Senior Project Controls Analyst

ACCO Engineered Systems; Columbus (OH); On-site; USD 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Career development opportunities

Health benefits

Job summary

ACCO Engineered Systems is seeking a Senior Project Controls professional in Columbus, Ohio, to oversee project governance, including budgeting, scheduling, and cost controls for construction projects. The successful candidate will ensure compliance with corporate and regulatory standards while supporting project management with accurate project data.

Applicants should have at least 5 years of experience in project controls and demonstrate proficiency in financial analysis and project forecasting tools. This position requires strong communication skills and the ability to manage multiple priorities under tight deadlines.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of industry experience in construction project controls.
• 3+ years managing projects over $25 million.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work under pressure.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement project controls for budget, scheduling, and cost management.
• Collaborate with Project Manager to ensure project accounts align with general ledger.
• Monitor and report on project cost performance versus forecasts.

Skills

Project control abilities

Organizational skills

Financial analysis

MS Excel proficiency

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field

Tools

Primavera

MS Office

Job description

General Job Description

The Senior Project Controls role develops and implements standardized project controls to manage or support budgets, scheduling, cost control, purchasing, billing, collections and accounts payable for construction projects. Reporting to The Assistant Corporate Controller, this role is responsible for establishing and leveraging standard processes in the functions above in support of the Project Manager and other project team members as assigned.

Supervises

n/a

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

Cost Control / Accounting

• Support the Project Manager (PM) in the following activities, as requested:
• Reconcile project accounts with general ledger entries and labor postings.
• Track project budgets and expenditures.
• Monitor cost performance vs. forecasts.
• Identify cost overruns and recommend corrective actions.

Schedule Management

• Work with General Contractor to align milestone planning.
• Work closely with General Contractor to align weekly work planning goals, three-week look-aheads and relevant percent of plan complete (PPC) metrics.
• Lead General Foreman (GF) level pull planning sessions, both internally and externally tracking quality of commitments made.
• Produce Primavera data and output in accordance with General Contractor needs.
• Create visual KPI / metrics dashboards that drive change.
• Assess the state of the project as necessary to create confidence in schedule data.
• Work with internal Procurement Engineer to identify material and equipment constraints impacting planned work. Identify possible future material and equipment constraints for prioritization.
• Align data gathering and output to support relevant client KPIs, EVM, etc.
• Work with Project Engineer/Detailing Lead to ensure RFI/constraints are reflected within the schedule.
• Work with GF to understand shop commitments to meet JIT material needs to site.
• Generate weekly Status reports for GF/PM team to complete and incorporate into ACCO schedule/ look ahead outputs.

KPI & EVM Management

• Align ACCO billing requests with end user and client performance metrics (KPI, EVM, etc.).
• Provide data to support performance to date and forecasted future performance through collection and monitoring of various productivity metrics.
• Detailed measurement and tracking of fabrication, installation and inspection of materials forming a set of analytics representative of performance and supportive of billing requests.
• Work with the client to provide the project data they require in easy-to-digest packages.

Billing & Collections

• Coordinating with Project Management staff to create and submit billings each month to the client (Lump sum jobs only).
• Support the Collections department and Project Management staff to collect payments and track compliance with payment and collection terms/conditions, including certified payroll, as applicable.
• Tracking billing progress to ensure billing milestones are met (e.g., % complete, earned value).
• Flagging issues that may delay billing (e.g., disputes, incomplete documentation, etc.) and working with the Project Management team to resolve prior to them being a problem.
• Coordinating with the client through the Billing / Collections departments to resolve billing questions or compliance related complications to avoid payment delays.
• Align cost and schedule data for accurate forecasting.
• Provide earned value or milestone data to support progress billing.
• Maintain Cash Flow projections for the project and update monthly based on forecasted project milestones and payment terms.
• Coordinate with the client on retention release and overall management to assist with positive cash flow performance.
• Support the Collections department in the creation and approval of lien releases for ACCO and its subcontractors to facilitate prompt payment from the client.

