Sr. Cost Analyst

Job Description

Job Description

Sr. Cost Analyst 

Location: Corpus Christi, Tx

Description:
We are seeking an experienced Senior Cost Analyst with strong experience supporting Oil & Gas, refinery, petrochemical, or other industrial EPC projects. The Senior Cost Analyst will be responsible for monitoring, analyzing, forecasting, and reporting project costs throughout the project lifecycle.

This position will work closely with Project Management, Project Controls, Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Accounting to ensure project costs are accurately captured, forecasted, and communicated. The ideal candidate will have a strong understanding of refinery and petrochemical project execution, cost control processes, change management, commitments, forecasting, and earned value concepts.

Core Responsibilities:

• Develop, maintain, and monitor project cost reports, budgets, forecasts, and cost control systems.
• Track actual costs, commitments, accruals, purchase orders, subcontracts, invoices, and change orders against approved project budgets.
• Analyze cost performance and identify trends, variances, and potential cost overruns.
• Prepare monthly project cost reports and provide clear explanations of significant variances.
• Develop and maintain Estimate at Completion (EAC) and Estimate to Complete (ETC) forecasts.
• Work with Project Managers and Project Controls to establish and maintain project budgets and cost baselines.
• Monitor engineering, procurement, construction, subcontractor, and indirect costs throughout the project lifecycle.
• Review commitments and expenditures to ensure costs are properly coded and aligned with the approved project Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).
• Support development and maintenance of WBS, CBS, and cost account structures.
• Analyze labor costs, productivity, material costs, equipment costs, subcontract costs, and other direct and indirect project expenses.
• Monitor procurement commitments and identify potential cost and schedule impacts.
• Review subcontractor and vendor invoices for accuracy and alignment with contractual commitments and progress.
• Track and analyze project changes, trends, potential change orders, and approved change orders.
• Support the development of cost impacts associated with scope changes, field conditions, design changes, and client directives.
• Coordinate with Accounting to reconcile project costs and ensure accurate financial reporting.
• Provide cost information and analysis to Project Management and senior leadership to support project decision-making.
• Assist with project closeout, including final cost reconciliation, lessons learned, and historical cost data.
• Maintain accurate historical cost information for use in future estimates and project planning.
• Identify opportunities for improved cost performance, forecasting accuracy, and cost-control processes.
• Participate in project review meetings and communicate cost status, risks, trends, and forecasts to project stakeholders.
• Support internal and external audits as required.

Oil & Gas / Refinery Experience:
The successful candidate will have a strong understanding of cost control within refinery, petrochemical, chemical, midstream, LNG, or other heavy industrial environments.

Experience should include working with some or all of the following:

• Refinery turnaround and maintenance projects
• Refinery expansions and capital projects
• Petrochemical facilities
• Process units and process piping
• Mechanical equipment
• Electrical and instrumentation
• Civil and structural construction
• Engineering and design costs
• Procurement and material commitments
• Construction subcontractors
• Field labor and productivity
• Equipment and indirect costs
• Construction management
• EPC/EPCM project execution

Required Qualifications:

• 7+ years of project cost analysis, cost control, project controls, or related experience.
• Significant experience supporting Oil & Gas, refinery, petrochemical, chemical, LNG, or industrial EPC projects.
• Strong understanding of project cost control principles and construction cost management.
• Experience developing and maintaining project forecasts, EACs, ETCs, budgets, and variance reports.
• Experience working with project commitments, purchase orders, subcontracts, invoices, accruals, and change orders.
• Strong understanding of WBS and cost coding structures.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including pivot tables, lookups, formulas, data analysis, and reporting.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work effectively with Project Managers, Project Controls, Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Accounting.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple projects, priorities, and deadlines.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Construction Management, Engineering, Business, or a related field.
• Experience with Primavera P6 and/or other project controls systems.
• Experience with SAP, Oracle, EcoSys, Procore, Prism, or similar cost management systems.
• Knowledge of Earned Value Management (EVM).
• Experience with cost-loaded schedules.
• Experience supporting large EPC projects valued at $50M+.
• Experience with refinery turnarounds and/or major capital projects.
• Understanding of construction productivity and labor-hour forecasting.
• Experience developing and maintaining cost databases and historical project cost information.

Key Competencies:

• Strong financial and analytical aptitude
• Advanced Excel and data analysis skills
• Construction and industrial project knowledge
• Attention to detail and accuracy
• Strong understanding of refinery/EPC project execution
• Ability to identify cost trends and risks before they become issues
• Strong communication and presentation skills
• Ability to work independently while collaborating across project teams
• Ability to effectively communicate complex cost information to both technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Strong organizational and time-management skills

Work Environment:

• This position may involve a combination of office, project site, and remote work. Occasional travel to refinery, petrochemical, or other industrial project sites may be required.
• The position will interact regularly with field construction personnel and may require occasional site visits and exposure to active industrial construction environments.