DCE Project Controls Manager

Flexential; United States; Hybrid; USD 135,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical benefits

Dental & Vision

401(k)

HSA & FSA

Life Insurance

Disability Insurance

PTO

Job summary

Flexential is seeking a senior project controls leader to oversee cost tracking, budgeting, and reporting across multiple live builds and data center projects. The role emphasizes cost control, schedule integration, and rigorous subcontract and LOE management in a hybrid work model.

The candidate will manage CPM-based planning, EV metrics, and multi-project forecasting while ensuring compliance with GMP-like controls and formal change management processes. Strong field presence is required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in a relevant field.
• 5–8 years of experience in project controls, cost engineering, or construction accounting on heavy industrial or utility-scale projects.
• 2–3 years on mission-critical or data center construction projects with heavy MEP cost profiles.

Responsibilities

• Establish and maintain project controls reporting frameworks, financial tracking standards, and performance metrics to ensure consistent portfolio-level visibility and decision support.
• Maintain active site sub-ledgers and execute daily cost-code accounting using MasterFormat/Uniformat standards, ensuring all field commitments are logged accurately.
• Review, verify, and process monthly progress billings and pay applications from the General Contractor, cross-referencing all billings against site work-in-place verification.
• Collect, audit, and log lien waivers from all sub-tier trades to eliminate financial, legal, and title risks.
• Monitor delivery timelines, tax exemptions, and milestone payments for OFE once items transition to the field.
• Isolate, track, and bookkeep distinct budgets for large operational repair or retrofit builds to prevent cost blending with standard budgets.
• Command the change order defense process; review Subcontractor Change Orders for entitlement.
• Verify contractor material quantities and labor rates against baselines and labor indexes.
• Execute rapid quantity takeoffs for field variations to negotiate fair value with contractors.
• Monitor early warnings on labor productivity, material waste, and design gaps to flag overruns.
• Integrates project budgets with master schedules using CPM to calculate SPI/CPI via EVM.
• Build and update monthly site-level and portfolio-level WIP forecasts and cash drawdown curves.
• Develop and improve project controls reporting standards, dashboards, and metrics for leadership.
• Provide weekly financial health updates, early-warning risk logs, and contingency drawdown status reports.
• Lead coordination across teams to drive alignment on controls, forecasting, cost management, and schedule performance.
• Advise on portfolio-wide contingency liquidity and cash velocity to optimize capital deployment.
• Support multi-project forecasting and financial performance reporting.

Skills

Cost accounting and controls

Field cost tracking

Schedule integration

Earned Value Management (EVM)

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Construction Management/Finance/Engineering/Accounting

Tools

PMIS tools

Excel

Critical-path scheduling software

Job description

Mission

Serve as the VP of Construction's direct tactical eyes and ears on the ground, governing daily project financial defense, variance tracking, change validation, schedule integration, and project controls reporting processes.

Mission

Serve as the VP of Construction's direct tactical eyes and ears on the ground, governing daily project financial defense, variance tracking, change validation, schedule integration, and project controls reporting processes.

Core Focus

Ensure active field execution matches contractual billing, provide immediate visibility into cost variances, defend the portfolio contingency against erosion, establish reporting frameworks used across projects, and audit multi-project bookkeeping

Scope

Strategic tracking of multiple concurrent live builds, utility campus infrastructure projects, and active operational retrofit/repair construction projects while maintaining ownership of project controls processes, reporting standards, and portfolio-level financial visibility.

Key Responsibilities And Essential Job Functions

Cost Tracking & Project Bookkeeping Controls

• Establish and maintain project controls reporting frameworks, financial tracking standards, and performance metrics to ensure consistent portfolio-level visibility and decision support.
• Maintain active site sub-ledgers and execute daily cost-code accounting using MasterFormat/Uniformat standards, ensuring all field commitments are logged accurately.
• Review, verify, and process monthly progress billings and pay applications from the General Contractor, cross-referencing all billings against physical on-site work-in-place verification.
• Collect, audit, and log conditional and unconditional lien waivers from all sub-tier trades to eliminate financial, legal, and title risks.
• Monitor delivery timelines, tax exemptions, and milestone payments for critical Owner-Furnished Equipment (OFE) once items transition to the field.
• Isolate, track, and bookkeep distinct budgets for large operational repair or retrofit builds to prevent cost blending with standard facility maintenance budgets.

