Project Controls Specialist

About this opportunity:

Reporting to the Turnaround Manager, the Project Controls Specialist is responsible for overseeing project controls activities throughout all phases of turnaround and outage events, including planning, execution, and closeout. This role ensures effective monitoring, tracking, and reporting of turnaround scope, schedule, cost, and performance to support successful project delivery. The Project Controls Specialist partners closely with Turnaround Managers, TA Event Managers, Project Leads, Turnaround Planners, Finance, and contractors to provide accurate project status updates, maintain visibility into project controls, and support informed decision-making. The position plays a critical role in coordinating turnaround activities, managing project performance metrics, and ensuring consistent application of project controls processes and governance. By fostering collaboration across stakeholders and maintaining effective reporting and controls, the Project Controls Specialist helps drive successful turnaround outcomes that meet operational, financial, and business objectives.

Interested in working in Lloydminster? Learn more!

Work Environment:

• This position is located in Lloydminster and requires the successful candidate to live in the area

What you’ll do:

• Lead project controls activities for turnaround events, including planning, execution, and closeout, ensuring alignment of scope, schedule, cost, and governance requirements.

• Develop and maintain project controls frameworks, procedures, dashboards, KPIs, reporting tools, and work breakdown structures (WBS) to support effective project delivery.

• Manage budgeting, estimating, cost control, forecasting, earned value management (EVM), and variance analysis, including long-range planning (LRP) and contingency management.

• Oversee schedule development, maintenance, quality assurance, and risk analysis, including Monte Carlo assessments and schedule performance reporting.

• Monitor turnaround and outage performance against established targets for cost, schedule, resources, manpower, and progress, providing timely reporting and recommendations.

• Lead change management and change control processes, ensuring accurate assessment and incorporation of scope, cost, and schedule impacts.

• Coordinate with Finance, Operations, Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Project Teams, and contractors to ensure alignment on execution plans, cost reporting, and project controls objectives.

• Serve as the primary point of contact for project cost and schedule forecasting, providing regular status updates, management reports, and stakeholder presentations.

• Mentor project controls personnel and support continuous improvement initiatives, including contractor integration, systems development, benchmarking, and project controls best practices.

Who you are:

Our ideal candidate will have the following minimum requirements:

• Legally authorized to work in Canada

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Analytics, Business Technology Management, Data Analytics, or a related field

• Minimum 12 years of experience in project controls, turnaround management, project management, or a related industrial environment.

• Strong expertise in project controls systems, processes, governance, and performance management, with the ability to establish effective tools, reporting frameworks, and KPIs.

• Demonstrated financial acumen with experience in budgeting, forecasting, cost control, and partnering with Finance to ensure compliance with financial policies and procedures.

• Extensive knowledge of contract management, contractor performance, payment structures, and supply chain processes, including procurement, execution, and closeout activities.

• Proven ability to lead performance reviews, benchmarking, and continuous improvement initiatives by analyzing actual results against targets and incorporating lessons learned into future turnaround planning.

We acknowledge the value of transferrable skills and may consider equivalent combinations of experience and education should you not meet a specific requirement.

As this position has been identified as safety sensitive, employment of a final candidate selected for this position will be conditional upon successful completion of required pre-employment medical and alcohol/drug assessments.

For this position you will be required to maintain a Class 5 driver's license, a satisfactory driving record, and adhere to the appropriate Company policies and guidelines.  A driver's abstract will be one of the background checks requested in the pre-employment screening for the final candidate.

Note: The application deadline for this position is 11:59 PM MT August 11, 2026.

Cenovus was ranked one of Canada’s Best Employers in 2025. We’re committed to being an employer of choice in our industry by offering a competitive total rewards package and employee programs and rewarding career development opportunities. Learn more.

If you require accessibility assistance to complete the on-line application or otherwise apply for an open position with Cenovus, its subsidiaries and affiliates, please email [email protected].

Who we are:

Ranked as one of Canada’s Best Employers in 2025, Cenovus is an integrated energy company headquartered in Calgary. We’re committed to maximizing value by developing our assets in a safe, responsible and cost-efficient manner. We operate in Canada, the United States and the Asia Pacific region. Our operations include oil sands projects in northern Alberta, thermal and conventional crude oil and natural gas projects across Western Canada, crude oil production offshore Newfoundland and Labrador and natural gas and liquids production offshore China and Indonesia. Cenovus’s downstream operations include upgrading, refining and marketing operations in Canada and the United States.

Find Cenovus on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram. 

The Cenovus experience

Total rewards

We’re committed to being an employer of choice through competitive compensation and our comprehensive total rewards package, including:

• Paid vacation (including a flex day program for eligible staff)
• Health & dental benefits
• Substantial mental health coverage
• Life insurance
• Disability benefits
• Employee family assistance
• Virtual healthcare coverage

Our development philosophy

We foster a culture of continuous learning and development to support employees as they build meaningful careers. We offer a variety of employee development initiatives, including:

• Internal course offerings
• Education assistance for additional development
• Opportunities to work on special projects
• Leadership development programs for emerging and established leaders

We actively promote internal job movement, recognizing the value of gaining new perspectives, building connections across teams, and applying expertise in new ways. As a fully integrated energy company, we believe that sharing knowledge across our business and operations creates stronger outcomes—for employees and for the company as a whole.

Our culture

• Our purpose: We energize the world to make people’s lives better.
• Our values:
  • Protect what matters
  • Do it right
  • Make it better
  • Do it together

• Cenovus Cares: We believe in the power of purpose-driven work. Our Employee Giving and Volunteering Program, Cenovus Cares, connects our people to our purpose, inspiring action and elevating impact year-round.
  • Support causes you care about with volunteer opportunities in and outside of work.
  • Earn donation grants while volunteering (up to $1,000 per event).
  • Receive donation matching up to $10,000 annually.

• Staff resource groups: We have various staff resource groups to help ensure our people feel a sense of belonging and can grow and do their best work. These voluntary groups are employee-led and all groups are open to all staff in all locations.

Equal opportunity employer

We believe a workplace where everyone has merit-based opportunities to grow, achieve career aspirations and feel a sense of belonging benefits our people, our company and the regions where we live and work. We embrace and encourage different perspectives and approaches, which help us make better business decisions. We believe that through this approach, we can solve challenges, seize opportunities and unlock innovative solutions.

To achieve an unbiased and respectful workplace, individuals are evaluated based on qualifications, merit and abilities, and we encourage applications from all qualified candidates. We also acknowledge the value of transferrable skills and may consider equivalent combinations of experience and education should you not meet a specific requirement.

For more information about working at Cenovus, visit cenovus.com.

The requirements of this posting may be modified to support business needs. Title and compensation administration will be based on the skills and capabilities of the successful incumbent.

Interested in this opportunity? Click the Apply link.

If you are a CURRENT EMPLOYEE, please apply by going to our Internal Career Site.