Associate / Project Director - Project Controls Analytics

Associate / Project Director – Project Controls Analytics

AECOM Birmingham, England, United Kingdom

Company Description

Work with Us. Change the World. At AECOM, we\’re delivering a better world. Whether improving your commute, keeping the lights on, providing access to clean water, or transforming skylines, our work helps people and communities thrive. We are the world’s trusted infrastructure consulting firm, partnering with clients to solve the world’s most complex challenges and build legacies for future generations. There has never been a better time to be at AECOM. With accelerating infrastructure investment worldwide, our services are in great demand. We invite you to bring your bold ideas and big dreams and become part of a global team of over 50,000 planners, designers, engineers, scientists, digital innovators, program and construction managers and other professionals delivering projects that create a positive and tangible impact around the world.

Job Description

Our award-winning AECOM Controls Team, within the Infrastructure & PMO Operating Unit, is a trusted partner to both public and private sector clients across the UK and globally. We lead in delivering Controls Analytics solutions across Cost, Risk, Planning, and Performance Controls, supporting large-scale infrastructure and capital projects. By combining advanced analytics with best-in-class project controls, our team enables clients to make informed, data-led decisions that drive the success of their assets and investments.

Here’s what you’ll do

As a Controls Analytics Project Director, you will lead the design, implementation, and governance of controls analytics solutions on complex infrastructure projects. Your role will encompass strategic oversight and operational leadership in project controls analytics, ensuring data-driven insights are leveraged to manage project risks, control costs, and drive decision-making. This role is essential for ensuring project outcomes align with client goals and delivering value through high-level controls and analytics expertise.

Strategic Leadership in Controls Analytics

• Lead the development and execution of a comprehensive controls analytics and back office strategy across large-scale projects, either standalone or as part of a PMO, providing insights to improve complex project and programme performance.
• Direct and oversee analytics initiatives across multiple project dimensions, including cost, schedule, risk, benefits realisation, change control and commercial management, driving client maturity where necessary, ensuring alignment with client objectives and industry best practices.
• Act as the primary trusted advisor to executive-level stakeholders on complex PMO and project controls strategies, analytics insights, and value-added recommendations.

Project Controls Governance & Compliance

• Define and implement governance structures and compliance frameworks to ensure controls analytics are applied consistently across all relevant functions in projects, programmes and PMO’s.
• Ensure adherence to industry standards and regulatory guidelines, championing best practices in data management, analytics, and project controls.
• Regularly review and refine controls analytics methodologies to stay at the forefront of industry advancements and client requirements.

Advanced Analytics & Reporting Oversight

• Direct the creation and integration of advanced data analytics models to drive predictive project insights, programme benefits and strategic portfolio decisions.
• Oversee the design of analytics dashboards and reporting tools, ensuring they provide timely, actionable leading insights for both internal teams and clients.
• Develop key performance indicators (KPIs) and analytics metrics, either in isolation or facilitating executive-level workshops, to track progress, enable proactive interventions and drive continuous improvement.

Risk & Contingency Management Leadership

• Lead the integration of risk analytics into project controls, enabling proactive risk and opportunity management, mitigation development, implementation and tracking, predictive modelling and informed decision-making.
• Collaborate closely with risk and project teams to ensure risk impacts are quantified, contingency plans are in place, and corrective actions are identified and implemented.

Change Management

• Lead the conceptualisation and development of Change Management analytics and scenario modelling, integrated with PMO functions, enabling appropriate, timely governance, and tracking of change performance during implementation (including details relevant to programme and portfolio level).

Stakeholder Engagement & Executive Communication

• Foster high-trust relationships with client executives and project stakeholders, for organic business development and translating complex controls analytics insights into actionable strategies.
• Facilitate workshops and knowledge-sharing sessions, promoting a deep understanding of controls analytics and their impact at all P3 and PMO levels.
• Serve as the point of escalation for project controls issues, providing expert guidance on resolving high-impact challenges.

