Controller / Finance Manager

Job Description

Job Description

CONTROLLER / FINANCE MANAGER (Construction & Engineering)

Hybrid | Part-Time  (20–30 hours/week)

About PrimECS

PrimECS is a fast-growing infrastructure construction firm delivering civil construction, engineering, surveying, project management, and consulting services on major transportation and heavy civil infrastructure projects across the Mid-Atlantic region. Our clients include state transportation agencies, transit authorities, Fortune 500 contractors, and some of the world's largest AEC firms.

We're building for the long term, with ambitious growth plans, disciplined execution, and a people-first culture rooted in ownership, accountability, continuous improvement, and operational excellence.

Position Overview

We are seeking a Controller / Finance Manager to bring structure, clarity, discipline, and financial leadership to our growing organization. This is a hands-on, high-impact role suited for an experienced finance professional who enjoys building systems, improving processes, and helping leadership make better business decisions. You'll work directly with the President while collaborating with our administrative team, project managers, engineering staff, project controls personnel, and an external CPA to ensure our financial systems support profitable growth.

This is NOT a bookkeeping position. We're looking for someone who wants to build and own a finance function.

This role may begin part-time and expand in responsibilities and hours for the right person.

Who Will Thrive in This Role

This role is for builders.  We're looking for someone who enjoys creating order from complexity, building systems that don't yet exist, taking ownership, and becoming a trusted member of our leadership team.

This isn't simply a finance position; it's an opportunity to help build the financial foundation of a growing company.

If you're excited by the opportunity to make a lasting impact, we'd love to hear from you.

You'll likely thrive in this role if you enjoy:

• Solving problems, improving systems, and taking ownership rather than complaining or waiting for direction.
• Building and improving financial systems, not just maintaining them.
• Taking ownership and solving problems with minimal direction.
• Working directly with leadership to improve business performance.
• Balancing strategic thinking with hands-on execution.
• Partnering with operations, project managers, engineers, and administrative staff.
• Working in a fast-moving, entrepreneurial environment where priorities evolve.
• Being accountable for measurable improvements in cash flow, financial reporting, operational efficiency, and profitability.
• Helping build a growing business rather than fitting into a large corporate finance department.
• Continuously improving processes and finding better ways to operate.
  
• Leveraging technology, automation, AI, and advanced Excel skills to improve speed, accuracy, and decision-making.
  
• Continuously finding faster, smarter, and more efficient ways to accomplish work without sacrificing quality.
• Learning and adopting new technologies that improve financial operations and reporting.

This role may not be the best fit if you prefer:

• A highly structured corporate environment with narrowly defined responsibilities.
• Advisory work without operational ownership.
• Focusing exclusively on accounting rather than partnering with operations and leadership.
• Waiting for direction instead of identifying opportunities and driving improvements.

What Success Looks Like

Success in this role will be measured by your ability to build a finance function that allows Executives to spend dramatically less time managing day-to-day financial operations. You will own the company's financial operating system, supervise accounting processes, coordinate internal and external financial resources, improve financial visibility, and transform financial information into actionable business decisions. Within your first several months, you should be able to:

• Build reliable financial reporting systems.
• Develop dependable cash forecasting.
• Improve financial visibility across all projects.
• Strengthen internal controls and accountability.
• Create executive dashboards that leadership relies on.
• Significantly reduce the President's daily involvement in finance operations.

Key Responsibilities

Financial Oversight & Controls

• Own the monthly financial close process.
• Prepare accurate and timely:
  • Profit & Loss Statements
  • Balance Sheets
  • Cash Flow Statements
  • Accounts Receivable Aging
  • Accounts Payable Aging
  • Job Cost Reports
• Review and improve the company's Chart of Accounts across all divisions.
• Monitor labor coding, project costs, subcontractor costs, vendor spending, and overhead allocation.
• Ensure financial reporting accurately reflects project performance and company profitability.
• Establish and maintain strong financial controls and reporting standards.

Forecasting & Budgeting

• Develop and maintain:
  • Rolling 13-week cash forecast
  • Rolling 12-month cash forecast
• Assist leadership with annual budgets.
• Develop project revenue and cost forecasts.
• Analyze budget-to-actual performance.
• Identify financial risks before they become operational problems.
• Recommend actions to improve profitability, liquidity, and cash flow.

