Senior Project Controls Manager

Senior Project Controls Manager

Location: Vancouver, Canada, transitioning to Chile

Summary:

The Project Controls Manager will initially be based in Vancouver, Canada, for approximately 18 months before mobilizing to Chile. Site visits will be required during the Vancouver assignment.

This position manages and oversees project controls for all engineering, procurement, and construction phases of a major capital project. The Project Controls Manager serves as a primary interface among the Client, engineering contractors, and construction contractors and is accountable for project planning and scheduling, cost estimating and monitoring, progress measurement, risk management, change management, forecasting, and reporting.

The successful candidate will lead project controls personnel, guide project managers, help establish operating policies that mitigate risk, and provide sound recommendations based on project data, experience, and professional judgment.

Job Duties:

Project Controls Leadership

• Lead and manage the project controls team, including staffing, mentoring, performance management, and the resolution of personnel issues.
• Establish priorities, objectives, and timelines for the project controls function with limited supervision.
• Provide guidance and consultation to project managers and senior project leadership.
• Lead the resolution of complex project controls challenges through collaboration with corporate and project-level leadership.
• Promote coordination among engineering, procurement, contracts, construction, finance, commercial, safety, and quality functions.

Contractor Oversight

• Provide oversight and validation of engineering and construction contractor project controls.
• Review and challenge contractor schedules, cost reports, progress measurements, forecasts, trends, and supporting data.
• Verify that contractor reporting is accurate, complete, and aligned with project requirements.
• Oversee EPC and EPCM contractor performance related to cost, schedule, progress, forecasting, and change management.
• Support claims prevention and commercial alignment on major industrial contracts.

Planning and Scheduling

• Establish and manage schedule development, review, and update processes.
• Ensure contractor and functional schedules are accurate and aligned with the overall project master schedule.
• Identify schedule slippages, determine potential impacts, and recommend appropriate mitigation or corrective actions.
• Maintain awareness of forward-looking schedule risks and provide decision support to project leadership.

Cost and Forecasting

• Oversee cost estimating, cost control, forecasting, monitoring, and reporting activities.
• Independently assess cost performance, identify trends, and communicate potential budget impacts.
• Ensure cost forecasts reflect current scope, project conditions, risks, and anticipated changes.
• Provide clear, decision-oriented cost information to technical and nontechnical stakeholders.

Progress Measurement and Reporting

• Develop and maintain progress measurement processes for required scopes of work.
• Ensure reported progress percentages are accurate and consistent with established rules of credit.
• Manage project reporting requirements and ensure reports are prepared and submitted according to the approved reporting schedule.
• Gather, analyze, and present project controls information for regular project meetings, management reviews, reports, and presentations.
• Ensure project reporting focuses on forecasts, risk exposure, trends, and management decision support.

Change and Risk Management

• Identify and communicate design changes, scope changes, schedule impacts, cost impacts, and emerging trends.
• Manage the project change management process and recommend corrective actions.
• Participate in the identification, documentation, mitigation, and tracking of project risks.
• Evaluate the potential cost, schedule, and progress impacts of identified risks.
• Assist in establishing operating policies and controls that reduce project and commercial risk.

Governance, Systems, and Compliance

• Manage the project baseline process for cost, schedule, and progress.
• Ensure project controls systems are implemented in accordance with Client standards, procedures, and approved processes.
• Ensure project controls activities follow applicable stage-gate requirements.
• Promote the consistent application of industry best practices.
• Ensure project controls team members maintain effective interfaces with engineering, procurement, contracts, and construction.
• Support adherence to applicable safety and quality standards.
• Maintain awareness of occupational hazards and required safety precautions within construction environments.

Job Requirements:

• At least 20 years of progressive project controls experience on large capital engineering and construction projects.
• At least 15 years of leadership experience.
• Demonstrated experience working in an owner's representative, Client oversight, or independent oversight capacity.
• Proven experience overseeing EPC and/or EPCM contractor project controls, including cost, schedule, progress measurement, forecasting, and change management.
• Experience leading project controls for large, high-risk, multiyear capital projects.
• Experience in heavy industrial, mining, energy, infrastructure, or similar capital-intensive environments.
• Experience supporting change management, claims prevention, and commercial alignment on major industrial EPC or EPCM contracts.
• Strong knowledge of project estimating, forecasting, cost control, cost management, scheduling, progress measurement, and risk management.
• Strong understanding of Primavera and capital project planning processes and best practices.
• Experience with mining construction projects and capital mining project controls is preferred.
• Experience with ERP systems, estimating software, SAP, and EcoSys is preferred.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, and Outlook.
• Strong leadership, team management, mentoring, and performance management capabilities.
• Excellent analytical and critical-thinking skills, including the ability to independently evaluate cost and schedule performance, identify trends, and assess risk.
• Strategic and forward-looking perspective with an emphasis on forecasting, risk exposure, and management decision support.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to clearly communicate complex cost, schedule, progress, and risk information to technical and nontechnical stakeholders.
• Strong integration and collaboration skills across engineering, procurement, construction, contracts, finance, and commercial functions.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced project environment.
• Ability to work independently with limited supervision and exercise sound professional judgment.
• Willingness and ability to complete site visits while based in Vancouver and subsequently mobilize to Chile.