Senior Project Controls Manager

Bernhard LLC$116K — $155K *
Tempe, AZ 85281In-Person
Real Estate & Construction
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Project Management, Business, Finance or 4 years of experience instead of a degree
  • 10+ years in Project Controls or related project delivery roles
  • Leadership experience in coordinating Project Controls across multiple projects
  • Strong business acumen in budgeting, cost management, and forecasting
  • Advanced knowledge in project scheduling and performance reporting
  • Ability to communicate complex information and drive decisions
  • Strong organizational and analytical skills

Responsibilities

  • Serve as primary Project Controls partner for assigned Delivery Vice President
  • Drive project and portfolio reviews with data-driven insights
  • Lead project setup and execution planning aligning with enterprise standards
  • Oversee cost management and forecasting for the entire portfolio
  • Manage project scheduling and assess critical path performance
  • Maintain visibility into portfolio risks and ensure change register is updated
  • Guide team in implementing enterprise Project Controls standards

Benefits

  • 20-35% travel required
  • Opportunities for professional development and mentoring
  • Reinforcement of a proactive culture within Project Controls teams
  • Integration into high-visibility projects with direct oversight
  • Access to enterprise-level standards and tools for continuous improvement
Full Job Description
Overview

The Senior Project Controls Manager serves as the primary Project Controls business partner for an assigned Delivery Vice President and the associated project portfolio. Reporting to the Project Controls Director, this role provides portfolio-level leadership, coordination, and oversight for cost management, forecasting, scheduling, risk management, change management, energy performance, reporting, and Project Controls execution across the assigned portfolio.

 

The Senior Project Controls Manager works directly with Delivery leadership and project teams to improve predictability and project outcomes. The role ensures enterprise and regional Project Controls standards are consistently applied, forecasts are credible, risks and changes are identified early, and project teams receive timely, practical support. While the position may directly lead selected strategic or high-visibility projects, its primary responsibility is oversight and integration of Project Controls activities across the assigned Delivery Vice President's portfolio.

 

This is an embedded project leadership role, not a back-office reporting position. The Senior Project Controls Manager acts as the connection between Project Controls leadership and Delivery leadership, providing objective insight, escalating material concerns, driving corrective action, and developing Project Controls personnel into proactive and commercially aware members of project teams.

 

 

Responsibilities

Delivery VP Partnership, Portfolio Leadership, and Project Setup

  • Serve as the primary Project Controls point of contact and business partner for an assigned Delivery Vice President.Drive project reviews, portfolio reviews, and Delivery leadership meetings, providing objective, data-driven insight into project performance, risk, and forecast reliability.
  • Partner with Project Executives, Project Managers, Engineering, Supply Chain, Pre-Construction, Finance, and Project Controls personnel to identify emerging issues and convert project plans into executable cost, schedule, risk, and resource strategies.
  • Support the Project Controls Director in aligning Project Controls resources to the portfolio and integrating those resources into project leadership teams.
  • Along with the Project Controls Director, lead the effort from Phase 3 through Commercial Close of project setup, execution planning, baseline schedules, work breakdown structures, time-phased budgets, and execution plans in alignment with enterprise standards.
  • Escalate significant portfolio risks, forecast concerns, schedule threats, change exposure, performance issues, and resource constraints to the Project Controls Director and Delivery leadership.

Cost Management, Financial Performance, and Forecasting

  • Oversee cost management, financial performance, and forecasting across the assigned portfolio, including budgeting, cost control, commitment tracking, cash flow, cost trending, variance analysis, and Estimate-at-Completion development.
  • Direct oversight over the Cost Controller and review monthly forecasts, challenge assumptions, validate cost-to-complete methodologies, and confirm that risks, opportunities, and performance drivers are quantified and documented.
  • Partner with Project Management, Operations Finance, and project teams to align project forecasts with operational expectations and financial reporting.
  • Monitor forecast accuracy and portfolio performance trends, identify opportunities for improvement, and support corrective actions that protect project value and margin objectives.
  • Provide clear portfolio-level visibility into budget, forecast, cash, and financial health for Project Controls and Delivery leadership.

