Project Accounting Director - Orion Services Group

Orion Group•New York, NY

5d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Director of Project Accounting is the corporate owner of how project revenue is accounted for and reported across the Orion network, reporting directly to the VP, Corporate Controller. This role brings a common approach to how revenue is recognized and reported across more than 30 operating companies, which together represent $500M+ of annual project revenue across roughly 1,000 open percentage-of-completion jobs at any given time. This is a leadership and change management role that runs on technical credibility. Corporate sets the standard; we design it, teach it, and earn its adoption across operating companies whose finance leaders do not report to you. The conversations are collaborative, but they are technical, and you will need to be the person who can work through the answer with a controller in real time. You will partner with our Group VPs of Finance, who lead 5-8 operating companies each, rather than working around them. This is a builder's seat. You will be the first person at Orion to own this function, and you will shape it rather than inherit it.

Requirements

8+ years in project or contract accounting, including experience at a corporate or multi-entity level.
Hands-on experience with multi-month project work, where cost-to-complete estimates are revised over the life of a job and those revisions affect reported margin.
Background in a project-based environment
Strong command of ASC 606 as applied to construction and service contracts, including contract modifications and variable consideration, contract asset and liability classification, and loss provisions, with the ability to write technical positions that hold up in an audit.
Demonstrated success setting a standard or process that finance leaders outside your reporting line adopted, ideally across more than a handful of entities.
Multi-entity experience in an acquisitive or decentralized environment where accounting practice varies by location.
Working fluency across ERP environments and direct involvement in at least one implementation or conversion.
Proficiency across Microsoft Office and AI platforms (Claude or ChatGPT).
Willingness to travel to operating companies.

Nice To Haves

Experience with COINS or a comparable construction ERP is a strong plus.
Demonstrated ability to build low-cost automation, is a strong plus.
CPA is a plus, not a requirement.

Responsibilities

Design and document the network approach to project accounting: WIP reporting, cost-to-complete discipline, over- and under-billings, retainage, contract modifications and claims, loss contracts, warranty reserves, deferred revenue, and ASC 606 application by contract type.
Serve as the accounting depth owner for project revenue in external audit and, as we progress toward the public markets, in control design, documentation, and testing.
Map how each project-revenue operating company recognizes revenue today across percentage-of-completion and deferred approaches, contract types, and treatment of cost on open jobs.
Build a risk view across project revenue, warranty reserves, and deferred revenue, and use it to sequence where the standard lands first.
Lead adoption across the operating companies in partnership with the Group VPs of Finance and the systems organization.
Build and deliver the training that brings operating company finance teams onto the standard, and stay with them through the first close cycles.
Sequence rollout by risk and readiness, and work the exceptions directly rather than escalating them.
Build a network-wide, job-level view that turns roughly 1,000 open jobs into a short list requiring attention, with a recommended action plan behind each, so reviews are problem-solving sessions.
Establish reporting on adoption status, WIP quality, estimate revision patterns, and margin trends by operating company.
Build this reporting on the platform data layer rather than maintaining it by hand.
Review consolidated project revenue and WIP each month, identify anomalies early, and resolve them with the operating company rather than correcting after the fact.
Partner with Corporate Controllership on close acceleration as it affects project reporting.
Build and run the project accounting playbook for newly acquired companies so each acquisition converges on the standard on a defined timeline.
Support diligence and integration on project revenue quality for deals in flight and within the first 90 days of ownership.