Project Control Manager

Role overview

This senior governance position sits on the owner’s side and is responsible for creating, running, and continuously improving independent project controls, reporting structures, and performance monitoring tools for major development programmes.

The role is designed to give leadership a clear view of progress, cost movement, risks, issues, variations, and the performance of consultants and contractors through accurate, timely, and decision-ready reporting.

As the central control point, the incumbent will verify information shared by consultants and contractors, flag any deviations, track recovery measures, and make sure project execution remains aligned with approved objectives, timelines, and governance standards.

The role also requires the creation of standalone dashboards and reporting mechanisms that operate independently of ERP systems to strengthen governance and support executive decisions.

Project controls and programme management

• Build and maintain integrated master schedules that span all phases of the project.
• Cover planning, early works, design, procurement, construction, and execution within the programme plan.
• Track milestones, current progress, and critical path activities.
• Spot schedule slippages, delays, and the need for recovery actions.
• Review schedules submitted by consultants and contractors and assess their logic, practical viability, resource fit, and alignment with project goals.

Cost monitoring and performance tracking

• Create and sustain frameworks for tracking project costs.
• Watch cost movement and highlight any signs of budget drift.
• Support forecasting and financial performance updates.
• Assess cost inputs received from external consultants and contractors.
• Issue early alerts on possible cost exposure and financial risks.

Risk, issue, and change control

• Set up and maintain registers for risks, issues, and changes.
• Follow mitigation plans and corrective actions through to closure.
• Identify newly emerging risks and recommend suitable responses.
• Escalate urgent risks, delays, and performance matters to leadership with clear recommendations.

Consultant and contractor performance monitoring

• Measure consultant and contractor performance against contractual duties, milestones, deliverables, and quality expectations.
• Validate project data received from external parties before it is used in reporting.
• Identify performance shortfalls and support action plans to correct them.

Reporting and executive dashboard management

• Prepare executive dashboards, progress updates, and management presentations.
• Design reporting tools that provide transparent visibility of programme status, cost performance, risks and issues, change activity, and consultant/contractor performance.
• Ensure reporting is accurate, fully traceable, and backed by project records.
• Convert data into insights that help leadership make informed decisions.

Governance and process improvement

• Set up and maintain independent project reporting systems and dashboards.
• Create reporting standards, templates, and governance workflows.
• Keep project data consistent and accurate across all stakeholders.
• Support ongoing improvement of project control practices.
• Maintain orderly records suitable for governance and audit review.

Project coordination

• Work with the Senior Architectural Lead and Senior Infrastructure Engineer to include design, construction, and technical updates in reporting.
• Provide cross-functional support as required by the GM – Network Development & Maintenance.
• Partner with project teams to ensure information moves smoothly and reporting remains aligned.

Qualifications and experience

A bachelor’s degree is required in Engineering, Construction Management, Project Controls, or a related field.

Preferred professional certifications include PMP, PMI-SP, AACE Certification, or an equivalent project controls qualification.

The role calls for 7 to 10 years of experience in project controls, project reporting, programme management, and governance functions.

Experience on large-scale projects with multiple stakeholders is required, along with prior exposure to owner-side environments, EPC projects, and consultant/contractor management.

Technical and behavioural skills

Strong capability is needed in programme and milestone control, schedule review, cost monitoring, risk and change control, performance tracking, executive reporting, forecasting, trend analysis, and reporting system development.

The successful candidate should be able to question and verify external data, work with complex schedules and cost information, maintain excellent governance discipline, communicate effectively with stakeholders, and operate independently in a fast-moving project setting.

Leadership strengths should include sound judgement under constraints, effective escalation of risks, cross-functional coordination, performance oversight, and support for data-led decisions.

Language requirements

English at advanced level is mandatory.

Arabic is preferred.

Scope of supervision

There is no direct line management at the start of the role.

The position will provide functional oversight of reporting inputs from consultants and contractors and will coordinate governance of project control information.

Preferred candidate profile

The ideal candidate is an experienced project controls and reporting professional with strong expertise in programme management, reporting governance, risk management, and stakeholder coordination.

They should have proven success on large development projects, be able to independently validate project information, and provide reliable executive-level insights that support strategic decisions.