Senior Risk Manager (Giga Program)

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Job Description:

Parsons are looking for an exceptionally talented Senior Risk Manager to join their team!

The Senior Risk Manager will lead the identification, assessment, quantification, mitigation and monitoring of risks across the Giga Program, with specific responsibility for roads, civil infrastructure and structural works.

The role will provide strategic and operational risk leadership across the full program lifecycle, ensuring that risks are effectively managed, quantified, communicated and escalated. The successful candidate will work closely with design, procurement, commercial, construction, engineering, project controls and delivery teams to protect program objectives relating to cost, schedule, scope, quality, safety, compliance and stakeholder outcomes.

A key requirement of the role is demonstrated, hands-on experience in quantitative cost and schedule risk analysis and contingency management on major infrastructure, construction or capital investment programs.

What You'll Be Doing
1. Risk Management Leadership

• Develop, implement and maintain the program risk management strategy, framework, procedures and reporting requirements.
• Lead risk management activities across roads, civil infrastructure and structural works packages from concept and design through procurement, construction, testing and handover.
• Establish consistent risk management standards across consultants, contractors, designers and delivery partners.
• Ensure alignment with corporate, program and project-level risk management requirements.
• Provide expert advice to senior leadership on material risks, emerging threats, opportunities and recommended responses.
• Embed risk management into program governance, project controls, commercial management, change control and decision-making processes.
• Promote a proactive, transparent and “no surprises” risk culture across the program.

2. Risk Identification and Assessment

• Facilitate risk identification workshops, reviews and interviews with project and functional teams.
• Identify threats and opportunities associated with: Highways, roads, bridges, tunnels and interchanges. Earthworks, retaining structures, drainage and utilities. Foundations, reinforced concrete, steelwork and other structural systems. Design development, constructability and technical interfaces. Land acquisition, permits, approvals and third-party dependencies. Supply chain, logistics, materials, labour and market conditions. Construction methodology, temporary works and site conditions. Interfaces between infrastructure, buildings, utilities, transport systems and other program assets.
• Assess risks using agreed probability, impact, proximity, velocity and confidence criteria.
• Review and challenge risk assessments prepared by project teams, consultants and contractors.
• Identify systemic, cumulative and interdependent risks across the program.
• Ensure risk assumptions, causes, consequences, owners, responses and due dates are clearly documented and maintained.

3. Quantitative Cost and Schedule Risk Analysis

• Lead and deliver quantitative cost and schedule risk analysis across the program and relevant project packages.
• Develop, maintain and quality-assure quantitative risk models for cost, schedule and delivery risks.
• Undertake probabilistic cost risk analysis, including: Cost uncertainty and risk modelling. Risk-adjusted cost forecasting. Monte Carlo simulation. Sensitivity analysis. Correlation and risk-interdependency analysis. Confidence-level and percentile reporting. Assessment of estimate maturity and cost exposure.
• Undertake quantitative schedule risk analysis, including: Review of schedule quality, logic, constraints and assumptions. Critical-path and near-critical-path risk analysis. Activity duration and productivity risk assessment. Schedule risk modelling and Monte Carlo simulation. Probabilistic completion-date forecasting. Schedule confidence-level assessment. Identification of schedule contingency requirements.
• Translate quantitative risk results into clear recommendations for cost plans, schedules, funding decisions, delivery strategies and executive governance.
• Review and challenge the assumptions, data quality, correlations and modelling approaches used in quantitative risk analyses.
• Ensure quantitative risk analysis is updated at appropriate program and project milestones.

4. Contingency, Reserves and Risk Allowance Management

• Develop, implement and maintain methodologies for cost and schedule contingency, risk allowances and management reserves.
• Establish appropriate contingency and reserve requirements based on quantified risk exposure, confidence levels, estimate maturity and schedule certainty.
• Review and challenge contingency included in estimates, schedules, contracts, delivery plans and contractor submissions.
• Recommend cost contingency, schedule contingency and management reserve requirements for governance and investment approval.
• Monitor contingency drawdown, consumption, transfers, approvals and remaining exposure throughout the program lifecycle.
• Assess whether contingency remains adequate as risks change, materialize, close or are transferred.
• Maintain clear reconciliation between the risk register, quantitative risk models, cost forecasts, schedules, contingency and management reserves.
• Identify emerging exposure that may require additional contingency, reallocation of reserves or management intervention.
• Report contingency position, usage, trends and residual exposure to program leadership and governance committees.
• Support the development of funding, investment and stage-gate submissions through quantified risk and contingency recommendations.

5. Risk Response and Mitigation

• Work with risk owners to develop practical, measurable and time-bound mitigation and response plans.
• Monitor the effectiveness of risk responses and challenge overdue or ineffective actions.
• Support the implementation of risk avoidance, reduction, transfer, acceptance and exploitation strategies.
• Ensure risk responses are embedded into: Design decisions. Procurement strategies. Contract requirements. Construction methodologies. Baseline schedules. Cost plans and forecasts. Change control processes. Emergency and contingency plans.
• Identify opportunities to improve value, reduce cost, accelerate delivery and enhance constructability.
• Assess the residual exposure following implementation of mitigation actions.
• Ensure risk responses are reflected in quantitative models, forecasts, schedules and contingency requirements.

6. Governance, Reporting and Escalation

• Maintain the program risk register, risk breakdown structure, risk matrix, risk database and risk taxonomy.
• Produce regular risk reports, dashboards and executive-level summaries.
• Prepare risk inputs for program reviews, investment committees, stage-gate approvals and board reporting.
• Report quantitative cost and schedule risk exposure, confidence levels, contingency requirements and reserve position.
• Escalate significant or deteriorating risks in accordance with the program governance framework.
• Track risk trends, exposure, mitigation performance, residual risk and contingency movements.
• Ensure clear ownership and accountability for all material risks.
• Coordinate risk reviews with schedule, cost, change, commercial, quality, health and safety and issue-management processes.
• Support audits, assurance reviews and independent assessments relating to risk management and program controls.
• Ensure risk reporting is accurate, timely, consistent and supported by appropriate evidence.