Schedule Management

  • Direct oversight over the Project Scheduler - monitor schedule performance and support the development, integrity, and active management of project schedules across the assigned portfolio.
  • Review critical path, milestone performance, resource considerations, contractual commitments, energy savings milestones, and recovery plans with project teams and scheduling resources.
  • Pressure-test schedule assumptions, identify threats to key dates, and facilitate practical actions to improve schedule quality and protect delivery commitments.
  • Ensure schedule updates and practices align with enterprise standards and provide reliable information for project decision-making.

Risk & Change Management

  • Maintain visibility into major portfolio risks and opportunities and ensure project teams actively maintain risk registers, ownership, mitigation actions, and potential cost and schedule impacts.
  • Support the use of appropriate deterministic and probabilistic risk methods based on project needs and enterprise requirements.
  • Review significant change events, trends, claims, and potential impacts to cost, schedule, energy performance, and contract outcomes. Ensure that the change register is actively maintained.
  • Promote timely identification, evaluation, documentation, approval, and incorporation of change into project cost, schedule, and forecasts.
  • Identify recurring portfolio issues and elevate material exposures and recommended actions to Project Controls and Delivery leadership.

Energy Management

  • Ensure energy production, savings, performance commitments, and related economics are incorporated into cost, schedule, risk, change, and forecasting processes. Ensure that P6 schedule updates are provided to the Energy Management Team on a regular cadence.
  • Partner with project and technical leaders to identify performance variances and support corrective actions that protect contractual commitments and project economics.

Planning & Project Setup

  • Accountable for project planning, execution planning, and startup of each project that includes the coordination of support functions, including preconstruction, supply chain and estimating. The outcome is the development of a baseline schedule, engineering packages, the WBS, preliminary TPS and ultimately the Execution Plan prior to Commercial Close that can controlled and led from day one and maintained through the end of the projects.
  • Actively shapes proposals and project startups so that controllability and accountability are built in from the outset.
  • Accountable for ensuring project setup aligns with enterprise standards and is appropriately scaled to project size, complexity, and risk.

Interface with Operational Finance

  • Assists the Director as necessary as the primary Project Controls interface to Operations Finance, partnering on revenue recognition, margin, cash, reforecasting, and month-end alignment between project controls and the financial ledger.
  • Responsible for driving timely resolution when project forecasts, operational expectations, and financial reporting do not align.

Reporting, Performance Analytics and Executive Communication

  • Lead Project Controls support for monthly project reviews, monthly status reports, executive reporting, and client reporting when required.
  • Ensure information presented to Delivery VPs, Regional SVPs, Project Controls leadership, and executive leadership is accurate, timely, consistent, and actionable.
  • Use dashboards, key performance indicators, trend analysis, and portfolio reporting to surface emerging risks, systemic issues, opportunities, and recommended actions.
  • Ensure portfolio reporting follows enterprise definitions, standards, templates, and reporting cadence.

Team Leadership, Culture and Talent Development

  • Provide day-to-day functional leadership, coaching, and mentoring to Project Controls personnel assigned to the portfolio.
  • Coordinate workload balancing and resource needs across projects, and elevate staffing constraints or capability gaps to the Project Controls Director.
  • Support onboarding, development planning, knowledge transfer, and succession readiness for assigned Project Controls personnel.
  • Reinforce a proactive, ownership-driven culture in which Project Controls personnel challenge assumptions, anticipate risk, and contribute directly to project performance.
  • Provide input to the Project Controls Director regarding personnel performance, development needs, staffing, and portfolio resource allocation.

Standards, Tools, and Continuous Improvement

  • Implement and champion the enterprise Project Controls standards, procedures, tools, systems, and methodologies established by Project Controls leadership.
  • Monitor adoption and execution across the assigned portfolio, address routine gaps with project teams, and elevate material or recurring issues to the Project Controls Director.
  • Review Project Controls deliverables for quality, completeness, consistency, and alignment with established requirements.
  • Identify opportunities to improve execution through technology, automation, analytics, standardization, and proven Project Controls practices.
  • Support regional and enterprise initiatives led by the Project Controls Director and Vice President of Project Controls.

