Cost Control Manager

About Arada

Role Purpose

• Pre-Award Independent Audit & Gateway Control

• Mandatory Tender Sign-Off: Review, audit, and provide formal feedback on all Pre-Tender Estimates (PTE) and Tender Recommendation Reports before any package finalization.
• Independent Budget Verification: Act as an independent control point to cross-verify procurement and commercial tender returns against the approved business case.
• Executive Gateway Reporting: Prepare and present concise "Gate Review" commercial analysis briefs to the Project Controls Director, CDO, and CEO, explicitly highlighting budget variances and risks prior to contract award.
• Design-Stage Cost Checks: Monitor schematic and detailed design progressions to flag budget deviations early, forcing mandatory Value Engineering (VE) triggers if baselines are breached.

• Post-Award Budget Governance & FFC Control

• Budget vs. FFC Reconciliation: Own the monthly audit of Budget versus Forecast Final Cost (FFC) across all active assets. Identify and challenge hidden cost overruns or optimistic forecasting by project site teams.
• Contingency Drawdown Audit: Establish and enforce strict governance over project risks and contingencies. Validate that any drawdown request is backed by robust data and contractually justified.
• Trend Log & Early Warning Governance: Implement and oversee an active Trend Log system to capture potential variations, design changes, and claims weeks before they manifest as formal commercial risks.

• Cost Monitoring, Reporting & BI Automation

• Data Integrity Auditing: Validate and sign off on all monthly cost reports, cash flow projections, and cost-to-complete metrics, ensuring they represent a single source of truth.
• Executive Dashboards: Drive the development of automated, live Power BI dashboards for the C-suite, focusing strictly on Management by Exception by flagging projects tracking outside a 5% variance threshold.
• Proprietary Benchmarking: Oversee the construction and maintenance of a live internal cost-per-square-foot benchmarking database using historical data from completed Arada phases.

• Team Leadership & Interface

• Internal Audit Team Management: Manage and mentor Senior Cost Controllers and Analysts, instilling a culture of objective, data-driven financial auditing.
• Cross-Departmental Interface: Partner effectively with the established Pre- and Post-Contract Commercial, Procurement, and Project Management teams while maintaining strict departmental independence.

Education

• Bachelor’s Degree in Quantity Surveying, Civil Engineering, or a related field.
• MRICS certification is highly preferred.

Experience

• 12–15 years of experience in cost control, commercial management, or quantity surveying within top-tier developers or international consultancies in the UAE.

Technical Skills

• Deep proficiency in enterprise cost management systems.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills.
• Strong Power BI dashboard development and reporting capabilities.

Core Competency

• Exceptional analytical authority with the confidence and credibility to challenge commercial submissions and present objective risk data directly to executive leadership.