Cost & Budget Lead

GSK; City of Westminster; On-site; GBP 75,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

A global biopharma company located in the City of Westminster is seeking a Cost & Budget Lead in Capital Projects. This role involves designing and overseeing cost control and budgeting frameworks, managing Capex and Opex budgets, and ensuring financial accuracy across large-scale projects. The ideal candidate will have significant experience in cost controlling, particularly within the pharmaceutical or similar industries, and strong stakeholder management skills. The company embraces diversity and aims to make a positive impact on global health.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in Cost Controlling, with at least 3 in a leadership role.
• Experience as Finance controller or Business Controller for budgeting and OPEX tracking.
• Senior stakeholder management and project reporting experience.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement cost control and budgeting frameworks.
• Lead budget development for GCP initiatives.
• Track and report Opex performance against forecasts.

Skills

Cost control & forecasting

Stakeholder management

Advanced Excel

Budget development

Education

Bachelor's degree in Finance, Engineering, Project Management

Tools

SAP

Oracle

ERP Systems (Ariba, Coupa)

Job description

The Cost & Budget Lead in Capital Projects is responsible for designing, implementing, and overseeing cost control and budgeting frameworks across large-scale capital project portfolios. This role ensures financial accuracy, thorough forecasting, strategic risk management, and informed decision-making throughout the project life cycle—from planning through execution and closure. It includes oversight of both Capex and Opex budgets within the GCP portfolio, ensuring financial accuracy, proactive forecasting, and strategic cost governance across the project lifecycle. The position reports directly to the Director of Cost & Risk Management within the Project Controls Department, Global Capital Projects.

Global Capital Project Budget Management

• Lead the development and consolidation of budgets for all GCP initiatives.
• Ensure alignment of project budgets with corporate financial objectives and governance standards.
• Manage operational expenditure budgets related to GCP activities (e.g., maintenance, sustaining capital, project support costs).
• Track and report Opex performance against forecasts, identifying optimization opportunities.
• Implement cost control systems and processes for global projects.
• Prepare monthly forecasts, variance analysis, and financial reports for Capex and Opex.
• Create and maintain cost control tools, procedures, and documentation to support robust budget management across projects.
• Lead the creation of initial cost estimates and project budgets, including building detailed WBS breakdowns.
• Track actuals versus budget, drive accruals and periodic forecast updates, prepare monthly/weekly forecasts, and report variances.
• Maintain cost risk registers and manage change requests impacting budgets.
• Support contingency planning and scenario analysis for global projects.
• Collaborate with project managers, finance, procurement, and regional teams to ensure accurate reporting and compliance.
• Present cost performance updates to senior leadership and governance boards.

Tools & Systems

• Cost control & forecasting software (e.g., SAP, Oracle)
• Advanced Excel (pivot tables, macros, data modeling)
• ERP, Procurement systems (Ariba, Coupa, etc.)

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Engineering, Project Management or related field.
• 8+ years of experience in Cost Controlling, with at least 3 years in a leadership role within the pharmaceutical/life sciences industry or similar (Oil & Gas, Power/Energy).
• Experience as Finance controller or Business Controller for business budgeting and OPEX tracking.
• Experience with cost control & forecasting software (e.g., SAP, Oracle).
• Advanced Excel skills (pivot tables, macros, data modeling).
• Senior stakeholder management and project reporting experience.

Preferred Qualifications & Skills

• MSc or other Chartered / Professional Qualification in a relevant discipline.
• Good pharma background or working experience from capital projects (not mandatory).
• Solid knowledge of GSK project process, user requirement management, quality and compliance requirements, site project completion and pre-start processes, and how these impact engineering and design, construction, commissioning, and qualification contracts.
• Familiar with the GCP Project Management Framework (PMF), relevant engineering standards and compliance requirements, and Quality Management Systems.
• PMP (Project Management Professional) or CCP (Certified Cost Professional) or PMI-SP (Scheduling Professional) or Lean Six Sigma or similar process improvement credentials.

GSK is a global biopharma company with a purpose to unite science, technology and talent to get ahead of disease together. We aim to positively impact the health of 2.5 billion people by the end of the decade. Our culture is anchored in ambition for patients, accountability for impact, and doing the right thing. If you need adjustments to assist you in demonstrating your strengths and capabilities, please contact [e-mail]. GSK is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), parental status, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, military service, or any basis prohibited under applicable law. GSK does not accept referrals from employment businesses or agencies for the vacancies posted on this site.