What to Expect
This is a highly KPI‑driven, owner‑side role. As a Senior Cost Specialist, you’ll act as the steward of cost performance for large, complex mega projects. From an owner’s perspective, you’ll be responsible for ensuring cost transparency, consistency, and discipline across the entire project lifecycle. You’ll partner closely with project leadership, finance, procurement, and external EPC partners to drive accurate reporting, proactive decision‑making, and cost efficiency that directly impacts project profitability and long‑term competitiveness.
Day to Day
In this role, you will:
- Own and oversee the total cost management program for major mining and metals projects, ensuring alignment with owner financial objectives
- Track, forecast, and trend project costs to provide clear visibility into performance, risks, and opportunities
- Analyze historical and current project data to establish cost benchmarks and trends for future capital projects
- Support owner‑led change management on fast‑tracked, multi‑interface mega projects, including cost and schedule impacts
- Evaluate scope changes, variations, and contract amendments from an owner’s lens, quantifying cost exposure and entitlement
- Support review and assessment of change orders and collaborate with EPCs, contractors, and suppliers as needed
- Develop and maintain accurate owner forecasts and cost reports to support executive decision‑making
- Monitor actuals versus budget, perform variance analysis, and clearly articulate root causes and corrective actions
- Lead cost KPI tracking and deliver weekly and monthly cost performance reporting and presentations to senior leadership
- Surface emerging cost trends, risks, and mitigation strategies early to enable proactive decisions
- Support daily cost management deliverables, including change control and internal cost management systems
Must Haves
- Self‑starter who can operate independently, prioritize competing demands, and represent the owner’s interests
- Advanced Excel skills, including complex formulas, data analysis, and summarization
- Strong attention to detail with the ability to manage repeatable, process‑driven tasks
- Experience using Power BI dashboards to report cost performance to executive and owner leadership teams
- Ability to build and maintain Excel models and workbooks where in‑house systems are evolving or under development
- Hands‑on experience processing change orders and budget adjustments within owner‑side cost management systems
- Experience reviewing and auditing contractor invoices and coordinating across internal teams and third parties
- Ability to partner with project managers and leadership to track performance against approved budgets and schedules
- Experience using procurement and cost systems to maintain spend profiles and drawdown curves
- Agile, flexible, and comfortable working in complex, evolving project environments
- Owner‑side experience is strongly preferred
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Business, Data Analytics, Project Management, Construction Management, or equivalent mega‑project experience
- Typically 5+ years of experience in owner‑side cost management, budgeting, and forecasting, ideally on large industrial or EPC‑led projects
- Strong understanding of owner cost governance, controls, and large‑scale project cost structures
- Data‑driven background with strong analytical and financial modeling skills
- Ability to communicate clearly with executives, project teams, and external partners in complex and sometimes ambiguous environments
