Senior Project Controls Manager

Overview

Job Description

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Position Summary

Leadership & Strategy

• Lead the development and implementation of project controls strategies, standards, and procedures for utility capital projects and programs.
• Manage, mentor, and develop a team of planners, schedulers, cost engineers, and analysts.
• Serve as a key advisor to project and program leadership on schedule, cost, risk, and performance trends.
• Drive continuous improvement in project controls tools, processes, and reporting, aligned with industry best practices (e.g., AACE, PMI).

Planning & Scheduling

• Oversee the development, integration, and maintenance of detailed project and program schedules using tools.
• Ensure schedules reflect realistic work sequencing, resource constraints, outage windows, permitting, environmental, and regulatory requirements specific to utilities.
• Monitor schedule performance, perform schedule health checks, and develop recovery or acceleration plans as required.
• Conduct schedule risk analyses and scenario planning for major projects and programs.

Cost Management & Forecasting

• Lead the establishment of project baselines, including budgets, cash flows, and cost breakdown structures.
• Oversee cost tracking, forecasting, and earned value management, including variance analysis and root-cause identification.
• Ensure accurate and timely monthly cost reporting, including commitments, actuals, contingencies, and forecast at completion.
• Coordinate with Finance, Procurement, and Project Management to reconcile project financials and align with corporate reporting.

Risk & Change Management

• Implement and maintain risk management processes, including risk registers, qualitative and quantitative risk assessments, and mitigation plans.
• Oversee project change management processes: evaluate change requests, assess schedule and cost impacts, and ensure proper approvals and documentation.
• Manage contingency development and utilization, ensuring transparency and governance around drawdowns.

Reporting & Governance

• Develop and maintain standardized dashboards and reports for executive leadership, project sponsors, and regulatory stakeholders.
• Present schedule, cost, and risk updates at governance forums, steering committees, and portfolio review meetings.
• Ensure compliance with internal governance frameworks, regulatory requirements, and audit standards.

Stakeholder & Interface Management

• Collaborate with Engineering, Construction, Operations, Environmental, Regulatory, Procurement, Real Estate, and Finance teams to integrate project controls data.
• Act as a liaison between field project teams and corporate functions to resolve issues and align priorities.
• Support external reporting and filings for regulators and public agencies as required (e.g., capital plans, rate cases).

Systems, Tools & Data Integrity

• Own and optimize project controls systems and tools (e.g., P6, cost management systems, business intelligence tools).
• Ensure data quality, consistency, and integrity across all project controls functions.
• Champion digitalization initiatives, including automation of reporting, data analytics, and integration of field data into project controls.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Finance, Business, or related field required.
• Master’s degree in a related discipline preferred.

Experience

• Minimum 10 years of progressive project controls experience, with at least 5 years in a leadership role.
• Significant experience in the utilities sector (electric transmission & distribution, gas infrastructure, water/wastewater, generation, or similar regulated infrastructure).
• Proven track record managing project controls on large, complex, multi-year capital programs or portfolios.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Deep knowledge of project controls disciplines: planning & scheduling, cost control, earned value, risk, and change management.
• Strong understanding of utility project lifecycles, including permitting, right-of-way, outages, construction constraints, and regulatory oversight.
• Proficiency in scheduling software and cost management tools; experience with PowerBI, Tableau, or similar analytics tools is highly desirable.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills; ability to interpret complex data and communicate insights clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Excellent leadership, people management, and coaching skills, with experience building and leading high-performing teams.
• Strong communication and presentation skills, including the ability to present to senior executives and external stakeholders.
• Ability to work effectively in a matrixed environment and manage multiple priorities across a portfolio of projects.

Key Performance Indicators

• Adherence to approved project and program schedules.
• Accuracy of cost forecasts versus actuals and budgets.
• Timeliness and quality of project controls reporting.
• Effectiveness of risk identification, mitigation, and change control.
• Stakeholder satisfaction (project teams, executives, regulators).
• Team engagement, development, and retention metrics.
• Parsons equally employs representation at all job levels no matter the race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, disability or genetic information.
• We truly invest and care about our employee’s wellbeing and provide endless growth opportunities as the sky is the limit, so aim for the stars!
• Imagine next and join the Parsons quest—APPLY TODAY!
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