Treasury & Cash Management

• Own the company's daily cash position and manage weekly cash planning.
• Prioritize vendor payments based on due date and available liquidity.
• Monitor working capital and improve cash conversion throughout the business.
• Assist leadership in evaluating financing alternatives, lines of credit, and project funding opportunities.
• Recommend strategies that improve liquidity while minimizing financing costs.

Accounts Receivable & Collections

• Monitor Accounts Receivable aging.
• Coordinate with Project Managers to ensure timely billing, accurate progress billings, Change Order invoicing, and collection follow-up
• Minimize slow-paying customers and reduce Days Sales Outstanding (DSO).
• Improve billing accuracy and collection processes.
• Identify collection risks early and recommend corrective actions.

Compliance & Audit

• Maintain General Ledger integrity and conduct internal financial audits to identify reporting errors, inconsistencies, and financial risks.
• Coordinate with the company's CPA and support annual tax preparation and audits.
• Ensure compliance with accounting standards and company policies.
• Maintain depreciation schedules, fixed asset records, and overhead allocations.

Executive Reporting

Prepare concise executive reporting packages for the President, including:

• Daily Cash Position Dashboard
• Weekly Executive Financial Dashboard
• Monthly Financial Review Package
• Project Profitability and KPI Dashboards
• Financial Risk Register and Cash Flow Summary
• Action-oriented recommendations for improving business performance

Systems & Process Improvement

• Build scalable financial systems.
• Improve financial workflows and internal processes.
• Reduce manual work through automation.
• Design dashboards that improve visibility into company performance.
• Recommend software and technology improvements.
• Improve reporting accuracy, speed, and usability.
• Continuously improve efficiency across the finance function.

Team Leadership & Coordination

• Supervise and coordinate day-to-day finance operations.
• Review work performed by accounting support staff.
• Coordinate with external bookkeeping resources and CPA.
• Establish standardized financial procedures.
• Improve accountability throughout the organization.
• Coach and develop finance staff.
• Promote a culture of ownership, accuracy, accountability, and continuous improvement.

Ideal Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business, or a related field.
• 5+ years of progressive experience in financial management, construction accounting, project accounting, engineering consulting, or similar industries.
• Demonstrated experience with:
  • Job Costing
  • Cash Flow Forecasting
  • Financial Reporting
  • Budgeting
  • Project Profitability
  • Treasury Management
• Experience building or improving finance functions; not simply maintaining existing accounting processes.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills.
• Experience with QuickBooks Online.
• Experience with Procore or similar construction/project management software is highly desirable.
• Comfortable working within a small, entrepreneurial, fast-moving organization.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and communication skills.
• Calm under pressure.
• Capable of balancing hands-on execution with strategic thinking.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience with:

• Construction Accounting
• Engineering Consulting
• Heavy Civil Construction
• Public Agency Contracts
• FAR Compliance
• Cost-Reimbursable Contracts
• AIA Billing
• WIP Reporting
• Percentage-of-Completion Accounting
• Power BI or similar business intelligence platforms
• CPA, CMA, or MBA preferred, but not required.

What We're Looking For

We're looking for someone who:

• Thinks like a business owner.
• Builds systems instead of temporary fixes.
• Solves problems independently.
• Takes ownership without waiting to be asked.
• Makes recommendations, not just reports.
• Communicates clearly with leadership.
• Enjoys creating order from complexity.
• Can balance strategic thinking with hands-on execution.
• Wants to grow with the company over the long term.

Why Join PrimECS?

This isn't just another Controller position.

It's an opportunity to build the financial backbone of a rapidly growing engineering and construction company.

You'll work directly with executive leadership, influence major business decisions, improve profitability, strengthen financial discipline, and help create the systems that support the company's next stage of growth.

We're not looking for someone to simply maintain our accounting system.

We're looking for someone to build the financial operating system that will help PrimECS scale.

If you're energized by creating order from complexity, improving systems, leading people, and becoming a trusted business partner to leadership, we'd love to hear from you.