Direct Project Responsibility

  • Maintain direct Project Controls ownership of one or more strategic, complex, or high-visibility projects as assigned.
  • Serve as the lead Project Controls resource for assigned projects while balancing portfolio-level leadership responsibilities.
  • Diagnose project challenges, facilitate issue resolution, and support corrective and recovery actions related to cost, schedule, forecast, risk, change, and energy performance.

 

 

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

  • Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Project Management, Business, Finance, or a related field or 4 years of experience in lieu of degree
  • 10+ years of progressive experience in Project Controls, construction management, program controls, or related project delivery functions within engineering, commercial construction, industrial, energy, utilities, infrastructure, or similar industries.
  • Demonstrated leadership experience coordinating Project Controls activities across multiple projects and influencing cross-functional project teams and senior leaders.
  • Strong business and commercial acumen, including budgeting, cost management, margin awareness, forecasting, Estimate-at-Completion development, cash flow, and alignment with Operations Finance.
  • Advanced knowledge of project scheduling, schedule analysis, risk management, change management, performance reporting, and corrective action planning.
  • Demonstrated ability to communicate complex project and portfolio information clearly, challenge assumptions constructively, and drive timely decisions.
  • Strong organizational, analytical, problem-solving, communication, and presentation skills.
  • Ability to balance portfolio oversight with direct responsibility for selected strategic, complex, or high-visibility project

 

Travel Requirements:

  • 20-35% travel required for this position

 

Physical Requirements & Work Environment:

The following physical requirements and work environment characteristics are representative of those required to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. In accordance with applicable laws, reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.

  • Physical Activities
  • Remaining in a stationary position, often standing or sitting for prolonged periods
  • Climbing stairs.
  • Remaining in a stationary position, often standing or sitting for prolonged periods
  • Repeating motions that may include the wrists, hands and/or fingers
  • Assessing the accuracy, neatness, and thoroughness of the work assigned

 

Environmental Conditions

  • Quiet environment

 

Physical Demands

  • Light work that includes adjusting and/or moving objects up to 20 pounds
Pay RangeUSD $116,860.00 - USD $155,995.00 /Yr.

 

About Bernhard LLC

Bernhard LLC Careers

Joining Bernhard LLC presents an unparalleled opportunity to advance a career in a company renowned for its commitment to innovation, leadership, and professional growth. Bernhard LLC stands as a leader in providing integrated engineering, construction, and energy solutions, actively seeking individuals who are ready to contribute to some of the most challenging and innovative projects in the industry.

Explore Job Opportunities

Bernhard LLC offers a variety of job opportunities that cater to a range of skills and experiences. Whether it's through full-time positions, internships, or cooperative education, each role is designed to foster professional and personal growth. Explore open positions that align with your career aspirations and skill set.

Experience the Culture and Benefits

Bernhard LLC is committed to creating a workplace where diversity, innovation, and teamwork are valued above all else. Employees enjoy a comprehensive range of benefits designed to support their health, well-being, and financial future. The company culture promotes continuous improvement and professional development, ensuring that every team member has the resources and opportunities to thrive.

Internship Programs

Internships at Bernhard LLC are gateways to full-time employment and offer a robust introduction to the company’s operations and values. Interns gain hands-on experience, working alongside seasoned professionals and contributing to projects that make a tangible impact. Internships are pivotal for gaining practical experience, enhancing resumes, and building professional networks.

Professional Development and Growth

Bernhard LLC is dedicated to the continuous professional development of its team. With programs in leadership development, diversity training, and technical skills enhancement, employees are equipped to take on leadership roles and tackle new challenges. The commitment to employee growth ensures that the team not only meets but exceeds their professional goals.

Join the Team

Bernhard LLC is actively hiring and looking for passionate, creative, and solution-driven team players. Search for job opportunities that match your skills and interests. Positions are available across various disciplines, offering paths in both technical and managerial roles.

Networking and Career Advancement

Bernhard LLC encourages its employees to engage in networking and professional groups within the company. These connections can lead to mentorship, career advice, and greater exposure within the company. Employees are encouraged to take proactive steps towards career advancement, supported by Bernhard LLC’s commitment to employee success.

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Ready to take the next step in your career? Prepare your resume, refine your interview skills, and apply for a position at Bernhard LLC. Discover the opportunities waiting for you in a company that values innovation and leadership. Join Bernhard LLC and shape the future of engineering and energy solutions.

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