Job Description – Cost Control Lead
Reporting To: Head of Cost Control
Role Purpose
The Cost Control Lead is responsible for providing expert professional leadership in cost allocation, planning, estimation, control, and expenditure stewardship for a major LNG capital project. This role ensures shareholder confidence in project cost estimates throughout the project lifecycle by developing robust cost planning models, governance frameworks, and detailed cost reporting.
The position acts as a cost subject matter expert, advising project leadership on cost governance, funding, change management, and financial performance while ensuring compliance with approved budgets and corporate standards.
Job Context & Key Challenges
- Maintaining shareholder confidence in project cost estimates over the full project lifecycle
- Developing and maintaining accurate, detailed, and transparent cost plans
- Identifying risks, trends, and variances early and recommending corrective actions
- Supporting governance reviews and audits for a large scale capital.
Key Responsibilities
The Cost Control Lead is accountable for the following key activities (not limited to):
Cost Planning & Control
- Develop and manage efficient cost control processes covering cost accounting, allocation, planning, and expenditure control across the project lifecycle.
- Review and validate cost plans, assumptions, and data to ensure alignment with approved budgets and governance requirements.
Cost Governance & Compliance
- Ensure compliance with approved budgets, corporate cost governance frameworks, and funding authorisations.
- Identify opportunities to standardise cost and expenditure processes and recommend improvements to enhance efficiency and compliance.
Funding & Financial Approvals
Prepare and submit funding packages including:
- Advance Commitments (ACs)
- Full Funding (FF)
- Supplementary Funding
- Ensure timely and accurate funding approvals to support uninterrupted project execution.
Cost Reporting & Analysis
- Develop and maintain comprehensive cost and man?hours databases, including benchmarking data to support estimating and forecasting activities.
- Produce monthly cost reports highlighting cost performance, trends, risks, and emerging issues such as overruns or re?baselining requirements.
Change Management & Estimating
- Manage the Management of Change (MoC) process for a large capital project.
- Estimate costs for potential change orders with EPC contractors, drawing on extensive project cost estimating experience.
Governance Reviews & Audits
Act as Cost Subject Matter Expert during:
- Gate Reviews
- Independent Project Reviews (IPRs)
- Cold Eye Reviews (CERs)
- Constructability Reviews (CRRs)
- Internal and external audits
Advisory Support
- Provide timely and expert cost control and project controls advice to the Project Management Team to ensure project objectives and deliverables are achieved.
Safety, Compliance & Corporate Responsibilities
- Ensure all activities comply with company Safety, Health, Environment, Quality, and regulatory standards.
- Comply with antitrust, competition laws, and company firewall policies.
- Actively support the Qatarization Program through knowledge sharing and development of Qatari employees (mandatory for expatriates).
Minimum Qualifications (Mandatory)
Bachelor’s Degree in one of the following:
- Engineering
- Project Management
- Accounting or Finance
Minimum Experience (Mandatory)
Minimum 8 years’ experience in:
- Cost allocation
- Cost estimation
- Cost planning and expenditure control
- Experience must be within a project environment in the oil & gas industry
- Proven ability to understand and technically grasp project scope and execution strategies.
Preferred Experience
- Experience working within an SAP / BI environment.
Technical & Professional Skills
- Excellent written and spoken English
- Strong analytical, commercial, and problem?solving skills
- Strong organisation and time management capability
- Effective communication and interpersonal skills
- Proficient in Microsoft Office and relevant technical software packages.