Cost Control Specialist - Construction Audit

Azizi Development UAE; Dubai; On-site; AED 201,000 - 312,000; Full time

Job summary

Azizi Developments is seeking a Cost Control Specialist - Construction Audit in Dubai to oversee budgets, BOQs, variations, and risk analysis across major developments. You will monitor costs from commitment to final payment, identify discrepancies, leakage, and unsupported expenditure, and report findings for management review.

Ideal candidates have 5–10 years in construction cost control, project controls, quantity surveying, or cost auditing. UAE experience is preferred.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Quantity Surveying, Civil Engineering, Construction Management, Finance, Accounting, or related discipline.
• 5–10 years of experience in construction cost control, project controls, quantity surveying, cost auditing, or related functions.
• Direct experience in construction cost auditing is essential.

Responsibilities

• Monitor project expenditure against approved budgets, BOQs, estimates, cost plans, and financial forecasts.
• Establish and maintain cost-control systems, reporting structures, procedures, and cost coding practices.
• Track committed, actual, accrued, certified, and forecast costs throughout the project lifecycle.
• Analyse budget variances and investigate cost overruns or unexpected expenditure.
• Prepare monthly project cost reports, cost-to-complete analysis, cash flow inputs, and forecast final costs.
• Monitor expenditure related to contractors, subcontractors, consultants, suppliers, materials, and project services.
• Review invoices, interim payment applications, payment certificates, and supporting documentation before processing.
• Verify quantities, contractual rates, approved scope, and supporting records against payment claims.
• Monitor variations, change orders, claims, and scope changes and their impact on budgets.
• Ensure expenditure is allocated to the correct project, package, account, and cost code.
• Reconcile contracts, purchase orders, approved budgets, invoices, and payments.
• Conduct periodic and project-specific cost audits.

Skills

Construction cost control

Construction cost auditing

Project cost management

Financial control

Project controls

Quantity surveying

BOQ analysis

Budget monitoring

Cost forecasting

Cost-to-complete analysis

Forecast final cost

Variance analysis

Cost reconciliation

Accrual management

Commitment tracking

Contractor payment review

Payment certificate auditing

Subcontractor account review

Invoice verification

Variation analysis

Claims review

Change order control

Contract rate verification

Cost leakage identification

Procurement audit

Purchase order reconciliation

Cost coding

Project profitability analysis

Financial risk identification

Cost dashboards

Cost-control KPIs

Management reporting

Project feasibility analysis

Construction contracts

Commercial analysis

Microsoft Excel

ERP systems

Project cost-control systems

Financial analysis

Internal audit support

Education

Bachelor's degree in Quantity Surveying, Civil Engineering, Construction Management, Finance, or related field

Tools

ERP systems

Microsoft Excel

Job description

Job Snapshot

• Role: Cost Control Specialist - Construction Audit
• Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
• Industry: Construction
• Function: Financial Control
• Experience: 5-10 years in construction cost control, project controls, quantity surveying, or cost audit
• Job Type: Full-time

Job Overview

Cost Control Specialist - Construction Audit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates is a Construction opportunity for an experienced cost professional with strong expertise in project cost control, construction expenditure auditing, budgeting, forecasting, contractor payments, BOQs, variations, and financial risk analysis. Azizi Developments is hiring a specialist who can monitor project costs from commitment through final payment while independently identifying discrepancies, cost leakage, unsupported expenditure, overbilling, and emerging budget risks across major development projects.

Job Details

• Country: United Arab Emirates
• City: Dubai
• Industry: Construction
• Function: Financial Control
• Salary: 18000-28000 Estimated salary range based on similar jobs in the job city; please confirm the final offer with the employer.
• Gender: Any
• Candidate Nationality: Any
• Job Type: Full-time

Role Context

The Cost Control Specialist will provide detailed financial oversight across construction and real estate development projects by connecting approved budgets, contracts, purchase orders, certified works, invoices, accruals, commitments, variations, and actual payments. The position combines operational cost control with project-based cost auditing. It requires an understanding of how construction expenditure originates, how quantities and rates are measured, how payments are certified, and how contractual changes affect the final project cost. By identifying financial irregularities early and providing reliable cost-to-complete forecasts, the specialist will help management protect project margins, strengthen financial governance, improve expenditure visibility, and reduce avoidable cost leakage.

