Project Controller

Morson Talent is partnering with one of their leading clients in the Reading area to recruit their next Project Controller.

Job Title: Project Controller

Site Location: Reading

Hybrid working.

Duration: 5 Years

Rates: £500 per day

The primary purpose of the role is to ensure that best practice Project Controls are deployed across this project with a UK Government Customer in accordance with defined Thales processes and those processes required by the customer.

Principal Relationships:
• Project Leadership: Programme Manager and Implementation/Deployment Manager
• SEM/Technical Lead
• PDA
• Site Project Managers
• Quality Assurance Manager
• Work Package Managers
• Customer Project Management and PMO Team Members

Key Responsibilities and Tasks:
• Responsible for the deployment and performance of Project Controls within a Portfolio or Project
• Integrated Master Schedule Creation (IMS) & Baseline Management
• Facilitating planning workshops to support WBS and IMS construction, ensuring the implementation of best practice at all times
• Creating the IMS in Microsoft Project, ensuring consistency with individual work packages and reflecting all technical and non-technical requirements
• Ensuring the level of IMS detail is appropriate for the type and complexity of project, that tasks are logically linked in accordance with the design lifecycle and that all internal and external dependencies are captured
• Supporting internal and external reviews with respect to the IMS including the critical path, progress and overall health of the project
• Implementing and operating change control across programmatic baselines - ensuring clarity over the Performance Measurement Baseline (PMB) and forecasts vs the PMB at all times
• Performance Measurement
• Identifying trends, analysing variances and recommending appropriate corrective actions
• Identifying and tracking cross-portfolio dependencies
• Analysis and reporting
• Establishing and/or operating an appropriate business rhythm/drumbeat both internally and for the customer facing elements E.g. ETC reviews, schedule reviews, risk reviews, reporting activities
• Consolidated reporting, ensuring that reports are issued in a timely manner, and the facilitation of work package and project reviews
Working with project leadership to identify and implement appropriate metrics
• Ensuring resource profile is accurate, including the analysis of resource profiles (labour and material) and making recommendations to reconcile anomalies and optimise deployment
• Providing coaching and guidance on best practise Project Controls to Project Teams
• Ensuring all deployed processes and tools are compliant with relevant company processes
• Where appropriate, providing subject matter expertise for deployed tools

Essential Experience:
• Building strong relationships with key (internal and external) stakeholders in complex environments and working across functional boundaries
• Using best practice to support the structuring of complex engineering projects including developing the WBS and Integrated Master Schedule, establishing the Performance Measurement Baseline and conducting Critical Path Analysis
• A strong track record of successfully designing, deploying, operating and/or improving the full range of Project Controls in a context relevant to Thales
• Defining and implementing appropriate KPIs to understand progress and provide insight into likely future performance
• Operating/implementing/defining the Project Control System on projects including the schedule update process (reviewing actuals, ETC, progress and forecast dates updates), performance measures and baseline change control processes
• Using project controls data and analyses to support project decision making (e.g. variance analysis, SRA, CRA, critical path, EVM or other performance measures)
• Implementing robust governance and project reporting frameworks
• Coaching and guiding other, less-experienced, team members
• Embedding a culture of continuous improvement
• Using project scheduling in complex environments
• Expert in the use of Microsoft Project

Desirable:
• Proactively mitigate risk through both Project Reviews and the day to day operation of Project Controls
• Supporting all stages of project lifecycle (I.e. from Bid through to Closure and In Service Support)
• Awareness and understanding of advanced Project Control techniques E.g. Earned Value Management and Schedule Risk Analysis, with experience of deploying these techniques for more senior positions
• Using risk management tools in complex environments
• Proven experience of being Supplier PMO to UK Government Customers such as Home Office
• Proven experience of working as a Supplier PMO on large integration/ deployment projects related to airports/sea ports/ rail ports.

Skills:
• Positive attitude combined with excellent interpersonal, influencing and motivational skills
• Ability to bring structure to complex and dynamic environments
• Ability to embed a culture of customer focus and continuous improvement
• Ability to remain calm and logical under pressure
• A keen eye for detail
• Ability to work effectively with stakeholders at all levels and across a range of different disciplines
• Ability to establish and meet deadlines, multi-task and prioritise without the requirement for regular direct supervision
• Ability to analyse, interpret and present complex information
• Ability to embrace, encourage and deliver change
• Excellent written and verbal communication

Desirable Qualifications:
• IPMA Level D or equivalent
• Specialist Project Control qualifications (e.g. APMG Project Planning and Control)