Accounts Payable - Responsible For (supporting/monitoring)

• Validation of Work Progress & Approvals.
• Coordinate with the PM/PE to review subcontractor/vendor payment applications for progress alignment.
• Coordinate with field teams to confirm work-in-place before AP payment.
• Support contract compliance (e.g., retention, holdbacks).
• Cost Coding & Accruals – Ensure accurate cost coding to correct WBS or cost codes before AP posts invoices through delegated Medius approval.
• Provide accrued and unaccrued cost reconciliation to POs and committed cost for month‑end if goods/services are received but invoices are not posted.
• Monitoring Committed vs. Actual Costs – Track commitments and ensure alignment with paid invoices, flag overruns or inconsistencies, and keep JDE current with Open Commitment information.
• Communication Liaison – Act as bridge between project teams and AP for clarifying and correcting invoice discrepancies, responding to vendor inquiries, and prioritizing urgent payments.
• Assist the Project Management team in processing vendor and subcontractor invoices and act as the "point person" in Medius for the project.
• Assist Forecasting Support – Feed AP data into cost performance reports and adjust forecasts based on actual AP data.

Compliance & Audits

• Ensure adherence to contract terms, regulatory requirements, and internal controls.
• Support audits (support the Billing department for T&M billing audits) with documentation and reporting.

Position Requirements (Education, Work Experience, Skills, Certifications, Licenses, etc.)

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Construction Management, or related field required and at least 5 years of industry experience.
• 3+ years of experience in project controls for projects $25+ million.
• Ability to operate independently and autonomously.
• Demonstrate a corresponding high sense of integrity.
• Strong interpersonal and project control abilities, employing strong organizational skills to respond successfully to a high volume of issues.
• Demonstrated ability to organize and prioritize work and work under pressure to meet deadlines.
• Working knowledge of MS Office tools, with emphasis on the advanced use of MS Excel in creating and maintaining detailed, interactive spreadsheets, workbooks, and databases.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with a proven ability to interact and multitask with project team members, clients, and vendors of varying position levels.
• Proficiency in project forecasting, cost controls, billing and project controls methods and tools.
• Familiarity with finance and accounting systems.

ACCO Competencies

• Proactivity / Initiative: Recognizes what needs to be done and accomplishes it in a manner appropriate for one's level/position and with minimal supervision.
• Perseverance: Shows wherewithal to fight for difficult goals despite challenges and to bounce back from adversity.
• Insight: The ability to gather and make sense of information that suggests new possibilities.
• Engagement: Shows a knack for using emotion and logic to communicate a persuasive vision and connect with people.
• Teamwork: The ability to effectively work toward common goals with others by supporting, encouraging, and sharing information in an authentic and approachable manner.
• Big Picture: Understands and contributes to organizations' short- and long-term business strategy. On a personal level has independently developed a vision for short- and long-term career success.
• Motivation / Dedication: Commits to excellence in pursuing unselfish goals. Initiates action with collective goals, takes responsibility and shows personal humility.
• Technical Curiosity / Willingness to Learn: Interest in seeking out new experiences, knowledge, and candid feedback; demonstrating an openness to learning and change.
• Problem-Solver: Ability to identify, analyze, and solve a problem in support of personal, group, department, or organizational objectives.

Physical Requirements

• The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include Close vision and Distance vision.
• While performing the duties of this Job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear.
• The employee is frequently required to stand, walk; sit.
• The employee is occasionally required to reach with hands and arms; climb or balance and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl, especially when conducting job site walks.

Hours

This is an exempt position. Workdays are scheduled from Monday through Friday. Typically, work hours begin and end between 7:00 am and 5:00 pm as scheduled with the position's supervisor. Occasional overtime may be necessary per business needs.

Travel

Project locations once a month or as needed.