Project Controller

NextPlay Jobs; Wichita (KS); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

NextPlay Jobs is seeking a Project Controller to help build and scale the project controls function for complex industrial projects. The role partners with project managers, engineers, procurement, and leadership to deliver visibility across cost, schedule, progress, change, risk, and performance.

You will be close to the work, shaping dashboards, reporting rhythms, and decision-quality insights across multiple disciplines from kickoff through closeout.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Project Management, Business, Finance, Operations, or a related field preferred.
• 3+ years of experience in project controls, cost control, scheduling, or EPC/industrial projects are valued.
• Experience with budgets, forecasting, scheduling, progress measurement, variance analysis, and reporting.

Responsibilities

• Track budgets, commitments, actual costs, accruals, forecasts, and projected final costs.
• Develop and maintain project schedules with Project Managers.
• Monitor progress against baselines and identify critical-path activities.
• Analyze variances and support cost-to-complete, cash flow, and margin analysis.
• Prepare weekly and monthly project controls reports and dashboards.

Skills

Cost control

Scheduling

Forecasting

Data analysis

Excel

Power BI

Project controls

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering/Construction Management

Tools

Microsoft Project

Primavera P6

Power BI

Microsoft Dynamics 365

Excel

Job description

Industrial Construction | Energy & Advanced Manufacturing

Build More Than Projects. Help Build the Project Controls Function.

A growing industrial construction and engineering company is investing heavily in the way it plans, tracks, and delivers complex projects, and we’re looking for Project Controllers who want to be part of building that next chapter.

This isn't a role where you'll inherit a rigid process and spend your days updating spreadsheets.

You'll join a newly developing Project Controls team and work alongside an experienced Senior Project Controller to create better visibility across cost, schedule, progress, change, risk, and project performance.

You'll be close to the work, partnering directly with Project Managers, engineers, procurement, construction teams, and leadership on complex industrial projects from kickoff through closeout.

For someone who wants to build a serious career in Project Controls, this is an opportunity to get exposure to the entire discipline instead of being boxed into one small piece of it.

Why This Opportunity Stands Out

Help build the function.

The company is actively investing in Project Controls. You'll have a voice in developing the processes, reporting, dashboards, and operating rhythms the team will use going forward.

You'll work across cost, schedule, forecasting, change management, risk, procurement, construction, commissioning, and closeout.

Work on complex industrial projects.

You'll support large-scale engineering and construction projects in growing energy and industrial markets.

Work directly with decision-makers.

Your reporting won't disappear into a spreadsheet. Project Managers and leadership will use your analysis to make real project decisions.

Build a career path.

This team is being built for the long term, creating an opportunity to grow into Senior Project Controls, Project Management, or broader project leadership positions as the organization expands.

What You'll Own

Cost & Forecasting

You'll help Project Managers understand where their projects actually stand financially and where they're headed.

You’ll:

• Track budgets, commitments, actual costs, accruals, forecasts, and projected final costs.
• Monitor committed and uncommitted spend.
• Analyze budget-to-actual variances and investigate what's driving them.
• Support cost-to-complete, cash flow, contingency, and margin analysis.
• Reconcile project costs across contracts, purchase orders, accounting systems, and project reports.
• Help Project Managers build more accurate forecasts before issues become surprises.

Scheduling & Progress

You'll help turn the project schedule into an active management tool rather than something that gets updated once a month.

You’ll:

• Develop and maintain project schedules alongside Project Managers.
• Track engineering, procurement, fabrication, construction, commissioning, and closeout milestones.
• Monitor actual progress against project baselines.
• Identify critical-path activities, constraints, and potential delays.
• Support lookahead schedules and recovery plans.
• Validate percent complete and progress reporting with project teams.

Project Performance

You'll connect the dots between cost + schedule + scope + progress.

You’ll:

• Perform variance and trend analysis.
• Track project KPIs and performance indicators.
• Support earned value concepts including CPI and SPI where appropriate.
• Identify emerging cost or schedule risks.
• Help determine the root cause behind project variances.
• Work with Project Managers to turn performance issues into corrective actions.

Change Management

Scope changes happen. Your job is to make sure they don't become invisible project problems.

You’ll:

• Track potential and approved changes.
• Help evaluate cost and schedule impacts.
• Follow changes from identification through pricing, approval, execution, and baseline updates.
• Maintain the documentation necessary to create a clear project audit trail.

You’ll help teams see around corners.

You’ll:

• Maintain project risk and opportunity registers.
• Track mitigation plans, owners, and due dates.
• Help identify cost, schedule, procurement, resource, and execution risks.
• Escalate emerging issues before they materially impact project performance.

You’ll turn project data into information people can actually use.

You’ll:

• Prepare weekly and monthly project controls reports.
• Develop dashboards and performance views.
• Clearly communicate forecasted outcomes, variances, schedule concerns, changes, and risks.
• Maintain accurate project data across approved systems.
• Help leadership understand not just what happened, but what is likely to happen next.

Who We’re Looking For

We’re less interested in finding someone with the perfect title and more interested in finding someone who understands how projects work and wants to become excellent at controlling them.

You may be a great fit if:

• You naturally dig into numbers when something doesn’t look right.
• You understand that schedule problems eventually become cost problems.
• You’re comfortable asking Project Managers questions and challenging assumptions with data.
• You enjoy creating structure where processes aren’t fully developed yet.
• You want exposure beyond just scheduling or just cost.
• You like being close enough to the project to understand what’s actually happening.
• You want to learn from an experienced Project Controls leader and grow into greater responsibility.

What We’d Like You to Bring

• 3+ years of experience in project controls, project engineering, cost control, scheduling, construction, EPC, capital projects, industrial projects, manufacturing, or another project-based environment.
• Experience with some combination of project budgets, forecasting, scheduling, progress measurement, variance analysis, change management, procurement tracking, risk, or project reporting.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Strong Excel skills and comfort working with project data.
• Ability to communicate effectively with Project Managers, engineers, construction teams, procurement, finance, and leadership.
• A willingness to be hands‑on. This team is being built, and everyone will contribute to making it successful.

Experience with industrial construction, EPC, energy, renewable fuels, manufacturing, process facilities, or complex capital projects is especially valuable.

Experience with tools such as Microsoft Project, Primavera P6, Power BI, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Excel, Teams, SharePoint, or similar project controls systems is a plus.

A bachelor's degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Project Management, Business, Finance, Operations, or a related field is preferred, but meaningful hands‑on project experience matters.

The Opportunity

The best part of this role is where the organization is today.

The Project Controls function is being built and strengthened now.

That means you’ll have the opportunity to join early, learn directly from senior leadership, help establish how projects are controlled, and grow alongside the function rather than waiting years for someone above you to leave.

If you’re currently touching pieces of Project Controls and thinking, "I want to learn the whole thing," this could be the opportunity you’ve been waiting for.