Key Responsibilities

• Monitor project expenditure against approved budgets, BOQs, estimates, cost plans, and financial forecasts.
• Establish and maintain effective cost-control systems, reporting structures, procedures, and cost coding practices.
• Track committed, actual, accrued, certified, and forecast costs throughout the project lifecycle.
• Analyse budget variances and investigate the underlying causes of cost overruns or unexpected expenditure.
• Prepare monthly project cost reports, cost-to-complete analysis, cash flow inputs, and forecast final cost assessments.
• Monitor expenditure related to contractors, subcontractors, consultants, suppliers, materials, and project services.
• Review invoices, interim payment applications, payment certificates, and supporting documentation before financial processing.
• Verify quantities, contractual rates, approved scope, and supporting records against submitted payment claims.
• Monitor variations, change orders, claims, and scope changes while assessing their impact on project budgets and forecasts.
• Ensure expenditure is accurately allocated to the appropriate project, package, account, and cost code.
• Reconcile contracts, purchase orders, approved budgets, invoices, certified payments, accruals, and actual project expenditure.
• Conduct periodic and project-specific cost audits covering construction packages and associated procurement activities.
• Audit contractor and subcontractor invoices to identify duplicate billing, unsupported charges, incorrect rates, over-certification, or unauthorized expenditure.
• Review BOQ quantities, material rates, labour costs, subcontractor charges, and contractual pricing against approved agreements.
• Examine variation submissions and claims for contractual entitlement, cost accuracy, documentation, and financial impact.
• Identify areas of cost leakage and recommend corrective controls to prevent recurrence.
• Review procurement and purchasing transactions associated with construction projects for compliance with approved procedures.
• Work closely with Project Managers, Quantity Surveyors, Procurement, Contracts, Commercial, and Finance teams.
• Prepare detailed audit observations, financial findings, and recommendations for senior management review.
• Track agreed corrective actions and confirm implementation of cost-control and audit recommendations.
• Produce management dashboards showing budget status, cost trends, commitments, variances, forecast exposure, and project financial performance.
• Develop and maintain practical cost-control KPIs for ongoing management monitoring.
• Provide early warnings where trends indicate potential overspending, cost escalation, or contractual exposure.
• Analyse project profitability and support management in evaluating forecast margins and expected final costs.
• Contribute cost data and analysis to annual budgeting, project feasibility studies, business planning, and financial forecasting.
• Support internal and external audit requirements by providing reconciliations, supporting documents, cost analysis, and project financial records.

Ideal Profile

The successful candidate will hold a Bachelor 's degree in Quantity Surveying, Civil Engineering, Construction Management, Finance, Accounting, or another relevant discipline. Applicants should bring 5-10 years of experience in construction cost control, project controls, quantity surveying, cost auditing, commercial management, or a closely related function. Direct experience in construction cost auditing is essential. Candidates should understand the complete financial flow of construction projects, including budgeting, procurement, contracting, measurement, certification, invoicing, accruals, payments, variations, and final cost forecasting. Experience gained with a developer, main contractor, consultant, or major construction organization will be particularly relevant. Strong working knowledge of BOQs, payment certificates, subcontractor accounts, contract rates, procurement transactions, claims, variations, commitments, accruals, and variance analysis is required. Candidates should be capable of identifying duplicate payments, unsupported costs, pricing inconsistencies, incorrect allocations, overbilling, and other forms of financial leakage. Previous UAE or GCC construction experience is preferred, particularly across residential, commercial, infrastructure, or large-scale real estate development projects. Professional qualifications such as RICS, MRICS, CIMA, ACCA, CPA, CMA, PMP, or equivalent certification would provide an advantage.

Skills Set

• Construction cost control
• Construction cost auditing
• Project cost management
• Financial control
• Project controls
• Quantity surveying
• BOQ analysis
• Budget monitoring
• Cost forecasting
• Cost-to-complete analysis
• Forecast final cost
• Variance analysis
• Cost reconciliation
• Accrual management
• Commitment tracking
• Contractor payment review
• Payment certificate auditing
• Subcontractor account review
• Invoice verification
• Variation analysis
• Claims review
• Change order control
• Contract rate verification
• Cost leakage identification
• Procurement audit
• Purchase order reconciliation
• Cost coding
• Project profitability analysis
• Financial risk identification
• Cost dashboards
• Cost-control KPIs
• Management reporting
• Project feasibility analysis
• Construction contracts
• Commercial analysis
• Microsoft Excel
• ERP systems
• Project cost-control systems
• Financial analysis
• Internal audit support

Why Join Us

This role provides the opportunity to influence the financial performance of major Construction and real estate development projects in Dubai by combining detailed cost management with independent cost assurance. The position offers broad exposure to project budgets, procurement, contractor accounts, claims, variations, financial systems, and senior-level reporting. For a professional with experience across both cost control and construction audit, it provides a strong platform to develop deeper expertise in project financial governance while helping protect margins and improve cost transparency across a substantial development portfolio.

About the Company

Azizi Developments is a Dubai-based real estate developer delivering residential, hospitality, commercial, and mixed-use developments across the United Arab Emirates. Its construction-driven operating model places strong emphasis on project controls, commercial discipline, quality, financial accountability, and efficient delivery across a growing portfolio of major developments.