Director of Project Controls

Overview

This role provides enterprise-wide leadership and oversight of project controls operations across the organization and its member firms. Reporting to the Chief Financial Officer, the Director of Project Controls strengthens project financial performance, establishes consistent project controls practices, and equips leadership with clear insight into project health, profitability, and performance.

The position leads the development and implementation of project controls policies, procedures, systems, and best practices while partnering with Finance, Operations, project management teams, and member firm leadership. Focus areas include project setup, pricing, forecasting, earned value reporting, budgeting, financial analysis, and monitoring challenged projects.

Responsibilities

• Lead, manage, and provide strategic oversight of the enterprise project controls function across the organization and its member firms.
• Oversee project controls operations to ensure consistent processes, policies, procedures, and performance standards.
• Lead and provide oversight, direction, and support to project controls team members, including outsourced and geographically dispersed resources, ensuring work quality, accountability, consistency, and alignment with organizational standards.
• Consolidate and deliver monthly project performance reporting, providing leadership visibility into project health, profitability, and performance trends.
• Monitor and maintain a consolidated list of challenged and high-risk projects; partner with project and operational leaders to identify risks and develop corrective actions.
• Develop, implement, and continuously improve project controls policies, procedures, tools, and best practices.
• Establish and recommend standardized approaches for project setup, budgeting, forecasting, pricing, earned value management, and project performance monitoring.
• Oversee earned value reporting and project performance metrics across member firms to ensure consistent and accurate reporting.
• Establish project performance benchmarks and KPIs to evaluate project and member firm performance and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Partner with Finance, Accounting, Operations, and project leadership to analyze project financial performance, with emphasis on gross margin, profitability, forecasting, and variance analysis.
• Support the preparation of annual budgets, forecasts, and periodic financial reporting; communicate significant variances and trends to leadership.
• Help maintain accurate project and financial data within the organization’s Financial Planning & Analysis system and ERP systems.
• Partner with member firm leadership to identify opportunities to improve project profitability, financial performance, and project controls practices.
• Lead the development and delivery of project controls training programs; identify ongoing training and development needs.
• Identify, train, and provide ongoing support to employees responsible for project controls functions within member firms.
• Provide guidance and support for project management training initiatives and promote consistent financial and project management practices.
• Serve as a subject matter expert and resource regarding project controls, financial performance, project setup, pricing, forecasting, and reporting.
• Provide regular reports and recommendations to executive leadership regarding project performance, financial trends, risks, and opportunities.
• Evaluate existing project controls practices and recommend improvements that support scalability, operational efficiency, and organizational strategic goals.
• Enforce company policies and established project controls standards consistently and fairly across the organization.
• Perform other related duties as necessary or assigned.
• Travel is required to fulfill essential duties and responsibilities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Accounting, Engineering, Construction Management, Project Management, or a related field; equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered.
• 8–10+ years of progressive experience in project controls, project management, financial analysis, or a related discipline, preferably within the AEC or professional services industry.
• Demonstrated experience leading project controls functions across multiple projects, offices, business units, or organizations.
• Strong understanding of AEC project financial management, including project budgets, forecasting, profitability, gross margin, variance analysis, earned value, pricing, and project performance metrics.
• Demonstrated experience developing and implementing project controls policies, procedures, processes, and performance standards.
• Experience working with ERP, project controls, financial planning, and reporting systems; experience with Power BI or similar FP&A platforms preferred.
• Strong analytical skills to evaluate complex project and financial data, identify trends and risks, and develop actionable recommendations.
• Demonstrated ability to establish and monitor KPIs, benchmarks, and performance metrics.
• Experience identifying and managing challenged or underperforming projects and partnering with project teams to develop corrective action plans.
• Proven ability to train, coach, and support project controls and project management professionals across multiple teams or business units.
• Strong leadership and interpersonal skills to influence and collaborate effectively with executive leadership, member firm leaders, project managers, Finance, Accounting, and other stakeholders.
• Strong business acumen, including understanding profitability and how project-level decisions impact overall business results.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, growth-oriented environment.
• Excellent written, verbal, and presentation skills to communicate complex financial and project information clearly to both technical and executive audiences.
• Strong problem-solving and decision-making skills to define problems, analyze data, establish facts, and develop effective solutions.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite, particularly Excel, and project controls/ERP software.
• Ability to work independently while maintaining strong collaboration across a geographically dispersed organization.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Power BI or similar FP&A platforms.

Compensation & Benefits

• Flexible Time Off
• 401k with match
• Comprehensive medical coverage plans

Location

• Dallas, TX (travel required)