Project Controls Director - Program Governance

Parsons; Riyadh; On-site; SAR 60,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Parsons Riyadh is seeking a Project Controls Director to lead governance across a major multi-contractor program. You will own the controls framework linking schedule, cost, risk, change, contracts, and executive reporting.

Ideal candidate has 25+ years in project controls with 15+ in senior leadership, strong expertise in Primavera P6, EVMS, and integrated master schedules; PMP/PSP is desirable.

Qualifications

• Minimum 25 years of progressive project controls experience.
• At least 15 years in senior leadership roles managing large controls teams.
• Strong knowledge of cost control, scheduling, risk, forecasting and reporting.

Responsibilities

• Establish the program-wide project controls strategy and governance.
• Direct development of integrated master schedules and cost baselines.
• Provide executive dashboards and performance reporting.

Skills

Project controls leadership

Primavera P6

Power BI

Earned Value Management

Schedule risk analysis

Cost control

Multi-contractor program management

Executive reporting

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Master's degree in Project Management

PMI certifications (PMP, PMI-SP)

Tools

Primavera P6

Power BI

Tableau

Job description

Project Controls Director - Program Governance Job Snapshot Role: Project Controls Director - Program Governance Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Industry: Construction Function: Project-Program Management Experience: 25 years in project controls, including 15 years in senior leadership roles Job Type: Full-time

Country: Saudi Arabia City: Riyadh Industry: Construction Function: Project-Program Management Salary: 60000-85000 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

The Project Controls Director will own the controls framework that connects schedule, cost, risk, change, contracts, and executive reporting across a major multi-contractor development program. The position will establish common standards and systems while ensuring individual project packages produce consistent, auditable, and forward-looking information. A central objective is to identify emerging cost and schedule exposure early enough for leadership to take corrective action before issues affect contractual milestones, contingency, cash flow, or overall program outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

• Establish the program-wide project controls strategy, governance framework, systems, procedures, and reporting requirements.
• Develop project control plans and performance measurement structures aligned with Client and program objectives.
• Integrate planning, scheduling, cost management, risk, change control, and performance reporting across the complete project lifecycle.
• Standardize project controls policies and methodologies across multiple packages, contractors, consultants, and delivery teams.
• Direct preparation and governance of the integrated master schedule.
• Ensure engineering, procurement, construction, testing, commissioning, operational readiness, and handover activities are logically integrated.
• Review contractor schedules for contractual compliance, realistic logic, appropriate resources, and alignment with program milestones.
• Monitor critical and near-critical paths and identify emerging threats to schedule certainty.
• Lead critical path analysis, schedule risk assessment, and resource-loaded scheduling strategies.
• Develop schedule forecasts and direct preparation of mitigation and recovery plans where performance deviates from baseline.
• Challenge unrealistic sequencing, productivity assumptions, constraints, and recovery proposals.
• Direct cost engineering activities covering estimating, budgeting, cost control, expenditure tracking, and cash flow forecasting.
• Establish approved project cost baselines and maintain visibility of commitments, actual expenditure, forecasts, and remaining liabilities.
• Lead monthly cost reporting, variance analysis, estimate-at-completion reviews, and financial performance forecasting.
• Analyze cost trends and initiate corrective measures where projected performance threatens approved budgets.
• Maintain alignment between cost and schedule information through integrated performance measurement.
• Apply Earned Value Management principles where appropriate to evaluate physical progress and cost efficiency.
• Establish and maintain comprehensive program risk management processes.
• Lead risk identification workshops involving project leadership and relevant delivery functions.
• Direct qualitative and quantitative risk assessments covering cost and schedule uncertainty.
• Oversee schedule and cost risk modeling to support contingency assessment and management decisions.
• Maintain program risk registers and monitor exposure, mitigation actions, ownership, and residual risk.
• Escalate significant threats and opportunities to senior leadership with clear recommendations.
• Direct the evaluation and control of project changes, variations, and emerging trends.
• Establish formal change governance covering identification, assessment, approval, baseline integration, and implementation.
• Facilitate Change Control Board meetings and ensure decisions are supported by adequate cost, schedule, risk, and contractual analysis.
• Coordinate with Commercial and Contracts teams on claims, entitlement assessments, variations, and negotiation strategies.
• Maintain accurate visibility of early warnings, potential changes, pending decisions, and claims exposure.
• Ensure approved changes are incorporated into the appropriate schedule and cost baselines.
• Lead development of executive dashboards, performance reports, KPIs, and management presentations.
• Convert complex project data into concise information highlighting trends, exceptions, risks, and required decisions.
• Maintain consistency and transparency in reporting across all project packages.
• Provide strategic analysis to executive leadership on forecast outcomes, performance deterioration, and recovery priorities.
• Direct implementation and optimization of digital project controls systems and performance platforms.
• Promote automation, advanced analytics, and data visualization to improve reporting speed and forecasting accuracy.
• Establish data governance requirements that protect accuracy, consistency, traceability, and integrity.
• Maintain standardized records and controls documentation to support internal and external audits.
• Identify technologies and methodologies that strengthen performance monitoring and predictive analysis.
• Lead planners, schedulers, cost engineers, risk specialists, reporting analysts, and other project controls professionals.
• Define team responsibilities, technical standards, reporting expectations, and performance objectives.
• Develop succession, training, and capability-building strategies for the controls organization.
• Conduct performance reviews and provide leadership development for senior controls personnel.
• Promote strong accountability for data quality, analysis, forecasting, and timely escalation.
• Coordinate closely with Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Commercial, Contracts, Finance, Operations, and Commissioning teams.
• Align project controls activities with contractual requirements and procurement strategies.
• Support evaluation of project claims through contemporaneous schedule, cost, and performance evidence.
• Maintain communication with Clients, consultants, contractors, project partners, and senior stakeholders.
• Identify cross-functional issues that could disrupt program performance and coordinate timely resolution.
• Ensure project controls practices remain responsive to fast-paced delivery conditions and changing program priorities.

