Cost Manager

HKA Birmingham; Sydney; Hybrid; AUD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working environment

Job summary

HKA Birmingham is seeking a senior Cost Controller/Project Controls professional to manage cost across large infrastructure programs in a hybrid Sydney environment. You will integrate cost with scheduling, risk management, and change control, while delivering KPI reports and actionable cost insights.

The role focuses on contract management, variations, and ensuring value for money across major projects in energy, water, transport and data centers.

Qualifications

• Tertiary qualifications in construction, engineering, finance, or related fields.
• Experience in rail/transport infrastructure and oil & gas projects.
• Experience in project controls and cost reporting.
• Ability to analyse scheduling, risk, and cost control integration.
• Experience in client-side project teams and commercial advice.

Responsibilities

• Provide cost control across complex projects with multiple stakeholder interests and interdependencies.
• Monitor and control budgets with robust forecasting and change management.
• Advise on contract management, variations, and invoice disputes.
• Prepare and present Cost Reports with KPI variance analysis.
• Develop Cost Plans including cost and cash flow.
• Identify cost saving opportunities and drive value for money.

Job description

At HKA, you'll work with project owners, contractors and infrastructure investors across asset-heavy industries including Energy, Water, Transport, Resources and Data Centres, delivering complex programs reliably, on time and on budget.

We support clients across the capital lifecycle, from setting major programs up for success, through commercial advisory and supply chain engagement, to delivery assurance during execution. You'll contribute across this spectrum, combining strategic advice, capability building and hands-on support.

What sets HKA apart is where we've come from. We're globally recognised for claims and dispute resolution when projects don't go to plan. That experience shapes how we work day to day, grounded in what actually happens on projects.

You'll be part of a team helping clients make better decisions, deliver more reliably and avoid costly missteps.

At HKA, you'll work alongside experienced practitioners on real project challenges, with early responsibility and tangible impact

What's on Offer?

• The opportunity to be a part of a rapidly growing team and be part of driving the future success and development of our global business.

• Develop your career working with a Management Consultancy firm that works on large, high profile infrastructure projects.

• Be a part of the complex decision making and judgements on the best strategies that can affect the three critical outcomes of customer service, safety, and cost effectiveness.

The Opportunity

• Provide cost control across complex projects with multiple stakeholder interests and interdependencies, raising standards and driving improvements in cost management, in adherence with governance standards and delegations, in tracking variances, with a key focus on a monthly integration with scheduling and risk management.

• Monitor and control budgets through robust forecast and change management.

• Provide expert financial and cost controls advice in relation to contract management, including supporting the management of variations, contractor payments, and invoice disputes on a regular /ad hoc basis.

• Preparation and presentation of Cost Reports, summarising performance, including KPI reporting and variance analysis commentary.

• Preparation of Cost Plans including Cost flow and Cash flow.

• Participate in efforts to analyse systems, processes, and procedures to support continuous improvement.

• Provide timely and authoritative advice to identify, manage and minimise actual and potential cost pressures and drive value for money outcomes.

• Contribute to and identify cost saving opportunities.

• Ensure accurate allocation of Actual Costs.

• Utilise Earned Value Management and other performance measurement techniques to monitor performance.

• Provide regular updates on key projects and programs, issues, and priorities.

Skills and Experience

The role holder may have both direct reports and manage a team of cost controllers and is expected to have demonstrated implementation of best practice.

The ideal candidate must have:

• Appropriate tertiary qualifications in construction, engineering, finance, or related fields from a recognised tertiary institution.

• Extensive proven experience in the development and delivery of complex rail and/or transport infrastructure and oil & gas projects with specific experience in the development of integrated project controls.

• Experience maintaining effective, best practice project controls.

• Experience in analysing scheduling, risk management, change control including integration with cost control outputs on large infrastructure projects is essential.

• The ability to make complex judgements on the best strategies to maximise preparedness for future requirements and consistently communicating that all decisions can affect the three critical outcomes of customer service, safety, and cost effectiveness.

• Confidence to adapt to a dynamic work environment as it evolves and progresses through substantial change.

• Working collaboratively, exchanging information, and assisting other team members to achieve team objectives and outcomes.

• Experience working within client-side project teams, providing independent cost management and commercial advice.

• Experience in contract administration, variation assessment and change management, including evaluation of cost impacts and supporting commercial decisions.

• Strong understanding of claims, contractual and commercial matters associated with major infrastructure projects.

• Experience developing and improving cost reporting, forecasting and project controls processes to provide clearer management information.

• Ability to work across cost, commercial, planning, risk and project management disciplines, providing an integrated view of project performance.

• Experience communicating complex cost and commercial information to senior management and key project stakeholders.

• Experience working in a consultancy environment and embedded within client organisations, adapting to different project governance and reporting requirements.

What we offer:

At HKA we recognise that our people are critical to our ongoing success. Our priority is to provide an inclusive and collaborative culture aimed at providing the best opportunities for our people to thrive and develop in their chosen career path.

We offer a hybrid working environment.

Our Global Recruitment team is committed to providing an authentic candidate experience for all those who take the time to apply to HKA. We are committed to providing an efficient and insightful recruitment process giving candidates a true reflection of life at HKA. We are committed to responding to all applicants who apply by the closing date.

ED&I at HKA:

HKA has a thriving ED&I committee working hard to provide an inclusive and welcoming environment for a truly diverse set of employees. We are committed as a business on the continued improvement of our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion strategy, please visit our website for further information or feel free to ask our recruitment team for further information.

All HKA employment decisions are firstly made on merit and shall be made without regard to age, disability, gender or gender reassignment, marriage, and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation, or anyother basis in compliance with local legislation.

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