TPO Project Controls Manager

CenterPoint Energy, Inc.; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive pay

Paid training

Benefits from day one

Flexible work schedule

On-site wellness center at Houston HQ

Tuition reimbursement

401(k) with company match

Job summary

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. seeks a Project Controls Manager to lead cost management, scheduling, forecasting, and reporting for a portfolio of complex transmission capital projects.

You will partner with project managers and leadership to implement standards and governance across EPC and Owner’s Engineer teams. You will build scalable controls processes, integrate contractor data, and drive consistent execution with practical tools and dashboards, supporting informed decisions and portfolio

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent and relevant project controls experience.
• 10+ years in engineering/project/construction management within electric transmission/substation.
• Experience implementing project controls standards & processes.

Responsibilities

• Define and document cost management, scheduling, forecasting, earned value, change management, and reporting standards.
• Establish roles, accountability, and governance for project controls across the organization.
• Build a scalable controls framework spanning planning to closeout.
• Collaborate with EPC and OE teams to integrate schedules and cost forecasts.
• Lead routine reviews to identify risks, trends, and changes early.
• Ensure changes are reflected in cost forecasts and risk registers.

Skills

Cost management

Scheduling

Forecasting

Earned value

Change management

Risk management

Performance reporting

Leadership

Collaboration

Contractor management

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering, Business, Business Management, Project Management, Construction Management, or related field

6+ years relevant work experience in lieu of degree

Tools

Templates & Dashboards

Job description

CenterPoint Energy and its predecessor companies have been in business for more than 150 years.

Our Vision: Our vision is to become the most admired utility in the United States through the execution of our long-term growth strategy. We have an unwavering commitment to safely and reliably deliver electricity and natural gas to millions of people.

Our Commitment: CenterPoint Energy is committed to creating an inclusive work environment where business results are achieved through the skills, abilities and talents of our diverse workforce.

At CenterPoint Energy, individuals are respected for their contributions toward our company objectives. We strive for an inclusive work environment across all levels that is reflective of the available workforce in the communities we serve.

Job Summary

The Project Controls Manager is responsible for establishing, leading, and continuously improving the project controls function for the Transmission Portfolio Office. This role provides leadership and governance for cost management, scheduling, forecasting, risk management, change management, performance measurement, and project reporting across a portfolio of complex capital projects.

The Project Controls Manager serves as a strategic partner to project managers and leadership, ensuring projects are delivered with accurate visibility into cost, schedule, risk, and overall performance. The position develops and implements project controls standards, processes, tools, and reporting practices that support consistent project execution and informed decision-making across the portfolio.

Essential Functions

• Project Controls Strategic Leadership:
  • • Define and document standards for cost management, scheduling, forecasting, earned value, change management, risk, contingency, and performance reporting, supported by practical tools, templates, dashboards, and processes that drive consistent application and improve project and portfolio visibility.
    • Establish clear roles, responsibilities, accountabilities, and expectations for project controls across the organization.
    • Build a scalable project controls framework that serves as an integrated delivery capability, not solely a reporting function, and supports projects from planning and development through construction and closeout as the portfolio evolves.
    • Balance appropriate rigor with simplicity, building practical solutions that improve execution and move work forward without waiting for perfect clarity.
• Leadership and Collaboration:
  • Build organizational capability through talent development, succession planning, and continuous improvement activities.
    • Foster collaboration and influence across engineering, operations, supply chain, finance, legal, and regulatory organizations through credibility, sound judgment, and respectful challenge
    • Work hands-on with project teams to solve problems in a fast-paced, evolving environment while maintaining portfolio-level standards and governance.
• EPC and OE Interface:
  • Serve as the primary Project Controls interface with EPC and Owner’s Engineer (OE) contractors, establishing clear expectations for cost, schedule, forecasting, risk, change management, and performance reporting.
    • Integrate contractor schedules, cost forecasts, progress measurements, commitments, and other controls data into the Company’s reporting framework, giving leadership one integrated and consistent view of project performance and forecasted outcomes.
  • Establish and maintain consistent coding structures, WBS/CBS alignment, reporting cutoffs, progress‑measurement rules, and data requirements across Company, EPC, and OE systems and deliverables.
  • Review and challenge contractor schedules, forecasts, estimates, progress updates, trends, and change impacts to ensure information is complete, internally consistent, and aligned with the approved project baseline.
    • Lead routine project controls reviews with EPC and OE teams to identify schedule interfaces, cost exposure, trends, risks, and potential changes early, and address variances, reporting discrepancies, and corrective actions.
  • Ensure contractor change requests and change orders are appropriately reflected in cost forecasts, schedules, risk registers, and project reporting, maintaining traceability from identification through disposition.

Education Description

Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering, Business, Business Management, Project Management, Construction Management, or related field from an accredited college or university.

A minimum of 6 years of applicable work experience related to CenterPoint Energy’s engineering and construction work practices can be considered in lieu of a bachelor’s degree.

Experience

• 10+ years in engineering/project/construction management within electric transmission and/or substation.
• Demonstrated expertise in cost management, scheduling, forecasting, project performance reporting, risk management, and change management.
• Experience supporting large, complex capital infrastructure, utility, energy, transmission, EPC, or construction projects.
• Demonstrated experience developing and implementing project controls standards and processes, not only administering established systems.

We want you to know
Being a part of the CenterPoint Energy team is more than a career alone. It's an opportunity to make a positive impact. You will be an integral part of enabling everyday life and the pursuit of possibilities for the customers we serve and the communities we share. The vital services we provide are at the core of making our world work, and by sharing your energy with us, we'll create a better tomorrow together.

What we bring to you

• Competitive pay
• Paid training
• Benefits eligibility begins on your first day
• Flexible work schedule, paid holidays and paid time off
• Access to discounts at fitness clubs and an on-site wellness center at our headquarters in Houston
• Professional growth and development programs including tuition reimbursement
• 401(k) Savings Plan featuring a company match dollar‑for‑dollar up to 6% and a company contribution of 3% regardless of your contribution

Job Type:Full Time
Posting Start Date: 10/27/2026
Posting End Date: 11/10/2026

This contractor and subcontractor shall abide by the requirements of 41 CFR §§ 60-1.4(a), 60-300.5(a), and 60-741.5(a). These regulations prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals based on their status as protected veterans or individuals with disabilities and prohibit discrimination against all individuals based on their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin. Moreover, these regulations require that covered prime contractors and subcontractors take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment individuals without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status or disability.