Project Controls Assistant

Exp Us Services; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 63,000 - 78,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Long-Term Disability

Short-Term Disability

Life Insurance

Wellness reimbursement

Pre-tax transportation

Job summary

Exp Federal is seeking a Project Controls Assistant to support the Construction and Mission Support Group across multiple offices, including Chicago, Atlanta, and Chantilly. This full-time role focuses on budgeting, cost tracking, and financial reporting to ensure projects stay within approved budgets.

The ideal candidate has a degree in finance or related field and 3–5 years of experience in project budgeting and cost management.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, business, construction management, project management, or a related field.
• Three to five years of relevant experience.
• Experience developing or maintaining project budgets, tracking costs, preparing forecasts, and analyzing budget-to-actual variances.
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple projects, deadlines, and reporting cycles with a high degree of accuracy.
• Ability to work near the Chicago, Atlanta, or Chantilly office.

Responsibilities

• Maintain and update project budgets, cost plans, and financial tracking tools in coordination with project managers.
• Monitor project commitments, actual costs, labor charges, expenses, and remaining budget to support accurate cost control.
• Prepare recurring cost reports, budget summaries, forecasts, and variance analyses for project and operational leadership.
• Identify budget variances, cost trends, and potential overruns; communicate findings and support development of corrective actions.
• Support estimate-to-complete and estimate-at-completion updates by collecting, validating, and reconciling project cost data.
• Review project financial information for accuracy and coordinate with Accounting and project teams to resolve discrepancies.
• Assist with invoice review, billing support, purchase order and subcontract tracking, and documentation of project commitments.
• Maintain cost-control records, logs, supporting documentation, and audit-ready project files in Kahua and other business systems.
• Support project setup, coding structures, budget revisions, change tracking, and financial closeout activities.
• Prepare financial portions of project progress reports and provide cost information for internal and client-facing deliverables

Skills

Budget tracking

Cost control

Forecasting

Organization

Education

Bachelor's degree in finance, accounting, business, construction management, project management, or related field

Tools

Kahua

Job description

If you are unable to complete this application due to a disability, contact this employer to ask for an accommodation or an alternative application process.

Project Controls Assistant

FD-M-EXE Atlanta, GA, US

Salary Range: $62,700.00 To $77,900.00 Annually

Atlanta, GA; Chantily, VA; or Chicago, IL
Exp Federal is an established, collaborative, and growing full-service architectural, engineering and construction firm that provides a full range of design solutions and construction to the federal government. Our team of professionals operates in some of the most challenging environments to provide services to a variety of governmental agencies globally.

The Challenge:

We are seeking a Project Controls Assistant for the Construction & Mission Support Group. Ideal candidates are independent thinkers, self-motivated, communicate proactively, enjoy collaborating across disciplines, and thrive in a non-corporate environment and structure.

Principle Areas of Responsibility:

• Maintain, and update project budgets, cost plans, and financial tracking tools in coordination with project managers.
• Monitor project commitments, actual costs, labor charges, expenses, and remaining budget to support accurate cost control.
• Prepare recurring cost reports, budget summaries, forecasts, and variance analyses for project and operational leadership.
• Identify budget variances, cost trends, and potential overruns; communicate findings and support development of corrective actions.
• Support estimate-to-complete and estimate-at-completion updates by collecting, validating, and reconciling project cost data.
• Review project financial information for accuracy and coordinate with Accounting and project teams to resolve discrepancies.
• Assist with invoice review, billing support, purchase order and subcontract tracking, and documentation of project commitments.
• Maintain cost-control records, logs, supporting documentation, and audit-ready project files in Kahua and other business systems.
• Support project setup, coding structures, budget revisions, change tracking, and financial closeout activities.
• Prepare financial portions of project progress reports and provide cost information for internal and client-facing deliverables

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, business, construction management, project management, or a related field; equivalent relevant experience may be considered.
• Three to five years of relevant experience
• Demonstrated experience developing or maintaining project budgets, tracking costs, preparing forecasts, and analyzing budget-to-actual variances.
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple projects, deadlines, and reporting cycles with a high degree of accuracy.
• Ability to work near the Chicago, Atlanta, or Chantilly office

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with project management or construction management software, such as Kahua.
• Experience supporting federal government contracts, construction-management programs, or architecture and engineering projects.
• Working knowledge of project cost structures, labor and expense tracking, commitments, change management, billing, and project closeout.

Salary Base:

This full-time position as a Project Controls Assistant – Construction & Mission Support has an annual range of $62,700.00-$77,900.00. The actual hourly rate is based on several factors that are unique to each candidate, including but not limited to skill set, depth of experience, certifications, and specific work location. This may be different in other locations due to differences in the cost of labor.

More About Us:

Exp Federal brings together Architecture & Engineering (A&E), Construction and mission-support professionals to deliver solutions for federal government clients. Our teams collaborate across disciplines to tackle complex projects and create meaningful results.

We believe in recognizing individual strengths and providing opportunities to grow. Whether your expertise is in design, engineering, construction, project delivery, or technical support, you’ll have the opportunity to make an impact while building your career.

Our Values:

Respect:We respect people, honor diversity, and treat each other fairly. These are the cornerstones of our culture and the key to our culture and the key to our ability to work successfully as a global team.

Unquestioned Integrity:We operate with the highest standards of honesty and responsibility – as individuals and as a corporation. We’re people who meet routine, everyday obligations with honesty.

Safety:We place the highest priority on the health and safety of our employees and protection of our assets and the environment. Our goal is zero work-related injuries.

Customer Service:We listen and respond to the changing needs of our customers, the industry, and the environment, and draw upon lessons learned from our experiences around the world.

Impeccable Quality:We recognize that quality is fundamental in all our operations — it is everyone’s responsibility. We have established procedures, assessments, and continuous improvement processes in place to ensure the quality of our work.

Sustainability:We understand the impact of our work on the environment and that sustainability is a part of everything we do. We work with customers to provide responsible, efficient, healthy, and effective project solutions to reduce our overall environmental impact.

What We Offer:

• Exponential full-time professional growth and development
• Fast-paced and professional work culture
• Health insurance including medical, dental, and vision
  • Health Savings Account and Flexible Savings Account options
  • Company HSA funding contributions
• Company-sponsored Long-Term Disability, Short-Term Disability, and Life Insurance
• Wellness reimbursement on fitness memberships and other qualified programs
• Pre-tax funds on qualified transportation and parking expenses

*Actual compensation packages are based on several factors that are unique to each candidate, including but not limited to skill set, depth of experience, certifications, and specific work location. This may be different in other locations due to differences in the cost of labor.

Exp Federal is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer who fully and actively supports equal access for all people regardless of Race, Color, Religion, Gender, Age, National Origin, Veteran Status, Disability, and Family and Medical Leave.

U.S. Citizenship is required for our positions in accordance with 8 U.S.C. 1324b.2c.

Should you need any special accommodations, please feel free to contact us at [e-mail] and we will arrange for the most suitable accommodations based on your needs.