About this role
Responsible for day-to-day on-site cost control and commercial cost governance for a large hyperscaler fast-track data centre project delivered under a FIDIC Yellow Book design-build contract. The role maintains real-time visibility of budget, commitments, forecast final cost, cash flow, variations, claims, payment applications, site instructions, procurement commitments, and commercial risk. Working from the construction site as part of the PMT, the Cost Controller ensures that all cost impacts arising from design development, construction sequencing, acceleration, logistics, interface changes, and contractor/subcontractor activity are captured, evidenced, valued, forecast, and escalated in accordance with the Contract, Employer’s Requirements, Particular Conditions, project change control procedure, and corporate governance requirements.
Key responsibilities
1. Budget development and financial planning
Establish and maintain the project cost baseline, control budget, cost breakdown structure, and funding allocations aligned with the Employer’s Requirements, contract price structure, procurement strategy, construction phasing, work packages, and site execution plan.
Develop cost codes and reporting categories suitable for hyperscale data centre delivery, including civil works, architectural works, structural works, MEP systems, utility interfaces, long-lead equipment, commissioning, temporary works, preliminaries, logistics, acceleration, contingency, and owner-direct/OFCI interfaces where applicable.
Ensure the control budget reflects contractor design responsibility under the FIDIC Yellow Book, design development allowances, performance requirements, site conditions, programme constraints, procurement lead times, and phased energisation/commissioning requirements.
Support preparation of funding drawdowns, cost-to-complete forecasts, contingency reviews, and scenario plans required for rapid decision-making in a fast-track construction environment.
2. Cost monitoring, control, and forecasting
Track actual cost, committed cost, accrued cost, approved changes, pending changes, forecast changes, and forecast final cost against the approved baseline and current contract position.
Maintain a live site cost control file covering contract value, purchase orders, subcontracts, payment applications, payment certificates, invoices, delivery records, site instructions, Engineer’s instructions, early warnings, notices, variations, claims, contingency movements, and earned value/progress substantiation.
Identify cost variances, unapproved exposure, scope creep, acceleration costs, prolongation risks, interface gaps, and potential double-counting at the earliest practical stage and escalate them to the Project Manager and Commercial/Contracts lead.
Prepare weekly site cost snapshots and monthly Estimate at Completion (EAC) reports, using agreed assumptions, risk-adjusted scenarios, approved/pending change status, procurement commitments, and construction progress data.
Monitor short-term and long-term cash flow based on payment milestones, certified progress, long-lead equipment deliveries, commissioning milestones, retention, advance payments, and contractual payment periods.
3. Procurement and contract financial support
Support Procurement, Contracts, and Package Managers with commercial input during tender clarifications, bid comparisons, award recommendations, purchase order placement, and package budget checks.
Ensure all contract values, committed values, provisional sums, allowances, options, exclusions, assumptions, payment schedules, LD exposure, retention, bonds, insurances, and change provisions are captured accurately in the cost management system.
Review contractor and supplier payment applications against certified progress, contract milestones, delivery evidence, site records, Engineer/Employer approvals, and agreed valuation rules before payment processing.
Track financial exposure arising from delay events, acceleration measures, disruption, standby, resequencing, access constraints, interface dependencies, design review delays, procurement slippage, late approvals, and contractor claims.
Support preparation of commercial assessments, negotiation positions, and approval papers for variations, claims, contractual notices, compensation events, and settlement recommendations.
4. Change control and variation management
Maintain the live change, variation, claim, and commercial exposure registers, clearly separating instructed, approved, rejected, under-review, forecast, and disputed items.
Quantify the cost impact of Employer’s Requirements changes, Contractor design development, site instructions, Engineer’s instructions, design clarifications, RFI responses, access constraints, programme changes, risk events, and commissioning/interface changes.
Coordinate with Engineering, Construction, Planning, and Lead (Site) Engineers to validate entitlement, causation, quantum, programme linkage, and supporting records before costs are included in forecasts or submitted for approval.
Ensure all variations and cost-impacting instructions comply with the contract notice, instruction, valuation, approval, and determination procedures applicable under the FIDIC Yellow Book and any agreed Particular Conditions.
Provide concise cost options, commercial consequences, and recommendation summaries to support rapid PMT decision-making without compromising contractual entitlement, auditability, or governance compliance.
