Project Controls Manager

Actalent; Philadelphia (Philadelphia County); Hybrid; USD 69,000 - 99,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental & vision

401(k) Retirement Plan

Life Insurance

Disability insurance

HSA

Transportation benefits

PTO

Job summary

Actalent is seeking a Project Controls Manager for hybrid, site-based work in central New Jersey. The role focuses on cost management, forecasting, cashflow, and vendor contract administration across pharmaceutical project portfolios.

Responsibilities include project setup, cost reporting, change orders, invoice review, and closeout activities. You will collaborate with PMs, designers, and construction teams to drive financial transparency and schedule alignment using Primavera P6.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in project controls, cost management, or cost analysis in a construction or construction management environment.
• Strong background in cost control, including cost reporting, forecasting, and re-forecasting.
• Hands-on experience with project controls for construction projects, including project setup, cost tracking, and vendor management.

Responsibilities

• Set up new projects in the clients systems, ensuring all cost management structures, budgets, and coding are correctly established.
• Lead cost reporting activities, including preparing regular cost reports and performing forecasting and re-forecasting to reflect current project performance.
• Develop and maintain cashflow and spend projections to support financial planning and decision-making for ongoing projects.
• Coordinate vendor contract and purchase order setup, ensuring alignment with project budgets, scopes, and commercial terms.
• Review and process change orders, verifying accuracy, compliance with contract requirements, and alignment with approved budgets.
• Review invoices for accuracy against contracts, purchase orders, and project progress before approval.
• Manage vendor closeout activities, confirming that all deliverables are complete, final invoices are reconciled, and contractual obligations are fulfilled.
• Support project closeout by reconciling budgets, final costs, and commitments, and preparing final cost reports.
• Collaborate with project management, construction management, and preconstruction teams to provide cost analysis and control throughout the project lifecycle.
• Contribute to construction scheduling and coordination efforts, working with planners and schedulers to align cost forecasts with schedule milestones.
• Utilize Primavera P6 and other project controls tools to integrate cost and schedule data for comprehensive project reporting.
• Participate in business development and design-phase activities by providing cost input and analysis to support proposals, estimates, and early-stage planning.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date project controls documentation, ensuring data integrity and compliance with internal standards and client requirements.
• Communicate clearly with stakeholders regarding budget status, risks, variances, and opportunities for cost optimization.
• Support continuous improvement of project controls processes and tools, sharing best practices and lessons learned across the team.

Skills

Cost control

Forecasting

Vendor management

Project controls

Primavera P6

Cost reporting

Communication

Tools

Primavera P6

Excel

Cost accounting software

Job description

Job Title: Project Controls Manager Job Description

We are seeking a Project Controls Manager to support complex construction and site development projects within the pharmaceutical sector. This hybrid, site-based role in central New Jersey focuses on comprehensive cost management activities, including project setup, cost reporting, forecasting, cashflow projections, and vendor contract administration. You will play a key role in ensuring financial transparency and control across multiple projects while collaborating closely with project managers, designers, and construction teams.

Responsibilities

• Set up new projects in the clients systems, ensuring all cost management structures, budgets, and coding are correctly established.
• Lead cost reporting activities, including preparing regular cost reports and performing forecasting and re-forecasting to reflect current project performance.
• Develop and maintain cashflow and spend projections to support financial planning and decision-making for ongoing projects.
• Coordinate vendor contract and purchase order setup, ensuring alignment with project budgets, scopes, and commercial terms.
• Review and process change orders, verifying accuracy, compliance with contract requirements, and alignment with approved budgets.
• Review invoices for accuracy against contracts, purchase orders, and project progress before approval.
• Manage vendor closeout activities, confirming that all deliverables are complete, final invoices are reconciled, and contractual obligations are fulfilled.
• Support project closeout by reconciling budgets, final costs, and commitments, and preparing final cost reports.
• Collaborate with project management, construction management, and preconstruction teams to provide cost analysis and control throughout the project lifecycle.
• Contribute to construction scheduling and coordination efforts, working with planners and schedulers to align cost forecasts with schedule milestones.
• Utilize Primavera P6 and other project controls tools to integrate cost and schedule data for comprehensive project reporting.
• Participate in business development and design-phase activities by providing cost input and analysis to support proposals, estimates, and early-stage planning.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date project controls documentation, ensuring data integrity and compliance with internal standards and client requirements.
• Communicate clearly with stakeholders regarding budget status, risks, variances, and opportunities for cost optimization.
• Support continuous improvement of project controls processes and tools, sharing best practices and lessons learned across the team.

Essential Skills

• Approximately 5 years of experience in project controls, cost management, or cost analysis in a construction or construction management environment at a mid-level capacity.
• Strong background in construction cost control, including cost reporting, forecasting, and re-forecasting.
• Hands-on experience with project controls for construction projects, including project setup, cost tracking, and vendor management.
• Proficiency in reviewing and managing change orders, ensuring accuracy and adherence to contract and budget requirements.
• Experience with invoice review and vendor closeout processes for construction or engineering projects.
• Ability to develop and maintain cashflow and spend projections for complex projects.
• Knowledge of general contractor and construction management practices and processes.
• Experience working on preconstruction and site development projects.
• Familiarity with pharmaceutical or highly regulated industrial project environments.
• Ability to commute to the project site in central New Jersey on a regular basis.
• Strong organizational and analytical skills with attention to detail in cost and contract documentation.
• Effective communication skills to collaborate with project managers, designers, engineers, and other stakeholders.
• Proficiency with project management and project controls tools, including experience or familiarity with Primavera P6.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Experience in construction scheduling is a plus, particularly integrating schedule and cost data.
• background in design-phase support, providing cost input during project planning and development.
• Exposure to business development activities, such as supporting proposals or estimates with cost information.
• Understanding of cost management practices in large-scale infrastructure, energy, or industrial projects.
• Ability to work in a consulting or engineering services environment, supporting multiple stakeholders and projects.
• Interest in contributing to sustainable, future-focused infrastructure and energy systems.
• Adaptability to evolving client requirements, including changes in onsite presence and reporting needs.

Work Environment

This role is hybrid and site-based in the central New Jersey area, with an expectation to be onsite 34 days per week during the initial onboarding period while you learn client projects, systems, and processes. After onboarding, you are expected to be onsite at least 50% of the time, subject to changes in client requirements. You will work closely with a global team of consultants, designers, engineers, and project managers in a collaborative, supportive culture that values innovation and sustainable impact. The environment involves construction and site development activities within a pharmaceutical setting, using project controls tools such as Primavera P6 and other cost management systems. The culture emphasizes support, collaboration, professional growth, and the freedom to shape your career, with opportunities to work on projects that push boundaries and contribute to transforming infrastructure and energy systems.

Job Type & Location

This is a Contract to Hire position based out of Philadelphia, PA.

Pay and Benefits

The pay range for this position is $50.48 - $72.11/hr. Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors. Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits available for this temporary role may include the following:

• Medical, dental & vision
• Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital
• 401(k) Retirement Plan Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available
• Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents)
• Short and long-term disability
• Health Spending Account (HSA)
• Transportation benefits
• Employee Assistance Program
• Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)
• Job Type & Location
• This is a Contract to Hire position based out of Philadelphia, PA.

Application Deadline

This position is anticipated to close on Oct 24, 2026.

Workplace Type

This is a hybrid position in Philadelphia,PA.

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email [e-mail] for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.