Operations Technology Intern (OTCR Group - Project Controls Specialist focus)

West Yost • Phoenix, AZ

2d • Onsite

About The Position

West Yost is seeking a Project Controls Intern interested in project management, financial management, scheduling, data analysis, and consulting within the water and wastewater industry. Working alongside Project Managers, engineers, technical staff, and accounting personnel, this role supports the planning, financial tracking, scheduling, invoicing, progress monitoring, and reporting needed for successful project delivery. The internship provides hands-on experience on active engineering and technology projects while developing practical project controls and project management skills.

Requirements

• Currently pursuing or recently completed a bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Accounting, Engineering, Construction Management, Economics, Data Analytics, or a related discipline; equivalent education and relevant experience may be considered.
• Strong analytical and quantitative skills, attention to detail, and ability to organize and communicate financial and project performance information.
• Strong proficiency or demonstrated aptitude with Microsoft Excel and ability to learn project management, accounting, scheduling, reporting, and ERP systems.
• Demonstrated fluency with ChatGPT or similar generative AI tools for professional or academic workflows, with the ability to prompt effectively and review, validate, and refine AI-generated outputs using appropriate professional judgment.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and ability to collaborate effectively with multidisciplinary teams.
• Ability to manage multiple assignments and recurring deadlines, work independently on routine tasks, and appropriately raise discrepancies, trends, or potential issues.
• Professionalism, sound judgment, and interest in project management, project controls, engineering consulting, or infrastructure projects.

Nice To Haves

• Internship, coursework, or project experience involving project management, budgeting, scheduling, financial analysis, accounting, engineering, construction management, or data analysis.
• Experience using Excel for analysis, financial tracking, reporting, dashboards, or other analytical tools.
• Familiarity with Deltek Vantagepoint or a comparable project-based ERP/financial system; Microsoft Project, Primavera P6, Power BI, or similar scheduling/reporting tools is a plus.
• Experience in engineering, architecture, construction, environmental, professional services, or another project-based environment; familiarity with water, wastewater, environmental, or critical infrastructure projects is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Assist with project setup, including budgets, phases, tasks, labor allocations, work breakdown structures, and project controls requirements.
• Maintain and analyze project financial information, including budgets, expenditures, labor hours, revenue, forecasts, accruals, and resource needs; identify variances or emerging concerns for Project Manager review.
• Coordinate monthly invoicing by reviewing labor, expenses, subconsultant costs, contract requirements, project progress, and other billing information; prepare draft invoices and supporting documentation with accounting.
• Support development and maintenance of project schedules, milestones, and short-term work plans; track planned versus actual progress, dependencies, and upcoming activities.
• Collect project information and prepare recurring status reports, dashboards, charts, and other tools that clearly communicate financial, schedule, progress, and resource performance.
• Track project changes, risks, decisions, action items, deliverables, and commitments; update budgets, forecasts, schedules, and documentation following approved changes.
• Coordinate recurring project controls activities with Project Managers, technical leads, project staff, and accounting, including project initiation, management reviews, and closeout.
• Support continuous improvement of project controls templates, procedures, dashboards, and reporting tools.

Benefits

• medical
• dental
• vision
• flexible spending accounts
• health saving accounts (with West Yost contribution)
• paid vacation
• paid sick leave and holidays
• two employee assistance programs
• travel assistance program
• 401(k) profit sharing with employer match
• leaves of absence with additional supplemental paid time off
• parental leave
• life and AD&D insurance
• short-term and long-term disability insurance
• pet insurance
• support in on-going education through our 529 college savings plan/student loan repayment program
• tuition reimbursement
• paid professional memberships
• paid training
• Leadership Academy programs
• milestone anniversary benefits
• peer to peer recognition programs
• the potential for employee stock ownership
• annual monetary and paid time off bonuses
• performance-based bonus eligibility
• merit increase eligibility
• employee referral bonuses
• wellness reimbursement

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Part-time
• Career Level: Intern