Senior Project Controller

Job Description

At Transgrid, we play a crucial role in delivering safe, reliable, and sustainable energy to millions of Australians. Operating over 13,000 km of high-voltage transmission lines and 128 substations across NSW and the ACT, we connect electricity generators to the distribution network powering homes, businesses, and communities. As Australia accelerates its energy transition, the work we do has never been more significant.

The Opportunity

Transgrid's Delivery group is looking for a Senior Project Controller to take rigorous cost management and controls accountability across a portfolio of prescribed and Lumea capital projects. This is a senior role with real ownership you are not checking a box in the controls process, you are the person responsible for the accuracy of forecasts, the quality of variance analysis, and the integrity of cost and change information across your assigned projects.

Reporting to the Prroject Controls Manager, you work closely with Senior Project Managers, Project Managers, Planning, Commercial and Contract Management teams to deliver integrated cost management outcomes. You also provide leadership support to the Project Controls Manager, guiding junior controllers and driving continuous improvement across controls processes.

The portfolio spans network prescribed and Lumea projects across Transgrid's capital delivery program. These are significant investments in the transmission network and the cost controls function you lead directly influences whether projects are delivered within approved funding. If you have extensive project controls experience on capital-intensive programs and want a role with genuine accountability, this is worth pursuing.

A Day in the Life

The work spans the full controls cycle across multiple projects. Here is how it generally flows.

• Cost Management and Forecasting: Developing and maintaining detailed cost forecasts across your assigned prescribed and Lumea projects keeping them tightly aligned to delivery schedules, resource allocations and commitments. You work closely with Program Planners to factor in schedule progress and time-related impacts, and you hold and facilitate regular forecasting meetings and reviews to keep the project team and stakeholders working from accurate information.
• Cost Variance Analysis and Controls: Conducting detailed Cost Variance Analysis across period, financial year, whole-of-life and other movements identifying the reasons behind variances and recommending corrective actions. You investigate root causes, support Earned Value Management and Earned Value Assessment processes and perform accruals reviews, transaction analysis and project expenditure health checks on a regular basis.
• Change and Contingency Control: Monitoring and capturing changes to project requirements including gains, deviations and efficiency elements in close collaboration with the project team and Contract Managers. You maintain Change Registers, advise project leadership when a Project Change Request may be required, and keep close watch on contingency drawdowns and trends.
• Reporting: Accountable for accurate periodic and monthly cost reports and reviews. You manage monthly forecast meetings and end-of-month submissions and report regularly to the Program Controls Manager on areas requiring attention. Your reporting is clear, accurate and gets to the people who need it on time.
• Stakeholder Management and Leadership: Working closely with Senior Project Managers, Project Managers, Engineering, Design, Planning, Commercial and Contract Management teams to deliver integrated cost management outcomes. You provide clarity and guidance to junior controllers and represent the Program Controls Manager at meetings when required.
• Systems and Continuous Improvement: Managing the business systems used across the project controls function, identifying improvement opportunities and working collaboratively with stakeholders to lift how systems and processes are used. You flag what is not working and help fix it.

About You

Substantial experience in project controls with direct accountability for cost management, forecasting, change control and reporting on capital projects. You have the financial acumen to interrogate numbers, the commercial awareness to understand what drives them and the stakeholder skills to communicate clearly across project and finance teams.

• Tertiary qualifications in a closely related discipline , Engineering, Quantity Surveying, Commerce or similar.
• Specialised, extensive experience in project controls with direct accountability for cost and forecast management, cost variance analysis, change and contingency control, budgeting and reporting across projects and programs.
• Extensive experience in cost and project controls in a capital-intensive industry.
• Strong financial acumen with excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Familiarity with project and cost management standards and practices such as AACE and PMBOK.
• High-level stakeholder management, negotiation, interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to work across teams with differing interests.
• Very strong MS Office skills, particularly Excel, with proven reporting and analytics capability.
• Strong experience with project controls reporting, analysis tools and business systems.

Good to have

• Experience in the power industry or on large substation and transmission line projects.
• Familiarity with Transgrid's project controls framework and prescribed and Lumea project environments.
• Experience supporting or leading Earned Value Management on capital programs.
• Experience performing Project Health Checks or equivalent controls reviews on major infrastructure projects.

Our Leadership Principles and Values

Courage, Care, Clarity and Connection. These are the principles we lead by at Transgrid. Courage is doing the right thing even when it is not easy. Care is genuinely looking out for the people around you. Clarity means your team knows what good looks like and why it matters. Connection links people to the bigger picture and to each other.

Our Values - Safety, Achievement, Integrity and Service - shape how we show up every day for the customers and communities that depend on us.

Benefits and Perks

At Transgrid, we empower our people with a well-rounded benefits package designed to support their personal, professional and social wellbeing, helping them deliver their best work every day. Employees have access to a range of corporate discounts across retail, utilities, travel, health and wellbeing, as well as novated leasing options, workplace flexibility, 20 weeks paid parental leave and more.

Beyond benefits, we believe in real development and progression. Here, you will have access to regular and ongoing training, tertiary education support, and career mentoring, enabling you to build a career that evolves with you.