Divisional Controller (Construction)

Job Description

Job Description:\n\nDivisional Construction Controller - Confidential Search\nPosition Title: Divisional Construction Controller - Atlanta, GA areaDepartment: Finance / Construction OperationsReports To: Chief Financial Officer (CFO) / Vice President of OperationsPosition Type: Full-Time, Executive LeadershipIndustry: Commercial Construction, Healthcare, and Mission-Critical InfrastructureLocation: Greater Atlanta, Georgia regionJob Type: Full-Time.Schedule: Monday-Friday (travel to client locations as required).Salary: Based on experience: Up to $175K/year Benefits: Medical, Dental, Life Insurance, 401K and PTO.Relocation Assistance: Offered.Sponsorship: Not available.Required: To qualify as an applicant you must be a 'U.S. Person' as defined by the government (a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident/Green Card holder, refugee, or asylee). H1-B visa - does not - qualify. Do you meet this requirement?\nRequired Education and Professional Experience:Education and Professional Certifications\n\n \n Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Construction Management, or a related field required.\n \n Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or Certified Construction Industry Financial Professional (CCIFP) designation highly preferred.\n \n Advanced coursework, continuing education, or professional development in construction accounting, project controls, financial management, or construction contract administration is beneficial.\nProfessional Experience\n\n \n Minimum of 8–10 years of progressive experience in construction accounting, project financial management, or construction finance.\n \n Minimum of 3–5 years of experience in a regional controller, divisional controller, corporate controller, or equivalent senior construction finance leadership role.\n \n Demonstrated experience managing construction portfolios exceeding $100 million in annual project volume or financial responsibility.\n \n Proven experience overseeing large-scale commercial construction projects with individual project values ranging from $75 million to $150 million.\n \n Direct experience in healthcare construction, including hospitals and medical centers, and mission-critical environments, including data centers, is required.\n \n Demonstrated expertise in complete construction job costing, cost-to-complete forecasting, WIP schedules, percentage-of-completion calculations, and project profitability analysis.\n \n Previous experience leading project accountants, financial analysts, and cross-functional project teams, including responsibility for 8–10 direct reports, is strongly preferred.\n \n Experience with complex subcontractor relationships, joint ventures, owner billing, contract changes, retainage, and project closeout is required.\n\nPosition Summary:\nThe Divisional Construction Controller provides strategic financial leadership, operational oversight, and comprehensive accounting management for a high-volume commercial construction division specializing in large-scale, capital-intensive projects. This position is responsible for the financial integrity, profitability, cash flow management, cost control, forecasting, and regulatory compliance of a construction portfolio that includes hospitals, medical centers, hyperscale data centers, and other complex commercial facilities.\nServing as a key financial partner to executive leadership, divisional management, project executives, and project management teams, the Divisional Construction Controller establishes and maintains rigorous financial controls throughout the entire construction lifecycle, from pre-construction budgeting and project setup through active construction, final billing, and project closeout.\nThe successful candidate will possess extensive knowledge of construction accounting, job costing, work-in-progress (WIP) reporting, percentage-of-completion accounting, and comprehensive project financial analysis. This individual must be capable of evaluating and managing construction projects ranging from $75 million to $150 million per project, overseeing annual construction financial portfolios exceeding $100 million, and ensuring accurate reporting of overall job costs, committed costs, cost-to-complete projections, projected final costs, and anticipated profitability.\nThe Divisional Construction Controller will lead a decentralized financial organization supporting up to 100 employees across the broader operational structure, with direct management responsibility for approximately 8–10 direct reports. This role requires a hands-on financial leader who can translate complex project-level data into actionable business intelligence, identify financial risks before they affect profitability, and implement strategies that protect margins, optimize working capital, and support sustainable divisional growth.\nEssential Duties and Responsibilities:1. Divisional Financial Leadership and Executive Reporting\n\n \n Direct and oversee all financial accounting, reporting, budgeting, forecasting, and internal control activities for the construction division.