Act as owner and administrator of the Change Order Log, Variation Register, Claims Register, and Forecast Change Register, ensuring every item has a clear reference, status, value, owner, required action, evidence file, and contractual basis.
5. Cost reporting and governance
Prepare daily, weekly, and monthly cost control outputs suitable for site leadership, PMT governance, corporate finance, and customer reporting, including:
• approved budget, current budget, commitments, actuals, accruals, and forecast final cost
• contract price movements, approved variations, pending variations, claims, and disputed amounts
• cash flow, payment application status, payment certificate status, invoice status, and retention exposure
• cost-loaded progress, earned value, productivity indicators, and package-level cost trends
• contingency drawdown, risk allowance usage, commercial risk and opportunity register updates
• forecast scenarios required for fast-track decisions, acceleration, resequencing, and phased handover
Support governance meetings, cost reviews, change boards, payment reviews, audits, lender/customer reporting, and internal approval processes with accurate, traceable, and current commercial information.
Ensure all cost information is evidence-based, contractually traceable, commercially neutral, and aligned with project procedures, financial delegations, approval limits, and audit requirements.
6. Risk management
Support the project risk register by quantifying cost impacts of design responsibility, construction sequencing, programme compression, procurement lead times, utility interfaces, commissioning constraints, site logistics, labour productivity, inflation, currency exposure, and contractor performance.
Identify emerging cost exposure from fast-track delivery, overlapping design and construction, late design information, rework, temporary solutions, night/weekend working, expediting, premium freight, interface clashes, energisation delays, and commissioning failures.
Develop cost mitigation scenarios, contingency recommendations, recovery cost assessments, and commercial options for leadership decision-making.
7. On-site records, evidence, and cost substantiation
Ensure contracts, purchase orders, payment applications, payment certificates, invoices, site diaries, photographs, delivery tickets, timesheets, progress records, instructions, notices, meeting minutes, RFIs, design comments, and commercial correspondence are stored correctly in ACC or the agreed project system.
Maintain clear audit trails linking every cost movement to the relevant contract clause, instruction, approval, site record, design document, programme impact, procurement document, or payment milestone.
Support alignment between ACC (Forma), ERP/finance systems, procurement trackers, contract registers, planning tools, and site reporting so that financial data is consistent across all project controls platforms.
8. Interface coordination
Work closely on site with:
• Project Manager and Commercial/Contracts Manager for cost governance, contract administration, approvals, and commercial strategy
• FIDIC Engineer / Engineer’s Representative interface for instructions, determinations, payment certification, variations, and contractual notices
• Construction Manager, Site Managers, and SME Managers for progress validation, site records, productivity, change identification, and forecast updates
• Planning Manager for programme impact, critical path linkage, acceleration costs, delay events, and time-related cost exposure
• Engineering and Design Managers for design development, technical change, Employer’s Requirements compliance, and buildability-related cost impact
• Procurement Manager, Expeditor, and Logistics team for commitments, long-lead equipment, delivery milestones, premium freight, and vendor claims
• Mechanical, Electrical, CSA, Commissioning, and Quality leads for scope validation, commissioning milestones, rework, non-conformances, and handover cost exposure
• Finance and corporate governance teams for budgeting, payment processing, forecasting, accruals, financial compliance, and audit support
Ensure that cost information is available at site level in time to support daily decision-making, while maintaining formal governance over contractual entitlement, budget authority, change approval, and financial reporting.
Required experience and competencies
• Strong cost control experience on major construction, industrial, mission-critical, data centre, energy, or infrastructure projects.
• Practical understanding of FIDIC Yellow Book design-build principles, including contractor design responsibility, Employer’s Requirements, Engineer’s instructions, variations, payment procedures, notices, claims, and determinations.
• Ability to operate effectively on a live construction site, challenge cost submissions constructively, and convert site events into accurate commercial records.
• Experience with fast-track delivery, phased handover, long-lead MEP equipment, commissioning-driven milestones, and high-value change environments.
• Strong Excel, cost reporting, forecasting, ERP/procurement system, and document control capability; experience with ACC or similar common data environment preferred.
• Clear, concise reporting style with the ability to brief senior project leadership on cost exposure, options, risks, and required decisions.