Senior Regional Project Controls Manager

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Job Description

Purpose

DLR is a prominent and well-established Data Centre owner/operator with a proven track record of successful projects across the EMEA region. With our commitment to excellence and innovation, we strive to deliver high-quality construction solutions that exceed our clients' expectations. As we continue to expand our operations, we are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Regional Project Controls Manager to lead and oversee all aspects of cost and commercial management, schedule management, risk management, and information management for projects within their region. The role plays a key part in driving value management reviews at every project stage to ensure optimal cost options are being taken - balancing capital expenditure and revenue expenditure (Total Cost of Ownership - TCO).

The Regional Project Controls Manager maintains relationships with key external suppliers/vendors to ensure we understand market dynamics and cost trends in each of the locations we operate.

This role will develop and maintain reporting requirements across the EMEA region as well as managing project budgeting/forecasting and reporting in line with DE&C Budget Tracking Template requirements alongside Construction Accounting requirements.

Job Magnitude

Latitude:

This person will have the latitude to define and maintain best practice within the governance framework. They will work cooperatively with country management and internal/external stakeholders whilst being an integral part of the DE&C Project Controls Team.

Level of Impact:

DLR spends a significant amount of money on investment activities and the aim is to make sure we spend it as wisely as possible, avoiding inefficiencies due to lack of coordination and communication or due to suboptimal optimization driven from a local rather than a companywide perspective.

Budget:

Will partner with Construction Managers on any budget creation and tracking for DE&C.

Responsibilities and Duties

• To work within the DE&C Team to lead and be accountable for all aspects of cost and commercial management.
• To work with the Construction Delivery team to establish schedule and risk management standards and assure consistent tracking/reporting takes place across the EMEA region.
• To establish information management fundamentals across the EMEA region throughout the full lifecycle of projects and assure consistent tracking/reporting takes place across the EMEA region.
• Technical lead in Cost Controls on campuses within their region including budget management, forecasting, change management diligence/Owner Change Order quality, invoice review, accruals, and risk facilitation.
• Analyze and communicate their region's Project Controls Health (financial, change, and risk) in support of the Director of Project Controls and DE&C Leadership and provide escalation when necessary.
• Identify project commercial risk mitigation opportunities in collaboration with other Construction Delivery team, and cross-functional partners, and drive those opportunities into resolution.
• Support development of, and lead embedment of program project controls initiatives and strategies within execution teams in their region.
• Support the Preconstruction team in the review of General Contractor contracts for new projects, gathering of historical data, incorporation of master contract terms, communication, and management of finalized internal budget.
• Direct communication with Regional Construction Directors to ensure collaboration and alignment of project health between cost and schedule and overall project risk.
• Strategize and drive programmatic efficiencies and opportunities for the future of Business Controls within DE&C, including continued alignment with other Regional Project Controls Managers.
• To provide commercial and cost control, assurance, and insight and to ensure our goals of delivering projects faster and cheaper projects are on track.
• To deliver accurate and consistent forecasting and internal and external benchmarking metrics to the D&C Leadership Team, to the Programme Board and to the SLT.
• To ensure all projects are aligned to Master planning, Asset underwriting and Investment committee expectations.
• To drive commercial rigour internally and externally and to ensure DLR is leveraging its global scale.
• To take a leadership position on leading 'incremental' or 'step change' activity to drive our capital cost down without adversely impacting TCO.
• To have effective and visual tracking tools in place to illustrate how cost reduction plans are delivering reductions per project and per category.
• To maintain relationships with external suppliers/vendors to ensure we understand market dynamics and cost changes in each of the locations we operate.
• To work with our Procurement teams to ensure vendors have long lead equipment available at commercially advantageous terms.
• Ensuring accurate and timely cost information is presented at programme level fortnightly and monthly as required.
• Producing monthly reporting comparing budget vs. forecast and that accurate cash flow information is being tracked and reported.
• Ensuring project change trends are being tracked, summarised and root causes identified to help with continuous improvement.
• Ensuring all cost trends are projected forward into future schemes so that decision making on global and EMEA standards can be proactively managed at programme level.
• Ensuring full transparency on all project cost, commercial and legal issues are reported with appropriate mitigation plans in place.
• Create and manage ongoing cost governance meetings with key internal and external stakeholders to ensure best practice is shared and cost information is pooled.
• Cost modelling of proposed schemes - in conjunction with External QS practices and/or self-produced estimates with appropriate Peer reviews.
• Ensuring Budget Tracking Tool (BTT) production on all projects at all stages is in line with Global Standards and Gating Process and any variances from expected norms are clearly called out.
• Ensuring construction budget management is fully in line with internal processes. (Including pre-construction and post-construction change control processes and contingency).
• Ensuring that all project pre and post construction COR processes are appropriately set up and consistently managed.
• Ensure cost requests for sales enquiries, or the like, are handled in a timely, effective and consistent manner.
• Provide management oversight and reporting on consultant expenditure (soft costs); ensuring Fee trackers are in place on all projects so that the full extent of 'Soft costs' can be summarised at Programme level and opportunities for reduction can be identified and implemented. (To be broken down into pre and post construction services).
• Ensure all commercial risks are reported on a monthly basis.
• Ensuring final accounts, contractual disputes etc. are tracked and managed to successful conclusion.
• Reliable cost estimation information output metrics benchmarked to market.
• Ensure all internal and external stakeholders are properly briefed and trained on our process expectations.

