Senior Cost Control Engineer

Role Purpose

To manage and control project costs for infrastructure works by establishing cost control systems, monitoring budgets and commitments, forecasting cost-to-complete, supporting progress measurement, and providing accurate commercial reporting to enable informed decisions and protect project margins.

• Establish and maintain the project cost control system, including WBS/CBS alignment, cost coding, and reporting structure.

• Develop and manage the project budget, ensuring alignment with contract scope, BOQ, baseline schedule, and approved resources.

• Monitor actual costs vs budget: labour, plant, materials, subcontractors, preliminaries/overheads, and indirects; identify variances and corrective actions.

• Maintain commitment registers (POs/subcontracts) and ensure all commitments are captured, updated, and reconciled with Finance/Procurement.

• Prepare periodic cost reports (weekly/monthly) including cost performance, variance analysis, risks/opportunities, and margin impact.

• Lead cost forecasting and prepare Cost-to-Complete (CTC) and Estimate at Completion (EAC) updates, supported by substantiated assumptions.

• Coordinate with Planning/Project Controls for earned value and progress measurement; ensure alignment between physical progress, invoicing, and cost performance.

• Support commercial team with variation/claim cost impact analysis (rates build-ups, prolongation costs, disruption/cost escalation impacts).

• Track and report project cashflow (inflows/outflows), payment status, retention, advances, and working capital impacts.

• Validate subcontractor/supplier invoices and payment certifications against progress, delivery, and contractual terms where required.

• Support tender/hand-over and close-out activities: baseline budget transfer, lessons learned, final cost reconciliation, and cost reporting archives.

• Ensure cost governance compliance, document control discipline, and audit-ready cost records across the project.

• Provide coaching to junior cost control staff and promote consistent reporting standards across sites/projects.

• Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering, Quantity Surveying, Construction Management, or related discipline

• PMP/Project Controls certifications (preferred)

• 8–12 years’ experience in cost control / project controls within infrastructure projects (roads/utilities/marine/civil)

• Demonstrated experience producing robust cost reports and forecasts for large, multi-discipline projects

• UAE/GCC experience preferred