Lead Cost Engineer

Lead Cost Engineer – Driving Financial Excellence in Vision 2030 Infrastructure Programs

At Jasara Program Management Company, a strategic joint venture between the Public Investment Fund, Jacobs, and Saudi Aramco, we are shaping the future of Saudi Arabia’s social infrastructure landscape under Vision 2030. As a Lead Cost Engineer, you will play a pivotal role in steering portfolio-level cost performance across large-scale programs, ensuring financial rigor, commercial discipline, and strategic alignment. This dynamic position demands expertise in cost management, financial analysis, and stakeholder engagement to deliver impactful, data-driven insights that drive informed decision-making at every level.

In this influential role, you will be the architect of cost transparency and accountability, bridging the gap between complex financial frameworks and operational execution. Your work will directly influence budget optimization, risk mitigation, and the successful realization of multi-billion SAR infrastructure initiatives. By fostering a culture of precision and accountability, you will empower program leadership to navigate financial challenges with confidence, ensuring that every project aligns with strategic objectives while maintaining fiscal responsibility.

Key Responsibilities

Your responsibilities will be both strategic and operational, requiring a blend of analytical rigor and leadership:

• Portfolio-Level Cost Leadership: Own the end-to-end cost reporting and monthly cost control cycles, ensuring accurate, timely, and actionable financial insights across the entire portfolio.
• Budget and Financial Governance: Manage budgets, allocations, transfers, and cost coding with meticulous attention to detail, ensuring alignment with contractual and programmatic requirements.
• Forecasting and Projections: Develop detailed forecasts, including forecast-at-completion positions and closeout projections, to anticipate financial trends and support proactive decision-making.
• Accrual and Reconciliation Expertise: Oversee monthly accrual validation, reconciliation processes, and aging reviews, resolving unsupported items to maintain financial integrity and compliance.
• Contractual and Closeout Management: Track commitments, actuals, liabilities, settlements, and exposure through contract closure, ensuring seamless transitions from execution to final settlement.
• Cash Flow and Funding Strategy: Prepare comprehensive cash flow forecasts and funding requirements for termination, demobilization, preservation, and closeout phases, optimizing liquidity and resource allocation.
• Data Integration and Reporting: Reconcile disparate systems, including SAP and Oracle Unifier, with commercial records and project reporting data to ensure consistency and reliability across all financial touchpoints.
• Strategic Reporting and Communication: Lead cost inputs for weekly and monthly reports, dashboards, and presentations, translating complex financial data into clear, compelling narratives for senior stakeholders.
• Commercial and Dispute Resolution: Provide robust cost substantiation for claims, disputes, settlements, and final account reviews, safeguarding the organization’s financial interests in high-stakes negotiations.
• Process Optimization: Establish standardized reporting templates, internal controls, and audit trails to enhance transparency, reduce risks, and improve operational efficiency.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Explain intricate financial movements—spanning budgets, commitments, accruals, actuals, cash flow, and forecasts—to portfolio reviews and senior leadership, fostering trust and alignment.
• Commercial Discussions: Act as a key liaison in commercial discussions with contractors and consultants, ensuring that cost positions are defensible and strategically aligned with program goals.

Why This Role Matters

As a Lead Cost Engineer at Jasara, you will be at the forefront of Saudi Arabia’s transformative infrastructure journey. Your expertise will not only drive financial excellence but also contribute to the long-term success of Vision 2030 initiatives. This is an opportunity to make a tangible impact on large-scale programs, where your analytical acumen and leadership will be instrumental in shaping the future of national development.

Qualifications and Experience

To excel in this demanding yet rewarding role, you must bring a proven track record of excellence in cost management and project controls:

• A Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Quantity Surveying, Project Management, Business, Finance, or a related discipline.
• 20+ years of specialized experience in project controls and cost management, with 10+ years focused on major projects within Saudi Arabia or the GCC.
• Extensive experience managing cost control on mega-projects or mixed-use programs, with hands-on exposure to multi-billion SAR portfolios and high contract volumes.
• Deep expertise across budgets, accruals, forecasts, commitments, cash flow, funding, and cost reconciliation, ensuring financial accuracy and strategic alignment.
• Proven experience in contract termination, demobilization, preservation, final account, and closeout activities, including claims, disputes, and settlements.
• Technical Proficiency: Hands-on mastery of SAP and Oracle Unifier, advanced Excel skills, and experience with reporting and dashboard tools.
• Strong ability to present cost positions to senior leadership and collaborate directly with client-side teams, contractors, and consultants.
• Experience within an owner, IPMT, PMC, or major program organization is highly preferred.
• Professional credentials such as PMP, CCP, RICS, AACE, or comparable certifications are a significant advantage.
• Professional Proficiency: Fluent in English, with excellent communication and negotiation skills to navigate complex commercial environments.

Join Jasara and be part of a mission-driven organization where your expertise will drive the financial success of Saudi Arabia’s most ambitious infrastructure projects.