Project Cost Controls Manager

BUFFALO CONSTRUCTION INC•Louisville, KY

About The Position

The Cost Controls Manager is responsible for the overall project cost management, encompassing budgeting, forecasting, tracking, and reporting, and managing the entire change control process on projects from $50M to $200M. This role requires a strong background in project controls, construction estimation, and contract negotiation across multiple market sectors.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Construction Management, Engineering, Finance, or a related field is preferred.
3-5 years of experience in cost control, estimating, or financial analysis, with a preference in manufacturing, industrial, multi-family, and healthcare construction.
Strong proficiency in budgeting, forecasting, and cost control for large construction projects.
Demonstrated experience managing and negotiating agreements, pay applications, and change orders with general contractors and subcontractors.
Expert-level proficiency in cost management software and Procore, Microsoft Excel, MS Project, and PowerPoint.
Deep knowledge of general construction market conditions and cost benchmarks for mechanical, electrical, and structural systems.
Excellent written and verbal communication, negotiation, and analytical skills.

Responsibilities

Develop, implement, and maintain the project's financial plan and budget, tracking expenditures against approved budgets.
Perform detailed cost analysis, forecasting, and reporting, providing regular updates on budget status to project leadership and stakeholders.
Review, verify, and approve contractor progress billings and payment applications, ensuring accuracy relative to actual construction status.
Assist in cash flow forecasting and processing of payment requests.
Leverage data visualization tools for financial modeling and reporting.
Own and lead the end-to-end Change Control process, ensuring all changes in scope or cost are properly documented, reviewed, and approved by the necessary parties.
Analyze and negotiate contractor change order requests, aiming to mitigate unnecessary cost and scope creep.
Maintain the project Change Order Log, providing transparent tracking of all potential and executed changes.
Work proactively with the design and construction teams to identify potential change drivers and implement mitigation strategies.
Manage and finalize contract processes and documents related to RFIs (Requests for Information) and change orders.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams (Engineering, Procurement, Finance, Legal) to ensure commercial and financial outcomes align with strategic organizational objectives.
Serve as the key resource for cost reporting and cost management support for the project.
Build trusted relationships with external vendors and general contractors to drive performance improvement and control costs.
Establish and lead cross-functional cost management programs to drive performance improvement.
Ensure cost controls processes and tooling are optimized and consistently applied across the technical organization.