Lead Cost Controller

Job Title: Lead Cost Controller

Assignment Type: Annually Renewable Contract

Location: Boden, Sweden

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday

Key Responsibilities:
- Lead cost control activities for a major project area, ensuring alignment with approved budgets, project objectives, contractual commitments, and company requirements.
- Develop, maintain, and continuously improve project cost forecasts, variance analyses, cash flow forecasts, and cost performance reporting.
- Review, validate, and challenge EPCM cost reports, forecasts, commitments, accruals, change orders, and expenditure reporting to ensure accuracy and transparency.
- Monitor project progress and performance to identify cost risks, emerging trends, and opportunities, and proactively drive mitigation actions.
- Collaborate closely with Area Managers, Project Managers, EPCM contractors, Procurement, Finance, Accounting, Planning, and other stakeholders to ensure alignment between project execution and financial reporting.
- Analyse estimating assumptions, cost benchmarks, productivity trends, and value engineering opportunities to optimize project outcomes.
- Support project change management processes through cost impact assessments, change evaluations, and maintenance of cost change registers.
- Ensure project cost data accurately reflects engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, and execution progress.
- Prepare and present cost reports, executive summaries, financial dashboards, and management presentations for senior leadership and key stakeholders.
- Support the implementation and continuous improvement of project controls systems, processes, reporting standards, and governance frameworks.
- Ensure compliance with company procedures, project controls requirements, contractual obligations, and applicable standards.
- Support project reviews, audits, and assurance activities related to project cost performance.
- Complete all tasks as directed by the manager and fulfill all assigned responsibilities.
- Independently evaluate project cost performance and financial trends.
- Review and validate cost information received from EPCM contractors and project stakeholders.
- Identify and escalate significant cost deviations, risks, and opportunities.
- Recommend corrective actions and mitigation plans to project leadership.
- Support decision-making through financial analysis, reporting, and forecasting.

Requirements:

Education and Certification:
- Bachelor's degree in engineering, Construction Management, Quantity Surveying, Finance, Economics, Project Controls, or another relevant discipline.
- Professional certifications such as AACE, CCP, PMI, PMP, or equivalent are considered advantageous.
- Additional training in project controls, cost management, or financial analysis is considered beneficial.

Experience:
- Approximately 10 years of experience within project cost control, project controls, or commercial project management in large-scale industrial, infrastructure, energy, mining, manufacturing, or EPCM-led projects.
- Proven experience managing complex project cost structures, commitments, change management processes, and contractor cost reporting.
- Experience working within multidisciplinary project organizations involving engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, and finance functions.
- Demonstrated experience supporting project leadership through financial reporting, forecasting, and decision support.
- Experience working with EPCM contractors and major capital projects is highly desirable.

Competences and Skills:
- Strong knowledge of project controls principles, cost management methodologies, forecasting techniques, and industry standards such as AACE and PMI.
- Advanced understanding of cost control systems, reporting tools, and project financial management processes.
- Strong analytical capabilities including estimating, forecasting, trend analysis, earned value principles, and performance reporting.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and project controls software.
- Ability to analyse large volumes of financial and project performance data and translate findings into actionable insights.
- Strong stakeholder management and communication skills.
- Ability to influence decisions and challenge assumptions in a constructive and professional manner.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.
- Strong understanding of project execution interfaces including engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, safety, quality, and finance.

Personal qualities:
- Analytical and detail oriented.
- Proactive and solution oriented.
- Collaborative and team focused.
- Structured and organized.
- Results-driven with a continuous improvement mindset.

Other abilities:
- Ability to perform effectively in a dynamic, high-paced industrial environment with exposure to noise, heat, dust, and demanding conditions.
- Ability to use required Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), such as hard hats, steel-toe boots, and safety glasses.
- Ability to move safely around an industrial plant site, including climbing, working at heights, and accessing confined spaces.
- Ability to work rotating shifts.