Willdan,

Project Controls Manager

Willdan,$110K — $130K *
Real Estate & Construction
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in construction management, engineering, architecture, business administration, project management, or related field; equivalent experience accepted.
  • 5+ years of progressive construction management or 7+ years of project controls experience in commercial construction.
  • Experience managing multiple concurrent projects and collaborating with cross-functional teams.
  • Preferred experience in public sector construction, Design-Build, and ESCO projects.
  • Strong knowledge of project controls principles and cost management.

Responsibilities

  • Lead the Project Controls function by establishing governance and standards for project execution.
  • Develop and implement standardized policies, procedures, and best practices for project controls and reporting.
  • Oversee administration and optimization of Trimble ProjectSight, including user permissions and training.
  • Collaborate with finance teams to enhance forecasting and budget management.
  • Monitor project schedules and resource planning to improve predictability and outcomes.
  • Establish documentation and compliance standards to ensure audit readiness.
  • Design executive dashboards and performance metrics for insights into project health.

Benefits

  • Collaborative work environment that fosters leadership and development.
  • Opportunity for continuous improvement initiatives and process automation.
  • Engagement with various functional teams for a diverse work experience.
  • Potential for career advancement in a strategic management role.
  • Involvement in high-impact projects across a prominent construction portfolio.
Full Job Description
The Project Controls Manager provides strategic leadership for the Project Controls function across the organization's construction portfolio, establishing the governance, systems, and standards that enable projects to be executed consistently, efficiently, and in compliance with contractual and regulatory requirements. This role is accountable for developing a scalable project controls framework that supports project execution from initiation through final closeout while improving operational visibility and organizational performance.

The Project Controls Manager partners closely with Construction Operations, Project Management, Finance, Procurement, and Executive Leadership to strengthen project financial performance, schedule management, document controls, compliance, reporting, and enterprise project management systems. As the business owner for Trimble ProjectSight and leader of the Project Compliance function, this position drives continuous improvement initiatives that enhance project delivery, standardize processes across operating regions, and provide leadership with meaningful portfolio-level insight for decision making.

Position Impact

The Project Controls Manager plays a critical role in improving the consistency, predictability, and overall performance of the construction portfolio. Success is demonstrated through standardized project execution, strong financial and schedule performance, improved compliance, reliable executive reporting, increased adoption of enterprise project controls systems, and continuous improvement initiatives that enhance project delivery and organizational effectiveness.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities
  • Provide Strategic Leadership: Lead the Project Controls function across all construction projects by establishing vision, governance, and organizational standards that promote consistent execution, accountability, and operational excellence.
  • Develop Enterprise Standards: Develop, implement, and continuously improve standardized policies, procedures, templates, workflows, and best practices governing project controls, document management, financial controls, reporting, and project closeout.
  • Lead Enterprise Systems: Serve as business owner for Trimble ProjectSight, overseeing administration, configuration, workflow development, user permissions, reporting, training, adoption, and long-term optimization while supporting future integration with enterprise business systems.
  • Strengthen Financial Controls: Partner with Finance and Project Accounting to improve forecasting, committed cost management, change order administration, budget performance, cash flow visibility, and monthly portfolio reviews while ensuring financial reporting accurately reflects project status.
  • Support Schedule Performance: Collaborate with Construction leadership to monitor project schedules, milestone achievement, resource planning, schedule risks, recovery strategies, and portfolio performance to improve project predictability and delivery outcomes.
  • Oversee Documentation & Compliance: Establish standards for document management, contract administration, regulatory documentation, record retention, and compliance oversight, ensuring projects satisfy contractual obligations and remain audit ready throughout the project lifecycle.
  • Develop Reporting & Analytics: Design and maintain executive dashboards, portfolio reports, and performance metrics that provide timely visibility into schedule, financial performance, risk, compliance, documentation quality, project health, and organizational trends.
  • Lead & Develop Teams: Supervise, mentor, and develop Project Controls personnel while providing coaching, technical guidance, and project controls expertise to Construction Managers, Project Managers, and cross-functional stakeholders.
  • Drive Continuous Improvement: Conduct project controls audits, evaluate organizational performance, identify opportunities for automation and process improvement, implement corrective actions, and champion initiatives that improve consistency, efficiency, and customer outcomes.
  • Support Project Delivery: Partner with project teams throughout the project lifecycle by providing project controls expertise, facilitating successful project closeout, documenting lessons learned, supporting strategic initiatives, and performing additional leadership responsibilities as assigned.

Job Requirements / Qualifications
  • Education & Experience
    • Bachelor's in construction management, engineering, architecture, business administration, project management, or a related discipline; equivalent professional experience may be substituted.
    • Minimum five years of progressive construction management experience or seven years of project controls experience supporting commercial construction projects.
    • Experience supporting multiple concurrent projects and collaborating with operations, finance, procurement, and project management teams.
    • Public sector construction, Design-Build, and ESCO experience preferred.
  • Technical Knowledge
    • Strong knowledge of project controls principles, cost management, forecasting, scheduling, procurement, contract administration, change management, document controls, and project closeout.
    • Working knowledge of commercial construction practices, public contracting requirements, labor compliance, and project governance.
    • Experience administering enterprise project management software; Trimble ProjectSight strongly preferred.
    • Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, advanced Excel, Power BI, and related reporting tools; experience with Microsoft Project, Primavera P6, Bluebeam, and SharePoint preferred.
  • Leadership Competencies
    • Demonstrated ability to build collaborative relationships, influence cross-functional teams, and lead organizational change.
    • Strong analytical, organizational, written, and verbal communication skills with the ability to present information to executive leadership.
    • Ability to balance strategic planning with operational execution while managing multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
    • Commitment to continuous improvement, customer service, accountability, and professional integrity.
  • Other Requirements
    • Ability to travel as business needs require.
    • Ability to work effectively in both office and active construction environments.
  • Preferred Certifications
    • PMP, CCM, CCP, PSP, PMI-SP, OSHA 30, or comparable industry certifications preferred.

About Willdan,

Willdan Group, Inc. is an American publicly traded company selling professional technical and consulting services to public and private utilities, public agencies at all levels of government, and commercial and industrial firms. The company operates offices in more than a dozen states, with its key operations in California and New York. In 1964, the company was built by William Stookey and Dan Heil in southern California on a then-unique model of providing outsourced engineering services exclusively to municipalities, especially newly urbanizing cities. Over the next 50 years, the company's expansion has reflected the increasingly complex challenges facing communities, with a forward-looking focus on energy efficiency, energy engineering, cogeneration, Energy Savings Performance Contract, Community Choice Aggregation, smart city, microgrid consulting, and Transactive energy software. In 2006, Willdan Group, Inc. completed its initial public offerings in NASDAQ, becoming a publicly traded company under the symbol WLDN. In 2008, Willdan acquired Intergy Corporation, then renamed Willdan Energy Solutions, offering energy efficiency utility program management. In 2015, Willdan acquired 360 Energy Engineers and Abacus Resource Management, expanding its capabilities into Energy Service Company and Energy Savings Performance Contract services. Willdan acquired NYC-based Genesys Engineering, P.C., in 2016, bringing Power Engineering services into its portfolio, with an eye to evolution of U.S. power systems toward Distributed generation and microgrids.
Learn more about Willdan,
Size
1,560 employees
Market Cap
$248.5 million
Industry
Net Income
-$14.5 million
Founded
1964
5 Year Trend
+11.1%
Revenue
$390.9 million
NASDAQ

Similar Jobs

More Jobs at Willdan,

More Real Estate & Construction Jobs

Find similar Project Controls Manager jobs: