Vice President, Project Controls Manager

WSP USA; Los Angeles (CA); Hybrid; USD 201,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

WSP USA is seeking a Vice President, Project Controls Manager to lead the project controls function in Southern California. Hybrid position (4 days onsite, 1 day remote) at the Norwalk/Bellflower area.

You will drive cost and schedule performance across large transportation megaprojects, partnering with client teams and internal groups. The role requires deep experience in earned value management, forecasting, risk assessment, and reporting to executives.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, Construction Management, Project Management or related field (or equivalent).
• 12 years of combined field and office project controls experience involving large-scale mega projects, especially with transit/rail background.
• Extensive knowledge of cost estimating methodologies, cost control techniques, and schedule management best practices.
• Ability to interface with clients and participate in business development initiatives.
• Excellent communication skills, written, oral and interpersonal skills to deal with a high-pressure environment.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of program-wide project controls processes, procedures, governance frameworks, and systems in collaboration with the client and PM.
• Ensure effective integration of cost, schedule, risk, and reporting disciplines to support program objectives.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for all project controls matters, aligning closely with internal teams and external stakeholders to ensure consistency and transparency in reporting and controls.
• Oversee enterprise-level dashboards to monitor program health and provide real-time insights into KPIs, risk exposure, trends, and variances.
• Establish and enforce robust cost control procedures across all projects and program elements, enabling proactive tracking of budgets, forecasting, variance analysis, and identification of cost optimization opportunities.
• Collaborate with engineering, procurement, and construction teams to evaluate design and execution options, providing strategic recommendations to improve cost-effectiveness and value delivery.
• Integrate cost and schedule management practices, ensuring accurate earned value management (EVM), performance measurement, and predictive analytics across the program lifecycle.
• Provide clear, timely, and actionable reports and presentations on cost and schedule performance to senior leadership, stakeholders, and the client, enabling data-driven decision-making.
• Contribute to project and program-level meetings focused on risk, change control, performance, and strategic planning, ensuring alignment with controls best practices.
• Lead the development and maintenance of comprehensive financial reporting across all work packages and subprojects, including roll-up reports, cash flow analysis, and funding status.
• Monitor funding allocations and procurement plans to ensure alignment with approved budgets and program funding strategies.
• Manage the program’s change control processes, including assessment of cost and schedule impacts of proposed changes, and provide guidance on mitigation strategies.
• Oversee the preparation and validation of program estimates, budgets, forecasts, cost trends, and estimates to complete (ETC), ensuring alignment with strategic objectives and funding profiles.

Skills

Cost estimating

Cost control

Schedule management

Client liaison

Communication skills

Megaprojects experience

Transit/rail background

Education

Bachelor’s degree in engineering/Construction Management/Project Management or related field

Job description

This Opportunity

WSP is seeking a Vice President, Project Controls Manager to join our Project Controls team in Southern California. This will be a hybrid position (4 days onsite, 1 day remote) at our client’s office in the Norwalk / Bellflower area (south of Los Angeles).

Your Impact

Job Duties:

• Lead the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of program-wide project controls processes, procedures, governance frameworks, and systems in collaboration with the client and PM.
• Ensure effective integration of cost, schedule, risk, and reporting disciplines to support program objectives.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for all project controls matters, aligning closely with internal teams and external stakeholders to ensure consistency and transparency in reporting and controls.
• Oversee enterprise-level dashboards to monitor program health and provide real-time insights into key performance indicators (KPIs), risk exposure, trends, and variances.
• Establish and enforce robust cost control procedures across all projects and program elements, enabling proactive tracking of budgets, forecasting, variance analysis, and identification of cost optimization opportunities.
• Collaborate with engineering, procurement, and construction teams to evaluate design and execution options, providing strategic recommendations to improve cost-effectiveness and value delivery.
• Integrate cost and schedule management practices, ensuring accurate earned value management (EVM), performance measurement, and predictive analytics across the program lifecycle.
• Provide clear, timely, and actionable reports and presentations on cost and schedule performance to senior leadership, stakeholders, and the client, enabling data-driven decision-making.
• Contribute to project and program-level meetings focused on risk, change control, performance, and strategic planning, ensuring alignment with controls best practices.
• Lead the development and maintenance of comprehensive financial reporting across all work packages and subprojects, including roll-up reports, cash flow analysis, and funding status.
• Monitor funding allocations and procurement plans to ensure alignment with approved budgets and program funding strategies.
• Manage the program’s change control processes, including assessment of cost and schedule impacts of proposed changes, and provide guidance on mitigation strategies.
• Oversee the preparation and validation of program estimates, budgets, forecasts, cost trends, and estimates to complete (ETC), ensuring alignment with strategic objectives and funding profiles.

Who You Are

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, Construction Management, Project Management or related field (or equivalent)
• 12 years of combined field and office project controls experience involving large-scale mega projects, especially with transit/rail background
• Extensive knowledge of cost estimating methodologies, cost control techniques, and schedule management best practices.
• Ability to interface with clients and participate in business development initiatives.
• Excellent communication skills, written, oral and interpersonal skills to deal with a high-pressure environment.

WSP Benefits:

WSP provides a comprehensive suite of benefits focused on a providing health and financial stability throughout the employee’s career. These benefits include coverage related to medical, dental, vision, disability, and life; retirement savings; paid sick leave; paid vacation (or other personal time); paid parental leave; and paid time off for purposes of bereavement, voting, and/or attendance at naturalization proceedings.

Compensation:

Expected Salary (all locations): $200,800-280,150

WSP USA is providing the compensation range that the company in good faith believes it might pay and offer for this position, based on the successful applicant’s education, experience, knowledge, skills, abilities in addition to internal equity and specific geographic location. WSP USA reserves the right to ultimately pay more or less than the posted range and offer additional benefits and other compensation, depending on circumstances not related to an applicant’s sex or other status protected by local, state, and/or federal law.

About WSP

WSP USA is the U.S. operating company of WSP, one of the world's leading engineering and professional services firms. Dedicated to serving local communities, we are engineers, planners, technical experts, strategic advisors and construction management professionals. WSP USA designs lasting solutions in the buildings, transportation, energy, water and environment markets. With more than 15,000 employees in over 300 offices across the U.S., we partner with our clients to help communities prosper.

www.wsp.com

WSP provides a flexible and agile workplace model while meeting client needs. Employees are also afforded a comprehensive suite of benefits including medical, dental, vision, disability, life, and retirement savings focused on providing health and financial stability throughout the employee’s career.

At WSP, we want to give our employees the challenges they seek to grow their careers and knowledge base. Your daily contributions to your team will be essential in meeting client objectives, goals and challenges. Are you ready to get started?

WSP USA (and all of its U.S. companies) is an Equal Opportunity Employer Race/Age/Color/Religion/Sex/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity/National Origin/Disability or Protected Veteran Status.

The selected candidate must be authorized to work in the United States.