7. Contract and Commercial Risk

• Support procurement and commercial teams in identifying and managing risks during tendering and contract execution.
• Review risk allocation within contracts and advise on appropriate ownership and mitigation.
• Assess contractor and supplier risk registers, assumptions, exclusions, qualifications and contingency provisions.
• Review contractor cost and schedule risk analyses and challenge the basis of submitted allowances.
• Monitor risks associated with claims, disputes, variations, delay, disruption, acceleration and performance.
• Support the development of risk-based commercial strategies and negotiation positions.
• Ensure risks transferred to contractors or suppliers are properly defined, priced, monitored and managed.
• Assess whether transferred risks remain appropriately allocated and whether residual program exposure has been recognized.
• Review the impact of commercial events on cost forecasts, schedules, contingency and management reserves.

8. Stakeholder and Interface Management

• Build effective relationships with program directors, project managers, engineering leads, commercial managers, planners, contractors and external stakeholders.
• Coordinate risk management across multiple work packages and delivery organizations.
• Manage risks arising from interfaces between roads, civil works, structures, utilities, buildings and operational systems.
• Facilitate risk escalation and resolution across organizational and contractual boundaries.
• Communicate complex quantitative analysis clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Promote consistent understanding of cost, schedule, contingency and risk exposure across the program.

9. Team Leadership and Capability Building

• Lead, coach and develop risk professionals and project team members.
• Establish risk management competency requirements across the program.
• Deliver risk training, guidance and awareness sessions.
• Promote consistent use of risk tools, terminology, processes, quantitative methods and reporting.
• Encourage early identification of risks and constructive challenge of assumptions.
• Build capability in quantitative cost risk analysis, schedule risk analysis and contingency management.
• Establish quality standards for risk models, assumptions, data, outputs and governance submissions.

What Required Skills You'll Bring;
Essential Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, construction management, project management, risk management, quantity surveying, finance or a related discipline.
• Minimum 15 years Risk Management Experience
• Professional qualification or certification in risk management, such as PMI-RMP, IRM, APM Risk Certificate, RIMS-CRMP or equivalent.
• Recognized project or program management certification, such as PMP, PRINCE2 or equivalent, is desirable.
• Membership of a relevant professional body is desirable.

Mandatory Experience

• Significant experience in risk management on major infrastructure, construction or capital investment programs.
• Experience managing risks associated with roads, highways, bridges, tunnels, earthworks, utilities, civil infrastructure and structural works.
• Experience working within complex, multi-project, major capital investment or giga-scale programs.
• Demonstrated hands-on experience leading and delivering quantitative cost risk analysis.
• Demonstrated hands-on experience leading and delivering quantitative schedule risk analysis.
• Demonstrated experience developing, reviewing and managing cost and schedule contingency, management reserves and risk allowances.
• Experience establishing contingency and reserve requirements based on quantified risk exposure, confidence levels, estimate maturity and schedule certainty.
• Experience monitoring contingency drawdown, consumption, transfers, approvals, remaining exposure and reforecasting requirements.
• Experience integrating risk registers, quantitative risk models, cost forecasts, schedules, contingency and management reserves.
• Experience translating quantified risk exposure into contingency recommendations, management actions, investment decisions and executive-level reporting.
• Experience with design, procurement, contracting and construction delivery risks.
• Experience managing contractor, consultant and supply-chain risk.
• Experience reviewing contractor and supplier risk registers, assumptions, exclusions, risk pricing and contingency provisions.
• Experience in risk governance, executive reporting and senior stakeholder engagement.
• Demonstrated experience leading multidisciplinary risk workshops.
• Experience using risk management, quantitative risk analysis and reporting tools.

Desirable Experience

• Experience on major transportation, urban development, industrial, tourism, energy or mixed-use infrastructure programs.
• Experience in a client-side, program management consultant or major contractor environment.
• Experience with FIDIC, NEC, EPC, design-and-build or other major infrastructure contracting models.
• Experience designing enterprise-wide or portfolio-level contingency and reserve methodologies.
• Experience integrating risk management with enterprise project controls, investment governance, funding approvals and assurance processes.
• Experience working in a rapidly changing or developing program environment.
• Experience with Primavera P6, Microsoft Project, @RISK, Safran, Primavera Risk Analysis, Acumen, Oracle Primavera Cloud, Power BI or equivalent tools.

Knowledge and Technical Skills

• Strong understanding of infrastructure design and construction processes.
• Good knowledge of road, civil and structural engineering interfaces.
• Understanding of geotechnical, environmental, utilities, temporary works and constructability risks.
• Strong knowledge of project controls, including cost, schedule, change, forecasting and earned value principles.
• Advanced ability to perform, review, interpret and communicate quantitative cost and schedule risk analysis.
• Strong understanding of cost and schedule contingency, management reserves and risk allowances.
• Ability to assess the adequacy of risk models, assumptions, data quality and analysis outputs.
• Ability to translate technical and quantitative risk information into clear business and program-level impacts.
• Ability to understand complex technical information and communicate it to non-technical stakeholders.
• Strong report-writing, presentation and data-analysis skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, risk management systems, quantitative risk tools and dashboarding platforms.
• Strong understanding of risk governance, escalation, assurance and decision-making principles.
• Ability to build and maintain effective relationships across technical, commercial, delivery and executive teams.
• Commitment to developing a proactive and embedded risk management culture.

Parsons equally employs representation at all job levels no matter the race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, disability or genetic information.

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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