Team Development & Mentorship

• Build and mentor a high-performing team of controls analytics professionals, guiding their development and fostering a culture of continuous learning, engagement, and a consultancy mindset.
• Establish career paths, performance standards, and growth opportunities for team members to ensure a resilient talent pipeline, aligned with existing team strategy and opportunities (to be identified as part of this role).
• Promote cross-functional collaboration within IPC and across client teams, driving cohesion and shared success.
• Proactively support the team leadership in business development (both new and organic), opportunity management, capability development, stakeholder engagement (both internal and external), and development / refinement of team.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in data science, Engineering, Finance, Project Management, or a related discipline. A master’s degree is preferred.
• Relevant professional certifications, such as AACE, PMI-PMP, MSP Practitioner, APM, or RICS, are highly desirable.
• Minimum of 10-15 years’ of experience in project, programme and PMO delivery and controls, or analytics leadership roles within infrastructure, construction, or energy sectors.
• Consultancy experience, ideally with a tier one consultancy.
• Demonstrated success in leading project controls and analytics initiatives for multiple high-value, complex projects and programmes.
• Experience in building and managing multidisciplinary teams, with a record of accomplishment of delivering data-driven solutions at the executive level.

Key Skills & Competencies

Leadership & Strategic Vision

• Demonstrated ability to proactively provide direction, inspire teams, and influence senior stakeholders with a clear vision for controls analytics in P3 and PMO management.

Analytical Expertise & Technical Acumen

• Exceptional skill in complex data analysis, including predictive modelling, cost forecasting, and trend identification.
• Advanced proficiency in controls software (e.g., Power BI, PRISM, Primavera, Aconex) and data manipulation tools (e.g., Python, SQL).

Project Controls Mastery

• Deep understanding of project controls disciplines, including cost management, schedule performance, risk management, and Earned Value Management (EVM).
• Skilled in designing integrated controls frameworks, aligning cost breakdown structures (CBS) with work breakdown structures (WBS) and organisational breakdown structures (OBS).

Communication & Stakeholder Engagement

• Proven ability to engage with executive stakeholders and communicate complex analytics insights in an accessible, strategic manner.
• Strong presentation and negotiation skills for influencing senior management and clients.

This role presents an opportunity to redefine controls analytics in the industry, shaping how our clients achieve their project objectives. Join us to lead strategic analytics transformations and make a lasting impact on high-profile infrastructure projects.

Additional Information

About AECOM: AECOM is the world’s trusted infrastructure consulting firm, delivering professional services throughout the project lifecycle – from advisory, planning, design and engineering to program and construction management. On projects spanning transportation, buildings, water, new energy and the environment, our public- and private-sector clients trust us to solve their most complex challenges. Our teams are driven by a common purpose to deliver a better world through our unrivaled technical and digital expertise, a culture of equity, diversity and inclusion, and a commitment to environmental, social and governance priorities. AECOM is a Fortune 500 firm and its Professional Services business had revenue of $14.4 billion in fiscal year 2023. See how we are delivering sustainable legacies for generations to come at aecom.com and @AECOM.

Freedom to Grow in a World of Opportunity: You will have the flexibility you need to do your best work with hybrid work options. Whether you’re working from an AECOM office, remote location or at a client site, you will be working in a dynamic environment where your integrity, entrepreneurial spirit and pioneering mindset are championed.

You will help us foster a safe and respectful workplace, where we invite everyone to bring their whole selves to work using their unique talents, backgrounds and expertise to create transformational outcomes for our clients.

AECOM provides a wide array of compensation, benefits and well‑being programs to meet the diverse needs of our employees and their families. We’re the world’s trusted global infrastructure firm, and we’re in this together – your growth and success are ours too.

Join us, and you’ll get all the benefits of being a part of a global, publicly traded firm – access to industry-leading technology and thinking and transformational work with big impact and work flexibility. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we believe in each person’s potential, and we’ll help you reach yours.

We are a Disability Confident Employer and will offer an interview to applicants who have a disability or long‑term condition, who meet the minimum/essential criteria for the role. Please let us know using this email address ReasonableAccommodations@aecom.com if you would like to apply through the Disability Confident Interview Scheme.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

ReqID: J10133417