Project Controls Analyst

Fessler & Bowman Inc•Charlotte, NC

20h•Onsite

About The Position

The Project Controls Analyst is the financial partner closest to project execution. Reporting to the Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) Manager, with a dotted-line relationship to the Regional Vice President, and embedded with the regional operations team, the role supports every active project and Project Manager in the assigned regional office, with added attention to priority and higher-risk work. The analyst connects field activity to budgets, commitments, change orders, billings, forecasts and monthly project health reporting, helping Project Managers produce complete, supportable project financials and helping Leadership see reliable results, risks and opportunities. The role supports, validates, challenges and recommends, while Project Managers retain ownership and approval of project-financial changes. As the Project Controls function matures, the role may take on greater direct responsibility for budgets, change events, billings, forecasts and joint venture reporting. The position monitors project financials, identifies and researches exceptions, works with Project Managers to recommend and confirm follow-up, and escalates significant findings through the appropriate leadership channels. It supports budget, commitment and change management; billing, forecasting and Job Progress Report readiness; joint venture reporting and partner coordination; and the development of Project Controls processes. The role also attends project meetings and plans regular jobsite visits to connect field activity, production, schedule and procurement to financial effects. This is an onsite, office-based position embedded with the regional operations team, typically Monday through Friday. Travel is up to 10%, primarily to active jobsites and project meetings within the assigned region. Jobsite visits require following site safety rules and wearing required personal protective equipment (PPE).

Requirements

3–6 years of meaningful experience in project controls, project engineering, construction, finance, accounting, estimating, analytics or closely related project-based work.
Strong mathematical and analytical reasoning, including the ability to find, research and clearly communicate inconsistencies.
Advanced Microsoft Excel skills.
Strong interpersonal and outreach skills, and genuine curiosity about construction execution.
Ability to manage multiple projects and priorities at the same time.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, Construction Management, Engineering Technology, Finance, Accounting, Business, Mathematics, Data Analytics or a related field, or equivalent experience.
Background in civil engineering, construction management, project controls, project engineering, project accounting or field operations.
Experience in heavy civil, site development, concrete, utility, infrastructure or specialty contracting.
Familiarity with Procore, Foundation or comparable construction systems.
Working knowledge of job cost, commitments and change management, billing, work-in-progress (WIP) and cash flow, and project forecasting.

Responsibilities

Communicate and uphold the Company’s commitment to Integrity and Code of Ethics.
Monitor active-project financials by comparing actual costs to budget and recent run rates across labor, material, equipment, subcontract and other costs.
Identify financial exceptions, including unbilled production, commitment gaps, unusual margin movement, inconsistent cost coding, and emerging repair or rework exposure; estimate potential impacts at a rough-order-of-magnitude level.
Research the causes of exceptions, discuss findings with Project Managers, recommend responses and confirm agreed follow-up.
Escalate significant or broad findings through the FP&A Manager and, when appropriate, to DPMs, Regional Vice Presidents or Leadership.
Maintain a risk-based view of the regional project portfolio and focus effort where financial exposure or decision urgency is greatest.
Review project budgets for structure, reasonableness, omissions and unusual assumptions, and support approved budget changes.
Assist with change events, potential change orders, customer change-order drafts, purchase orders, subcontracts and commitment change orders, confirming amounts, cost codes, documentation and system records align.
Support pencil-copy billings and track overbilling and underbilling against production, cost, contract value and cash-flow needs.
Meet with Project Managers to build aligned cost, billing and labor-hour forecasts covering the next 12 months or longer.
Validate monthly forecast snapshots, data, explanations and notes ahead of Job Progress Report (JPR) meetings, and contribute project-level insight during those meetings.
Prepare and distribute weekly and monthly joint venture cost reports, reconcile reported cost to company records, and support quarterly reviews or audits with JV partners.
Attend project meetings and plan regular jobsite visits to connect field activity, production, schedule and procurement to their financial effects.
Document recurring controls, analysis methods and handoffs, and help establish the future operating model for Project Controls.
Perform other relevant tasks as assigned.