\n \n Prepare, review, and analyze monthly, quarterly, and annual financial statements, management reports, and divisional performance metrics.\n \n Ensure the accuracy, completeness, and timeliness of financial reporting in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and company policies.\n \n Develop and present financial performance reports, cash flow projections, profitability analyses, and budget variance explanations to executive leadership and other key stakeholders.\n \n Establish financial reporting standards and key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure project performance, divisional profitability, working capital, and operational efficiency.\n \n Partner with senior leadership to develop annual operating budgets, strategic financial plans, resource allocation strategies, and long-range financial forecasts.\n \n Identify financial trends, operational inefficiencies, and emerging risks that could adversely affect divisional performance.\n \n Provide financial guidance and recommendations to support business decisions, contract negotiations, project awards, and growth initiatives.\n2. Construction Accounting, Job Costing, and Project Financial Controls\n\n \n Oversee the complete construction job-cost accounting process, ensuring accurate recording, classification, allocation, and reporting of all project expenditures.\n \n Maintain comprehensive oversight of job cost structures, including cost codes, cost types, labor, materials, equipment, subcontractors, general conditions, indirect costs, and project overhead.\n \n Ensure project budgets and cost breakdown structures are established accurately during project setup and maintained throughout the project lifecycle.\n \n Monitor original contract values, approved and pending change orders, revised contract values, actual costs, committed costs, accrued costs, forecasted costs, and projected final costs.\n \n Analyze overall job costs and cost-to-complete estimates to identify potential overruns, underperforming cost codes, and opportunities for cost recovery.\n \n Review project cost reports and reconcile financial data against project schedules, procurement records, subcontract commitments, and field reporting.\n \n Establish and enforce consistent job-cost reporting standards across all projects and regional accounting teams.\n \n Ensure project management teams maintain accurate, current, and supportable financial forecasts.\n \n Provide detailed analysis of project cost performance, including labor productivity, equipment utilization, material escalation, subcontractor performance, and indirect cost recovery.\n \n Ensure that financial data accurately reflects the financial status of each project and the overall construction portfolio.\n3. Work-in-Progress (WIP) and Percentage-of-Completion Accounting\n\n \n Direct the preparation, review, and reconciliation of the master Work-in-Progress (WIP) schedule for the construction division.\n \n Calculate, validate, and approve percentage-of-completion figures for individual projects using the company's approved accounting methodology.\n \n Ensure appropriate revenue and gross profit recognition based on contract terms, incurred costs, estimated costs to complete, and applicable accounting standards.\n \n Review estimated costs at completion, projected gross profit, earned revenue, billings to date, cash collections, and underbilling or overbilling positions.\n \n Identify and investigate project fade, margin erosion, significant WIP adjustments, unanticipated losses, and discrepancies between operational forecasts and reported financial results.\n \n Work directly with project executives and project managers to validate cost-to-complete estimates and establish realistic final cost projections.\n \n Evaluate the financial implications of approved and pending change orders, claims, schedule delays, productivity issues, and subcontractor disputes.\n \n Establish review procedures to ensure WIP schedules are accurate, consistent, fully supported, and completed within required reporting deadlines.\n \n Communicate material project financial risks and recommended corrective actions to executive leadership.\n4. Budget Management, Forecasting, and Margin Protection\n\n \n Oversee project budgets and forecasts for major construction projects generally ranging from $75 million to $150 million.\n \n Conduct regular financial reviews comparing original budgets, approved budgets, committed costs, actual expenditures, and projected final costs.\n \n Investigate significant budget variances and require corrective action plans from responsible project teams.\n \n Monitor project gross margins from award through completion, identifying early warning signs of project fade and potential losses.\n \n Develop financial models to evaluate alternative project scenarios, cost escalation, schedule impacts, procurement changes, and potential claims.