Additional Duties and Responsibilities

• Support the EMEA Leadership team with G&A analysis, budgeting and reporting including support raising purchase orders against non-compensation budgets.
• Ensure DE&C follows the corporate governance when it comes to approval processes for all financial commitments (e.g. PIDs, Contracts, Change Orders, Pos etc).
• Ensuring all projects fully comply with DLR's financial controls processes.
• Ensure cost and commercial risk information inputs into PAFs, PIDS, DICM papers or the like are done in a consistent and transparent way.
• Ensure full change control processes are in place to ensure full management control exists to deliver projects within approved or forecasted parameters.
• Flag up any risks, potential changes.
• Implementing periodic reviews of processes and recommend improvements.
• Ensure DE&C commercial and cost processes pass internal and external audits.
• Ensure all cost information is uploaded to the 'Portal' in an accurate and timely way.

Essential Knowledge

• 5+ years' experience working in Commercial project management, preferably in data centres.
• Strong background in Cost Management methodologies.
• Experience in managing a multi-country project structure.
• Experience in Continuous Process Improvement and defining and managing associated metrics and KPIs.
• Experience in data centres or a similar mission-critical environment is considered a significant advantage though not essential; this will be a key consideration should multiple candidates be assessed for suitability.
• Experience of working in a European multi-cultural environment.
• Experience with a variety of construction contract delivery methods commonly used in EMEA.
• Experience managing and developing contractors, subcontractors, and vendor relationships as well as experience working with standard practices in the design and construction industry.
• Experience with greenfield site development, ground-up and retrofit construction projects.
• Experience working with local, regional, domestic, and international construction build codes and health & safety requirements.
• Good level of digital competence with experience using key construction tools.

Competencies

• Commercial Awareness
• Contractual Awareness
• Problem-solving skills
• Project management skills
• People Management and influencing skills
• Analytical
• Stress-resilient
• Communication skills, sensitive to cultural differences
• Pro-active
• Customer focus
• Flexible
• Attention to detail
• Good digital competence

Qualifications

• Degree in Quantity Surveying paired with professional qualifications.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment, with the ability to manage multiple tasks concurrently, as we build the combined organization.
• Continuous improvement mindset.
• Experience in leading or playing a senior role in significant projects/transactions.
• Exceptional relationship-building skills, both internally & externally.
• High levels of attention to detail and ability to join the dots in ambiguous environments.
• Well-organized with the ability to prioritize and work towards tight deadlines and corporate objectives.
• Self-motivated and goal-oriented.
• Experience in managing high-performing teams.
• Have the gravitas of a senior leader for a large, distributed organization.