Field Estimating & Change Management

• Command the change order defense process; review incoming Subcontractor Change Orders (PCOs/COs) for strict contractual entitlement.
• Verify contractor material quantities and labor rates against original contract baselines and regional labor indexes.
• Execute rapid, first-principles quantity takeoffs for field variations to negotiate fair value with contractors before work begins.
• Monitor early warning indicators on labor productivity, material waste, and design gaps to flag cost overruns before they impact the ledger.

Schedule Integration & Reporting

• Integrates project budgets with active master schedules using critical path methodology to calculate schedule and cost performance indexes (SPI/CPI) via Earned Value Management (EVM).
• Build and update monthly site-level and portfolio-level Work-in-Progress (WIP) forecasts and cash drawdown curves for direct review by the VP of Construction.
• Develop, maintain, and continuously improve project controls reporting standards, dashboards, and portfolio performance metrics utilized by leadership and project stakeholders.
• Provide unfiltered weekly financial health updates, early-warning risk logs, and contingency drawdown status reports to leadership.
• Lead coordination across project teams, contractors, consultants, and internal stakeholders to drive alignment on project controls, forecasting, cost management, and schedule performance.
• Advise the VP of Construction on portfolio-wide contingency liquidity and cash velocity to optimize capital deployment.
• Support long-range portfolio planning activities through multi-project forecasting, capital deployment analysis, and projected financial performance reporting.

Document Coordination & Audit Support

• Audit and process final contract closures, retention reconciliations, and sub-tier ledger settlements upon project commissioning.
• Enforce strict compliance with corporate budget boundaries, contractual frameworks, and Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) structures.
• Identify opportunities to improve project controls processes, reporting methodologies, financial controls, and compliance practices across the portfolio.
• Support corporate financial and compliance audits by providing clean, unassailable financial records of site expenditures, signed waivers, and progress history.

Required Qualifications

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Construction Management, Finance, Civil/Mechanical Engineering, or Accounting.
• 5–8 years of experience in project controls, cost engineering, or construction accounting on heavy industrial or utility-scale commercial projects.
• At least 2–3 years working directly on mission-critical or data center construction projects with a clear understanding of heavy MEP cost profiles.

Technical Skills

• Advanced proficiency utilizing enterprise construction PMIS tools, relational spreadsheet applications, and critical-path scheduling software.
• Strong understanding of open-book cost reviews, shared savings clauses, and multi-tier contract mechanics.
• Comfortable splitting time between the office and the active construction field to verify work-in-place alongside superintendents.

Base Pay Range

The annual salary range offered for this position is estimated to be $135,000 - $150,000. However, the actual pay range depends on each candidate’s experience, location, and qualifications.

Variable Pay

Discretionary annual bonus, based on personal and company performance.

Work Location:

This position follows Flexential's hybrid and remote work model flexibility. In-office collaboration typically occurs on Tuesdays and Wednesdays when located within a commutable distance from Flexential’s office / hub locations including: Denver, CO (HQ) | Hillsboro, OR | Dallas, TX | Atlanta, GA | Charlotte, NC | Collegeville, PA. Candidates located outside of a reasonable commuting distance can be considered for a remote work based on role requirements, business needs, and hiring manager approval.

We are looking for candidates who possess unique skills that set them apart from the rest. If you're enthusiastic about this role and believe you have the skills and abilities that would make you successful.

At Flexential, we value diversity and believe that different perspectives and unique skills make us stronger as a team. While we've outlined the qualities and skills we are looking for in this job posting, we understand that there may be attributes and abilities that aren't explicitly listed but could be a perfect fit for our team. We're enthusiastic about assembling a diverse team of individuals who bring various talents to the table. Your unique perspective and abilities may be just what we need to drive innovation and success.

Benefits Of Working At Flexential

• Medical, Telehealth, Dental and Vision
• 401(k)
• Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
• Life and AD&D
• Short Term and Long-Term disability
• Flex Paid Time Off (PTO)
• Leave of Absence
• Employee Assistance Program
• Wellness Program
• Rewards and Recognition Program

Benefits

Benefits are subject to change at the Company's discretion.

Work Location Eligibility

At this time, we are only able to employ individuals who reside and perform work in states where the company is authorized to do business and maintain employment registrations. We are currently unable to consider applicants who reside or will perform work in the following states: Arkansas, Alaska, Alabama, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Washington DC. Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States and must reside in a state where the company maintains employment eligibility at the time of hire and throughout their employment. State eligibility may be subject to change based on business needs and regulatory requirements. Flexential participates in the E-Verify program. Please click here for more information.

EEOC Statement

Flexential is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.