Project Controls Lead III

Project Controls Lead III

Location: Houston, TX

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 100% Onsite

Travel: Minimal; may be required based on project needs

Experience Required: 10+ years preferred (8+ years considered with strong offshore and subsea project experience)

Position Summary

Our client is seeking a senior-level Project Controls Lead III to support a portfolio of capital projects from early project development through execution. This role will serve as a key project controls resource responsible for cost management, forecasting, budgeting, scheduling, and performance reporting across multiple project stages.

The ideal candidate will possess deep expertise in project controls, including cost forecasting, change management, planning and scheduling, and project performance tracking. This individual will work closely with project managers, engineering teams, functional stakeholders, and leadership to ensure projects are planned, monitored, and executed successfully.

The successful candidate will collaborate with both local and globally distributed teams, including stakeholders and project personnel located internationally.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain project budgets, cost forecasts, and project control plans throughout the project lifecycle.
• Create and manage high-level project cost estimates using a top-down estimating approach.
• Monitor project expenditures and analyze cost performance against approved budgets.
• Lead monthly cost forecasting activities and provide accurate projections of project outcomes.
• Serve as the project budget custodian and support project financial closeout activities.
• Support cost reconciliation efforts and identify cost risks and opportunities.
• Develop and maintain project benchmarks and performance metrics.
• Develop, maintain, and analyze integrated project schedules using Primavera P6 .
• Monitor schedule performance and identify potential delays, risks, and mitigation strategies.
• Support schedule development from front-end project development through project execution.
• Perform schedule forecasting and progress measurement activities.
• Ensure alignment between project schedules, cost forecasts, and execution strategies.
• Lead and manage project change control processes.
• Evaluate schedule and cost impacts associated with project changes.
• Support monthly stewardship reviews and project performance presentations.
• Prepare executive-level reports and communicate project status, risks, and recovery plans.
• Conduct forecast impact assessments and provide recommendations to project leadership.
• Interface with project managers, engineering teams, procurement, accounting, construction teams, and leadership.
• Coordinate project controls activities across multiple projects and stakeholders simultaneously.
• Collaborate with globally distributed teams across different locations and time zones.
• Present project controls data and recommendations to management and leadership teams.
• Support alignment and communication between project development and execution organizations.
• Promote best practices in project controls, cost management, and scheduling.
• Support the development and improvement of project controls tools, procedures, and methodologies.
• Provide mentorship and technical guidance to project controls team members when needed.
• Participate in lessons learned, benchmarking, and continuous improvement initiatives.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Business, Project Management, or related discipline.
• Minimum 8 years of relevant project controls experience.
• Strong preference for candidates with 10+ years of project controls experience.
• Experience supporting projects from early development, FEED, and detailed engineering through execution and closeout.
• Demonstrated expertise in: Budgeting, Cost forecasting, Cost control, Project estimating, Change management, Planning and scheduling, Project performance reporting
• Experience managing multiple stakeholders and competing project priorities.
• Strong presentation and communication skills with the ability to interface effectively with leadership teams.
• Experience supporting large capital projects within energy, offshore, subsea, industrial, or infrastructure environments.

Required Technical Skills

Must Have

• Primavera P6 (non-negotiable)
• Advanced Microsoft Excel
• Cost forecasting and budget management
• Change management
• Project scheduling and planning
• Performance reporting and stewardship reviews
• Cost estimating methodologies
• Forecast impact analysis

Nice to Have

• Ecosys
• Power BI
• Project benchmarking experience
• Portfolio reporting tools
• Owner's side project controls experience strongly preferred.
• Offshore project experience preferred.
• Subsea project experience highly desirable.
• Experience supporting major capital projects through all project phases, from front-end development through execution.
• Experience working within global project teams and international stakeholder environments.

The ideal candidate will be:

• A strong technical project controls professional with expertise in both cost and schedule management.
• Comfortable working across multiple project phases and multiple simultaneous initiatives.
• Highly organized and detail-oriented while maintaining a strategic, big-picture perspective.
• Able to communicate complex project information to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Confident presenting project performance, forecasts, and risks to management teams.
• Effective at building relationships across diverse functions, teams, and cultures.
• Proactive, solution-oriented, and capable of identifying risks before they become issues.

Typical Project Environment

This role supports a portfolio of capital projects that may range from approximately $20 million to $500 million+ in value. The position will engage throughout the project lifecycle, with involvement spanning project development, planning, execution, performance monitoring, forecasting, and project closeout activities. The successful candidate will play a critical role in ensuring cost and schedule certainty while supporting successful project delivery.