Project Controls Director

OverviewThe Project Controls Director provides senior leadership and strategic direction for the planning, execution, governance, and continuous improvement of project controls across major projects, programs, portfolios, or enterprise-level workstreams.
This role is accountable for ensuring effective integration of cost control, planning and scheduling, earned value, forecasting, change management, reporting, systems, and performance analysis. The Project Controls Director leads project controls teams, establishes standards and expectations, provides oversight of reporting quality and data integrity, and supports senior leadership in making informed decisions related to project performance, risk, recovery, and delivery outcomes.
The role requires strong technical expertise in project controls, proven leadership capability, stakeholder influence, and the ability to operate at both strategic and execution levels.
Your role
Lead the overall strategy, execution, and continuous improvement of project controls functions across assigned projects, programs, portfolios, or business areas.
Establish, maintain, and oversee project controls processes, standards, procedures, and governance expectations.
Provide leadership and direction for cost control, planning and scheduling, earned value, forecasting, change control, reporting, and performance management activities.
Ensure project controls practices are integrated across cost, schedule, scope, risk, finance, commercial, and reporting functions.
Lead the development and delivery of reliable project performance reporting, including cost performance, schedule performance, earned value, variance analysis, forecasts, trends, and corrective action plans.
Oversee the Cost Performance Report process and ensure reporting is accurate, timely, consistent, and fit for leadership decision-making.
Identify key project performance variances, risks, issues, and trends, and lead the development of corrective action plans with project teams.
Challenge forecasts, schedules, assumptions, variances, and performance narratives to ensure clear visibility of project delivery risks and opportunities.
Provide senior advisory support to project leadership, functional leadership, alliance partners, clients, finance, commercial teams, and executives.
Lead implementation and oversight of change control processes, including trend management, approved changes, potential claims, and impacts to cost, schedule, scope, and forecast.
Support alignment between project controls, finance, commercial, project management, and delivery teams to ensure consistent project performance visibility.
Build, organize, and lead functional project controls teams, including planners, schedulers, cost controllers, reporting analysts, and project controls specialists.
Provide coaching, mentoring, direction, and performance feedback to project controls staff.
Support capability development, succession planning, and growth of project controls talent across cost and planning career streams.
Promote standardization, governance, data integrity, reporting discipline, and continuous improvement across project controls practices.
Support system implementation, process improvement, reporting enhancements, and integration between project controls systems and finance or enterprise systems.
Represent project controls in senior leadership discussions, client meetings, project reviews, governance forums, and business planning activities.
Ensure project controls teams operate effectively, collaboratively, and in alignment with business priorities, client commitments, and project delivery objectives.
Other aspects (if applicable):
May lead project controls across multiple projects, portfolios, programs, or strategic enterprise initiatives.
May provide functional leadership to cost controllers, planners, schedulers, reporting analysts, and project controls specialists.
May represent project controls in executive reviews, client meetings, alliance forums, governance reviews, and business planning discussions.
May lead or support project recovery planning, forecast challenges, schedule recovery, change control escalation, claims discussions, and commercial impact reviews.
May support enterprise standardization, reporting improvements, data integrity initiatives, system implementations, and capability development across project controls.
Expected to operate as a trusted advisor to senior leadership and as a role model for project controls professionalism, governance, collaboration, and accountability.
About you
Post-secondary education in engineering, business, commerce, finance, accounting, project management, or a related discipline.
Professional certification or designation such as PMP, PMI-SP, PSP, EVP, AACE, CPA, MBA, CFA, or equivalent is considered an asset.
Typically requires 15+ years of relevant project controls, project management, cost control, planning, scheduling, reporting, commercial, or project delivery experience.
Typically requires 5-10 years of experience leading project controls teams or multidisciplinary project delivery teams.
Experience supporting large, complex engineering, construction, nuclear, energy, infrastructure, or major capital projects is preferred.
Experience leading integrated project controls across cost, schedule, earned value, change, forecasting, reporting, and performance management.
Experience advising senior leadership on project performance, delivery risks, trends, forecasts, recovery plans, and corrective actions.
Experience working with clients, alliance partners, project teams, finance, commercial teams, and executive stakeholders.
Experience developing, implementing, or improving project controls processes, governance, systems, reporting frameworks, or performance management practices.
Nuclear project experience is considered an asset.
Expert knowledge of project controls principles, including cost control, planning and scheduling, earned value management, forecasting, reporting, change management, progress measurement, and performance analysis.
Strong understanding of integrated project delivery, including the relationship between scope, cost, schedule, risk, change, commercial, procurement, finance, and reporting.
Advanced knowledge of project management methodologies, including PMBOK/PMI practices, critical path method scheduling, earned value techniques, variance analysis, and corrective action planning.
Strong knowledge of project controls governance, policies, procedures, data standards, and reporting expectations.
Ability to interpret complex project performance data, identify issues, challenge assumptions, and recommend practical corrective actions.
Ability to lead executive-level reporting, performance reviews, forecast reviews, variance meetings, and recovery planning discussions.
Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage priorities, lead through ambiguity, and operate under pressure to meet deadlines.
Strong analytical, problem-solving, and results-oriented mindset.
Ability to build and maintain effective working relationships across functional teams, project teams, clients, and partners.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office, especially Excel and PowerPoint.
Working knowledge of project controls systems and tools such as Primavera P6, EcoSys, Oracle / ERP platforms, Power BI, dashboards, and related reporting tools.
Ability to learn, adopt, and champion new systems, processes, and reporting standards in alignment with company requirements.
Strong strategic thinking, decision support, and business acumen.
Excellent leadership, coaching, mentoring, and team development capability.
Strong stakeholder management skills, including the ability to influence senior leaders, project teams, clients, alliance partners, finance, and commercial stakeholders.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including report writing, presentation development, and executive-level communication.
Rewards & benefitsExplore the rewards and benefits that help you thrive – at every stage of your life and your career at AtkinsRéalis in Canada.
Enjoy competitive compensation, employee recognition, and a brilliant range of flexible benefits you can tailor to your health, wellbeing, financial and lifestyle needs.
Make the most of diverse opportunities for training and professional development to grow your skills and expertise.
And take advantage of our hybrid working culture and generous time-off policies to balance a fulfilling career with your personal life.
Be rewarded. Find out more.
About AtkinsRéalisWe're AtkinsRéalis, a world-class engineering services and nuclear organization. We connect people, data and technology to transform the world's'infrastructure and energy systems. Together, with our industry partners and clients, and our global team of consultants, designers, engineers and project managers, we can change the world. We're committed to leading our clients across our various end markets to engineer a better future for our planet and its people.
Find out more.
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Appropriate accommodation will be provided upon request throughout the recruitment and hiring process as required by Company policy and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA).
Successful applicants will be notified about AtkinsRéalis' accommodation policies at the time the employment offer is extended, and the information will be shared with new personnel during the onboarding process.
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