Ideal Profile

• Bachelor 's degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Project Management, or a related discipline.
• Minimum 25 years of progressive project controls experience on major capital programs.
• At least 15 years of senior leadership responsibility managing substantial project controls organizations.
• Master 's degree in Project Management, Engineering, or Business Administration is preferred.
• Proven experience directing controls for complex, high-value, multi-contractor programs.
• Extensive expertise in cost control, planning and scheduling, risk management, forecasting, change control, and performance reporting.
• Advanced command of Primavera P6 and professional cost management systems.
• Strong understanding of engineering, procurement, construction sequencing, commissioning, and project lifecycle integration.
• Demonstrated expertise establishing integrated master schedules and controlling complex program baselines.
• Strong knowledge of Earned Value Management and integrated performance measurement.
• Practical experience with schedule risk analysis and quantitative cost risk assessment.
• Deep understanding of contract administration, procurement, claims evaluation, and change governance.
• Experience working with international contract frameworks such as FIDIC is highly desirable.
• Expert capability in executive reporting and interpretation of complex program performance data.
• Experience implementing digital project controls platforms, automated reporting, and analytics solutions.
• Strong proficiency with Power BI, Tableau, or comparable data visualization technologies.
• PMP, PSP, CCP, EVP, PMI-SP, RMP, or equivalent professional certification is highly desirable.
• Proven ability to direct large multidisciplinary teams in high-pressure project environments.
• Strong commercial awareness and ability to connect technical performance with financial and contractual consequences.
• Excellent leadership, negotiation, decision-making, communication, and executive presentation skills.

Skills Set

• Project controls leadership
• Program controls
• Integrated master scheduling
• Primavera P6
• Cost engineering
• Cost control
• Cost estimating
• Budget management
• Cash flow forecasting
• Estimate at Completion
• Critical path analysis
• Resource-loaded scheduling
• Schedule risk analysis
• Schedule recovery
• Earned Value Management
• Performance measurement
• Quantitative risk analysis
• Cost risk modeling
• Risk management
• Change control
• Change Control Board governance
• Claims analysis
• FIDIC
• Contract administration
• Variance analysis
• Forecasting
• Executive reporting
• KPI management
• Project controls dashboards
• Power BI
• Tableau
• Project performance analytics
• Data governance
• Digital project controls
• Multi-contractor program management
• Baseline management
• Audit readiness
• Team leadership

Why Join Us

Saudi Arabia 's major capital development programs require project controls leadership capable of connecting financial performance, schedule certainty, contractual exposure, risk, and executive decision-making across highly complex delivery environments. This position provides program-level authority to shape governance, introduce advanced analytics, strengthen forecasting, and direct a substantial controls organization. It offers an experienced leader the opportunity to influence the performance and commercial discipline of a major Construction program in Riyadh.

About the Company

Parsons Corporation delivers engineering, infrastructure, program management, and technology solutions for complex capital projects worldwide. In Saudi Arabia, its teams support major development and infrastructure programs through integrated project controls, engineering management, commercial governance, digital delivery, and disciplined oversight of cost, schedule, risk, and project performance.