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Job Description:
Parsons is looking for an amazingly talented Insert Job Title to join our team! In this role you will get to Insert one sentence summary of key job role.
Position Summary
The Senior Project Controls Manager is responsible for leading planning, scheduling, cost control, risk management, and reporting functions across a portfolio of complex utility projects (electric, gas, water, wastewater, or T&D). This role provides strategic oversight of project controls processes, ensures data integrity, and partners with project leadership to deliver capital programs on time and within budget, while meeting regulatory and safety requirements.
The ideal candidate has extensive experience in the utilities sector, managing large, multi-year capital programs, and leading a team of project controls professionals.
Key Responsibilities
Leadership & Strategy
- Lead the development and implementation of project controls strategies, standards, and procedures for utility capital projects and programs.
- Manage, mentor, and develop a team of planners, schedulers, cost engineers, and analysts.
- Serve as a key advisor to project and program leadership on schedule, cost, risk, and performance trends.
- Drive continuous improvement in project controls tools, processes, and reporting, aligned with industry best practices (e.g., AACE, PMI).
Planning & Scheduling
- Oversee the development, integration, and maintenance of detailed project and program schedules using tools.
- Ensure schedules reflect realistic work sequencing, resource constraints, outage windows, permitting, environmental, and regulatory requirements specific to utilities.
- Monitor schedule performance, perform schedule health checks, and develop recovery or acceleration plans as required.
- Conduct schedule risk analyses and scenario planning for major projects and programs.
Cost Management & Forecasting
- Lead the establishment of project baselines, including budgets, cash flows, and cost breakdown structures.
- Oversee cost tracking, forecasting, and earned value management, including variance analysis and root-cause identification.
- Ensure accurate and timely monthly cost reporting, including commitments, actuals, contingencies, and forecast at completion.
- Coordinate with Finance, Procurement, and Project Management to reconcile project financials and align with corporate reporting.
Risk & Change Management
- Implement and maintain risk management processes, including risk registers, qualitative and quantitative risk assessments, and mitigation plans.
- Oversee project change management processes: evaluate change requests, assess schedule and cost impacts, and ensure proper approvals and documentation.
- Manage contingency development and utilization, ensuring transparency and governance around drawdowns.
Reporting & Governance
- Develop and maintain standardized dashboards and reports for executive leadership, project sponsors, and regulatory stakeholders.
- Present schedule, cost, and risk updates at governance forums, steering committees, and portfolio review meetings.
- Ensure compliance with internal governance frameworks, regulatory requirements, and audit standards.
Stakeholder & Interface Management
- Collaborate with Engineering, Construction, Operations, Environmental, Regulatory, Procurement, Real Estate, and Finance teams to integrate project controls data.
- Act as a liaison between field project teams and corporate functions to resolve issues and align priorities.
- Support external reporting and filings for regulators and public agencies as required (e.g., capital plans, rate cases).
Systems, Tools & Data Integrity
- Own and optimize project controls systems and tools (e.g., P6, cost management systems, business intelligence tools).
- Ensure data quality, consistency, and integrity across all project controls functions.
- Champion digitalization initiatives, including automation of reporting, data analytics, and integration of field data into project controls.
Qualifications
Education
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Finance, Business, or related field required.
- Master’s degree in a related discipline preferred.
Experience
- Minimum 10 years of progressive project controls experience, with at least 5 years in a leadership role.
- Significant experience in the utilities sector (electric transmission & distribution, gas infrastructure, water/wastewater, generation, or similar regulated infrastructure).
- Proven track record managing project controls on large, complex, multi-year capital programs or portfolios.
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
- Deep knowledge of project controls disciplines: planning & scheduling, cost control, earned value, risk, and change management.
- Strong understanding of utility project lifecycles, including permitting, right-of-way, outages, construction constraints, and regulatory oversight.
- Proficiency in scheduling software and cost management tools; experience with PowerBI, Tableau, or similar analytics tools is highly desirable.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills; ability to interpret complex data and communicate insights clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Excellent leadership, people management, and coaching skills, with experience building and leading high-performing teams.
- Strong communication and presentation skills, including the ability to present to senior executives and external stakeholders.
- Ability to work effectively in a matrixed environment and manage multiple priorities across a portfolio of projects.
Key Performance Indicators
- Adherence to approved project and program schedules.
- Accuracy of cost forecasts versus actuals and budgets.
- Timeliness and quality of project controls reporting.
- Effectiveness of risk identification, mitigation, and change control.
- Stakeholder satisfaction (project teams, executives, regulators).
- Team engagement, development, and retention metrics.
We truly invest and care about our employee’s wellbeing and provide endless growth opportunities as the sky is the limit, so aim for the stars! Imagine next and join the Parsons quest—APPLY TODAY!
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Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Finance, Business, or related field
- Master's degree in a related discipline
- Minimum 10 years progressive project controls experience with at least 5 years in a leadership role
- Significant experience in the utilities sector (electric T&D, gas, water/wastewater, generation)
- Proven track record managing project controls on large, complex, multi-year capital programs or portfolios
- Deep knowledge of planning & scheduling, cost control, earned value management, risk, and change management
- Proficiency in scheduling software and cost management systems
- Experience with Power BI, Tableau, or similar analytics/business intelligence tools
- Strong leadership, people management, and coaching skills
- Strong communication and presentation skills for senior executives and external stakeholders
- Ability to work effectively in a matrixed environment and manage multiple portfolio priorities
- Understanding of utility project lifecycles including permitting, outages, right-of-way, and regulatory oversight
Parsons Corporation Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Parsons Corporation and has not been reviewed or approved by Parsons Corporation.
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Retirement Support — Retirement programs are framed as a major value driver, with an ESOP alongside a 401(k) match and additional stock-purchase options contributing meaningfully to total rewards. This structure is positioned as especially attractive for employees who value long-term wealth-building over immediate cash.
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Healthcare Strength — Health coverage is described as broad and choice-rich, with multiple plan types (PPO, HDHP, and some HMO networks) plus dental, vision, EAP, and wellness resources. The availability of different plan designs and national-carrier coverage supports varied employee needs.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time-off offerings are portrayed as competitive, including PTO, holidays, flexible schedules such as a 9/80 option for eligible roles, and floating holidays in the U.S. Paid parental leave of 160 hours is also highlighted as a meaningful component of the overall package.
Parsons Corporation Insights
What We Do
Parsons is a digitally enabled solutions provider with a focus on making the world safer, smarter, healthier, more sustainable, and more connected. Founded in 1944, Parsons primarily serves the defense, security, and infrastructure markets. Uniquely qualified to deliver cyber/converged security, technology-based intellectual property, and other innovative services, the corporation delivers state-of-the-art solutions to federal, regional, and local government agencies as well as to private industrial customers worldwide. Parsons has a reputation for inclusion and diversity and has been named to the Ethisphere Institute’s list of World’s Most Ethical Companies for 10 consecutive years. Parsons facilitates a culture of innovation by encouraging collaboration among its employees and providing opportunities for career growth. With offices around the globe, people of varied talents and backgrounds, and a wide range of exciting projects, the possibilities at Parsons are endless. For more about Parsons, visit www.parsons.com. Mission: Delivering innovative infrastructure, defense, and security solutions to enable a more sustainable, safer, smarter, and more connected world.
