Job detail for Senior Cost Manager

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Job Description:

Parsons is looking for an amazingly talented Senior Cost Manager to join our team!and The Senior Cost Manager will work closely with the Client's project, finance, commercial, and delivery teams, while coordinating with the Delivery Partner management and Directors, consultants, contractors, and other stakeholders to ensure that project expenditure remains aligned with approved budgets, scope, priorities, and overall program objectives.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Act as a senior cost management advisor to the Client on project CAPEX, budgets, expenditure, commitments, and financial performance.

• Support establishing, maintaining, and governing the overall project and program cost baseline.

• Review and validate project budgets, cost plans, estimates, forecasts, and financial assumptions.

• Monitor approved budgets against actual expenditure, commitments, forecasts, and anticipated final costs.

• Provide early identification of potential budget overruns, cost pressures, and financial risks.

• Provide recommendations on cost optimization, budget allocation, and financial risk mitigation.

• Support in maintaining clear visibility of overall CAPEX position and projected outturn cost.

• Ensure cost information is accurate, consistent, traceable, and aligned with the approved project governance framework.

CAPEX Management & Cost Assurance

• Lead the review and monitoring of project CAPEX throughout the project lifecycle.

• Review CAPEX forecasts, expenditure profiles, commitments, accruals, and anticipated final accounts.

• Establish and maintain CAPEX dashboards and management reporting for leadership and Client.

• Review cost movements and identify significant variances against approved budgets.

• Assess the financial impact of scope changes, design development, schedule changes, procurement strategies, and project risks.

• Provide independent cost assurance and challenge to project cost information submitted by contractors and consultants.

• Review cost data from multiple packages and workstreams to ensure consistency and avoid duplication or omissions.

• Support in assessing the financial implications of major project decisions and alternative delivery strategies.

Cost Control & Forecasting

• Review monthly cost reports, cost forecasts, commitments, accruals, and expenditure reports.

• In alignment with the Senior Commercial Managers, challenge and validate contractor and consultant cost forecasts.

• Monitor trends and provide forward-looking analysis of the expected final project cost.

• Review cost-loaded schedules and ensure alignment between cost and program performance.

• Analyze cost variances and develop corrective and mitigation actions with the relevant project teams.

• Establish appropriate cost reporting structures, coding, and cost breakdown structures.

• Ensure that cost information is integrated with planning, procurement, change, risk, and commercial management processes.

Change & Variation Management

• Review the cost impact of proposed changes, variations, claims, and scope development.

• Provide cost advice before approval of major changes and variations.

• Assess whether proposed changes are within approved budgets, contingency, or require additional funding.

• Monitor cumulative change impacts and their effect on the overall CAPEX position.

• Review change control submissions and ensure appropriate cost substantiation is provided.

• Support in maintaining effective change and contingency governance.

• Identify emerging changes and potential financial exposure at an early stage.

Client & Stakeholder Coordination

• Work closely with leadership, project directors, finance, commercial, procurement, planning, engineering, and delivery teams.

• Coordinate closely with the Delivery Partner's commercial, cost, planning, and project management teams.

• Provide clear and concise cost advice to management and Client.

• Participate, as required, in Client governance meetings, cost reviews, investment reviews, and project steering committees.

• In conjunction with the Senior Commercial Managers coordinate with consultants, contractors, suppliers, and other delivery stakeholders to validate cost information.

• Act as a bridge between technical/project delivery requirements and the Client's financial objectives.

Cost Reporting & Governance

• Develop and maintain senior-level cost reports, dashboards, and executive cost summaries.

• Prepare monthly and periodic CAPEX performance reports for management.

• Establish cost governance procedures, reporting requirements, approval workflows, and controls.

• Ensure that cost reporting is aligned with Client governance and financial management requirements.

• Track approved budget, current budget, commitments, actuals, forecast, contingency, and projected final cost.

• Provide clear commentary on significant cost movements, risks, opportunities, and required management actions.

• Support audits and provide supporting documentation for cost and financial reviews.

Risk, Value & Cost Optimization

• Identify and monitor cost-related project risks and opportunities.

• Coordinate with the project risk team to quantify cost exposure and potential financial impacts.

• Support value engineering and cost optimization initiatives while protecting project requirements and objectives.

• Review proposed design and scope solutions from a cost and value perspective.

• Challenge unnecessary cost growth and identify opportunities for improved value and budget efficiency.

• Support contingency management and advise the Client on appropriate contingency utilization.

**Delivery Partner **

• Provide senior cost management leadership within the Delivery Partner organization.

• Establish a consistent cost management approach across project packages and workstreams.

• Mentor and guide Cost Engineers, Quantity Surveyors, and other commercial/cost personnel.

• Ensure the Delivery Partner's cost information is fully aligned with Client requirements.

• Provide independent review and assurance of cost information produced by project teams.

• Support the Delivery Partner Project Director / Operations Manager in managing overall project financial performance.

• Escalate significant cost risks, trends, and potential budget impacts to senior management.

What Required Skills You’ll Bring

• Bachelor's degree in Quantity Surveying, Cost Management, Commercial Management, Engineering, Construction Management, or a related discipline.

• Minimum 15 years of relevant experience in cost management, commercial management, quantity surveying, or project controls.

• Proven experience in major capital projects, infrastructure, airports, transportation, or large-scale development programs.

• Strong experience working directly with Client / Owner organizations in a cost advisory, cost assurance, or project controls capacity.

• Demonstrated experience managing and monitoring large-scale CAPEX budgets.

• Strong understanding of project cost planning, forecasting, commitments, expenditure, cash flow, contingency, and final cost forecasting.

• Experience reviewing contractor and consultant cost submissions, forecasts, variations, and claims.

• Strong understanding of change control and its impact on project budgets.

• Experience working within structured Client governance and approval frameworks.

• Strong commercial and financial acumen with the ability to challenge cost information and provide independent advice.

• Experience working in a Delivery Partner, PMC, Consultant, or Client-side environment is highly desirable.

• Professional certification such as MRICS, PMP, CCP, or equivalent is desirable.

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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