Senior Project Controls Specialist to support all IT projects in cost estimating, budget refinement and forecasting for a utilities client

Senior Project Controls Specialist to support all IT projects in cost estimating, budget refinement and forecasting for a utilities client

**Hybrid in Edmonton or Calgary**

Must haves:

• 7+ years of experience in IT project estimating, planning, budgeting, and controls, with a strong emphasis on financial forecasting and governance
• Proven ability to lead estimating and forecasting processes across complex, multi-year IT portfolios
• Experience applying IFRS rules in IT capital planning
• Experience with AFUDC in utility or similarly regulated capital environments
• Background in building and standardizing estimation and forecasting templates in Excel
• Experience working in hybrid or matrixed teams, balancing multiple stakeholders.

Nice to haves:

• Experience working in regulated industries (e.g., utilities, telecom, energy, government)
• Exposure to Power BI, Tableau, or other data visualization tools (not required, but an asset)
• Accounting or financial designation (CPA, CMA) is not required, but familiarity with financial accounting principles is essential.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead development of early-stage benchmark estimates based on idea-level information.
• Refine estimates and budgets through each stage of the project lifecycle (Concept, Planning, Execution, Closeout).
• Establish and maintain S-curves, earned value metrics, and forecasting models.
• Track and analyze plan vs. actuals and proactively identify variances and trends.
• Provide actionable insights to Project Managers, Delivery Leads, and Portfolio Owners to support financial health and predictability.
• Create, refine, and maintain templates for estimating, budgeting, and forecasting in Excel.
• Partner with the PMO and IT Finance teams to ensure consistency and alignment with financial planning cycles and reporting standards.
• Contribute to the evolution of the IT Project Controls practice by bringing best practices, tools, and approaches to the organization.

Overview:

This role is responsible for developing and refining estimates from the ideation stage (benchmark estimating) through each phase of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), producing S-curves, managing plan vs. actuals, and maintaining robust forecasting models. You’ll also contribute to the development of standardized templates and tools to improve estimation accuracy and financial governance across all IT project work.