability.
Advanced Excel skills and proficiency with MS Office and ERP tools.
Ability to work independently and collaboratively as a self-starter.
Ability to work in a fast-paced environment with multiple priorities.
Strong stakeholder relationship management and engagement skills, including the ability to influence delivery, commercial, and finance leadership.
Critical thinking and problem-solving skills to analyze data and documentation and reach effective, economical, and logical conclusions.
Effective interpersonal and communication skills, including the ability to express ideas professionally to accounting and non-accounting audiences.
Strong planning, prioritization, time-management, analytical, and problem-solving abilities, with a focus on actionable insights.

Nice To Haves

Experience with Oracle ERP tools.
Experience with Power BI or other data visualization tools.

Responsibilities

Partner with Project Managers to support sound project financial management and adherence to contractual obligations and financial terms.
Provide guidance on project setup, including Work Breakdown Structure development, budgeting, rate selection, and pricing tool inputs.
Advise on project financial planning, risk identification, funding, billing methods, and rates.
Review category rates and labor structures, including non-billable time, cap rates, and labor breakage, to identify rate optimization and margin improvement opportunities.
Communicate margin observations and cost-to-serve considerations, and assess subcontract financial impacts against prime contract and profitability objectives.
Monitor customer contract execution for financial terms such as fee types, caps, retentions, deliverable triggers, scheduled billing, milestones, and CPFF.
Review and validate project structures and master data in Project Portfolio Management, including WBS, funding, billing methods, rates, tax, and revenue method.
Ensure compliance with financial policies, delegations of authority, and revenue recognition standards; coordinate and review applicable DBE, WBE, and XBE reporting requirements.
Calculate margin and other financial impacts and support analysis of project margin variability.
Monitor project forecast cycles for accuracy, timeliness, and alignment with FP&A targets; review budgets and forecasts with Project Managers.
Monitor mitigation action plans as directed by Project Managers and report progress to the PFA Manager.
Perform revenue accruals and advise on other financial adjustments as needed.
Manage subcontracting activities, including requisitions, purchase orders in coordination with Procurement, supplier and subcontractor invoice processing, and coordination with PFO Managers on AP payment requests.
Contribute financial analysis and commentary to project performance reviews, including forecast accuracy, working capital, revenue recognition, and change control.
Review financial measures and tracking, including client-specific reporting requests; monitor KPIs and promptly flag variances with recommended corrective actions.
Participate in Project Manager review meetings and provide actionable insights on performance drivers, risks, and decisions needed.
Investigate recurring financial variances and escalate findings to the PFA Manager.
Validate contract setup controls to support revenue recognition in accordance with company policies.
Monitor Work at Risk, including tracking, business impact assessment, reporting, and follow-up.
Guide Project Managers on project closeout when contractual requirements apply, such as retainage and final payment confirmation.
Respond to customer audit requests and coordinate evidence and formal responses with Controllership and Delivery.
Collaborate with project teams on finance-specific responses to internal and external audit requests, and maintain audit-ready records, calculations, and decision logs according to policy.
Collaborate with PFOs, Billing, Collections, Cash App, FP&A, Controllership, and business teams to address escalations.
Escalate recurring issues through management to support process improvement and better financial outcomes.
Identify and assign time and cost transfers and allocations, and review and adjust project costs as needed.
Promote consistent application of corporate financial governance and controls across the business.
Escalate financial exceptions to the PFA Manager and support Operations and Business Finance initiatives to improve efficiency and financial performance.
Support project financial performance monitoring and documentation, and assist the PFA Manager and Finance Business Partners in explaining variances and P&L impacts.
Help identify future cost pressures and potentially loss-making projects, and ensure risks and mitigations are communicated.

Benefits

Medical coverage
Dental coverage
Vision coverage
Disability coverage
Life coverage
Retirement savings
Paid sick leave
Paid vacation or other personal time
Paid parental leave
Paid time off for bereavement, voting, and/or attendance at naturalization proceedings