Sr. Cost Analyst

• Sr. Cost Analyst
• 6-month contract to hire
• Chicago, IL

You will be heavily focused on project execution – developing construction plans, analyzing expenditures, cost forecasting, managing contingency, variance analysis reporting, tariff impact analysis, and creating detailed reports and dashboards to improve the execution of renewable energy projects.

Responsibilities

• Conduct portfolio cost analysis and deliver monthly cost performance reports to leadership.
• Provide mentorship and oversight of Analysts to ensure execution of all project responsibilities and reporting.
• Support Project Managers in the full lifecycle of project cost management, ensuring all actuals, commitments, and forecasts are accurately captured, validated, and recorded in alignment with corporate standards.
• Provide cost input to project planning activities such as construction execution plans, estimate updates, procurement strategies, and risk-adjusted forecasting.
• Conduct commercial evaluations of vendor and contractor proposals to support change management, contract negotiations, and service agreement development.
• Review and validate supplier and contractor invoices, change orders, and claims; ensure alignment with contract terms and project budgets.
• Develop, maintain, and analyze project cost forecasts—including cash flow, contingency usage, committed cost tracking, and variance analysis—and clearly articulate drivers behind deviations.
• Maintain the project cost control framework, including the cost breakdown structure (CBS), budget allocations, work package tracking, and integration with schedule and procurement updates.
• Prepare both project and portfolio level reporting, which includes but is not limited to monthly cost reports, progress summaries, dashboards, and KPI updates for management review.
• Monitor project risks, trends, and potential deviations; collaborate with cross-functional stakeholders to recommend mitigation actions and communicate cost impacts proactively.
• Manage financial controls processes—purchase requisitions, purchase orders, budget transfers, and commitment management—and ensure alignment across cost systems, accounting, and procurement.
• Ability to innovate our cost management system by piloting new concepts, scaling to the construction business group, and facilitate change management/training to have sustained process adherence.
• Provide ad-hoc cost studies, scenario analyses, and decision-support reporting as needed.
• Drive consistency and continuous improvement of cost control practices, tools, and reporting standards across projects.

• Minimum Qualifications
• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, construction management, finance, accounting, or a related analytical discipline.
• 5+ years of experience in project cost control, project accounting, financial analysis, or related project controls functions.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to develop forecasts, analyze variances, assess trends, and interpret cost, schedule, and commercial data.
• Experience reviewing invoices, change orders, commercial proposals, or contract terms for accuracy and compliance.
• Proficiency in project coordination across engineering, procurement, finance, and construction stakeholders.
• Advanced attention to detail, problem-solving capability, and ability to complete tasks with minimal guidance.
• 3+ years of experience with construction project cost & schedule integration
• Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to synthesize cost information for both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Ability to travel up to 10% of the time and work occasionally on active construction sites.

• Preferred Qualifications
• Construction or EPC project experience (internship or professional role highly desirable).
• Experience with Earned Value Management (EVM), cost breakdown structures (CBS), and other project monitoring such as Cost Performance Index (CPI) monitoring
• Experience with Primavera P6 or Oracle Primavera Cloud.
• Experience with cost management or ERP systems such as EcoSys and Oracle Fusion.
• Experience developing dashboards or data visualizations in Power BI or similar tools.
• Relevant industry certifications such as AACE (CCP/CEP/EVP), PMI (PMP), or comparable project controls credentials.
• Base Pay $95,000.00 - $110,000.00 USD Annual