Project Controls Specialist

Job Title: Project Controls ManagerJob Description

The Project Controls Manager (Senior Project Controller) provides clarity, discipline, and forward-looking insight to complex project execution in a project-based environment. This role transforms project data into practical actions by building robust project controls, surfacing risks early, and enabling teams to make better decisions before cost, schedule, or margin are impacted. The position requires 510 years of progressive, hands-on experience in project controls or related disciplines and the ability to contribute quickly while also performing foundational work to establish reliable controls.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain the project controls operating system by establishing practical standards for project setup, cost codes, schedules, baselines, reporting rhythms, change control, risk tracking, document control, and project closeout.

• Create and maintain cost and schedule visibility by managing budgets, commitments, actuals, forecasts, margin outlooks, integrated schedules, milestones, critical path, lookaheads, and recovery plans.

• Turn performance data into early action by using variance analysis, earned value concepts, trends, progress measurement, productivity indicators, and forecast reviews to identify issues early and drive corrective actions.

• Control project changes by owning the change management process from identification through pricing, schedule impact analysis, approval, documentation, and baseline updates, ensuring scope, cost, and schedule impacts are visible and managed.

• Make risk, opportunity, and capacity visible by maintaining risk registers, opportunity logs, mitigation plans, contingency assumptions, resource demand views, and escalation triggers to support timely trade-off decisions.

• Strengthen project data and document discipline by ensuring schedules, cost reports, change records, risk logs, action items, drawings, customer deliverables, and closeout records are accurate, version-controlled, retrievable, and maintained in approved systems.

• Deliver decision-ready reporting by preparing concise project and portfolio reports, dashboards, and leadership updates that clearly communicate status, risks, opportunities, and recommended actions.

• Develop and refine standards, procedures, and tools for cost control, scheduling, and reporting to support consistent project delivery across multiple projects or portfolios.

• Analyze project performance to connect cost, schedule, scope, risk, and resource data into practical business decisions that support project and organizational objectives.

• Collaborate with project management, engineering, procurement, construction, and operations teams to ensure that project controls align with project lifecycle practices from estimating through closeout.

• Maintain logs and records related to cost, schedule, risk, change, and performance metrics, ensuring they are current and reflect the true status of the project.

• Prepare leadership-ready reports and presentations that highlight key trends, issues, and recommendations in a clear and actionable format.

Essential Skills

• 510 years of progressive, hands-on experience in project controls, project management, cost control, scheduling, engineering project delivery, construction, manufacturing, industrial projects, EPC, capital projects, or a related project-based environment.

• Proven experience as a hands-on project controls practitioner, including developing standards, analyzing performance, updating schedules, validating cost data, maintaining logs, and preparing leadership-ready reports.

• Strong cost control and scheduling skills, including experience using tools such as Microsoft Project.

• Strong financial, analytical, and operational judgment with the ability to connect cost, schedule, scope, risk, and resource data into practical business decisions.

• Strong understanding of project lifecycle practices including estimating, baseline development, procurement, engineering deliverables, fabrication, construction, commissioning, closeout, and lessons learned.

• Advanced spreadsheet skills with the ability to build complex models, perform data analysis, and support forecasting and reporting.

• Advanced data management, reporting, and visualization skills, including the ability to design dashboards and reports that are simple, accurate, and useful.

• Ability to contribute quickly with limited ramp-up while remaining willing to perform foundational work required to build reliable project controls.

• Ability to interpret and apply earned value concepts, variance analysis, trends, and productivity indicators to project performance.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to prepare clear, concise reports and present information to leadership.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Experience in complex project environments such as industrial, manufacturing, construction, EPC, or capital projects.

• Experience building and standardizing project controls processes, templates, and tools across multiple projects.

• Familiarity with integrated project management systems and document control platforms.

• Experience working with multidisciplinary teams including engineering, procurement, construction, and operations.

• Ability to design and implement reporting rhythms and governance structures that support consistent project oversight.

• Demonstrated ability to identify risks and opportunities early and support the development of mitigation and contingency plans.

• Comfort working in both detailed, hands-on roles and higher-level advisory roles as project needs evolve.

• Willingness to travel between project locations and office environments as needed.

Work Environment

The role operates in a project-based environment that may include both onsite project locations and office settings. The position may be based onsite or in an office in Colwich, with the possibility of traveling between the two as project needs require. The work involves regular use of project management and scheduling tools such as Microsoft Project, advanced spreadsheet and data visualization software, and approved document control systems. The assignment is structured as a contract role and includes a daily per diem and periodic travel home benefits as defined by the engagement. The work environment emphasizes disciplined project execution, structured reporting rhythms, and close collaboration with cross-functional project teams.

Job Type & Location

This is a Contract position based out of Colwich, KS.

Pay and Benefits

The pay range for this position is $60.00 - $70.00/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)

Workplace Type

This is a fully onsite position in Colwich,KS.

Application Deadline

This position is anticipated to close on Oct 16, 2026.

About Actalent

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 [email protected] 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.