\n \n Review high-value change orders, owner billings, subcontractor payment applications, and cost adjustments to ensure financial accuracy and appropriate authorization.\n \n Work with project leadership to evaluate the financial impact of design changes, unforeseen conditions, schedule acceleration, and scope modifications.\n \n Establish escalation procedures for projects experiencing significant cost overruns, revenue recognition concerns, or margin deterioration.\n \n Support pre-construction and estimating teams with historical cost data, bid analysis, project risk assessments, and financial feasibility reviews.\n5. Mission-Critical Data Center and Specialized Infrastructure Financial Oversight\n\n \n Provide financial oversight for hyperscale data centers and other mission-critical construction projects requiring specialized equipment, complex procurement, and accelerated delivery schedules.\n \n Monitor project costs associated with mission-critical mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) systems; backup power infrastructure; generators; chillers; switchgear; UPS systems; cooling systems; and related specialized equipment.\n \n Track long-lead equipment commitments, deposits, procurement milestones, vendor payments, material deliveries, and equipment-related cash flow requirements.\n \n Coordinate with project executives, procurement teams, and project managers to ensure equipment commitments and expenditures are reflected accurately in job-cost reports and financial forecasts.\n \n Evaluate the financial effects of equipment lead times, supply chain disruptions, schedule compression, commissioning requirements, and changes in project specifications.\n \n Ensure cost coding and financial reporting accurately capture the complexity of mission-critical systems and specialized construction packages.\n \n Support compliance with contractual confidentiality requirements, owner-specific financial controls, and applicable data center security protocols.\n6. Healthcare Construction Financial Oversight and Regulatory Compliance\n\n \n Oversee financial reporting and project accounting for hospitals, medical centers, and other healthcare facilities.\n \n Monitor project costs associated with specialized healthcare infrastructure, including medical gas systems, critical power, advanced HVAC, cleanrooms, specialized electrical systems, and complex MEP installations.\n \n Ensure project documentation and financial controls support applicable healthcare construction requirements, including California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) legacy requirements and current Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) standards, where applicable.\n \n Coordinate with project teams to track inspection-related milestones, compliance-driven scope changes, specialized subcontractor costs, and owner-mandated requirements.\n \n Review project funding structures, institutional payment requirements, reimbursement documentation, and owner billing procedures.\n \n Maintain appropriate financial documentation to support regulatory reviews, owner audits, and institutional reporting requirements.\n \n Identify financial risks associated with regulatory changes, inspection delays, commissioning requirements, and healthcare-specific project delivery constraints.\n7. Billing, Cash Flow, and Working Capital Optimization\n\n \n Direct the development and implementation of divisional cash flow forecasts and working capital management strategies.\n \n Oversee timely and accurate preparation of owner payment applications, including AIA G702/G703 forms where contractually required.\n \n Coordinate with project managers, architects, consultants, and owners to resolve billing disputes, obtain required approvals, and accelerate payment processing.\n \n Monitor accounts receivable, retainage, underbillings, overbillings, collections, and outstanding change order billings.\n \n Establish controls to ensure subcontractor payment applications are reviewed, approved, and processed in accordance with contract requirements and company policy.\n \n Balance subcontractor payment obligations against owner funding cycles to protect liquidity while maintaining contractual compliance and productive trade relationships.\n \n Review cash flow forecasts for major equipment purchases, subcontractor mobilization, payroll, material deposits, and other significant project expenditures.\n \n Identify opportunities to improve billing efficiency, reduce days sales outstanding, minimize unbilled receivables, and strengthen divisional cash flow.\n \n Monitor and resolve payment delays, disputed invoices, and documentation deficiencies that may affect project liquidity.\n8. Subcontractor, Lien Waiver, and Contractual Risk Management\n\n \n Oversee the financial administration of subcontractor commitments, payment applications, change orders, retainage, and contract closeout requirements.\n \n Ensure the collection, review, and validation of conditional and unconditional lien waivers and releases in accordance with applicable