Project Analyst III

Project Analyst

At HNTB, you can create a career that is meaningful to you while building communities that matter to all of us. For more than a century, we have been delivering solutions for some of the largest, most complex infrastructure projects across the country. With our historic growth, it is an exciting time to join our team of employee-owners. This opportunity entails being responsible for providing financial guidance to project teams, with a focus on budgets, profitability, earnings variances, cash flow, and contract compliance. The Project Analyst acts as the primary financial advisor throughout the project lifecycle, ensuring success in areas such as contracting, compensation and payment terms, workplan/project management system alignment, budgets, cost controls, revenue recognition, and cash and invoice management.

What You'll Do:

• Engages and supports all financial aspects across the entire project lifecycle.
• Models and analyzes gross margin scenarios from initial engagement through final negotiations, offering revenue and cash performance recommendations and enhancement strategies.
• Performs client contract review; assessing payment and compensation terms and recommends opportunities for revenue enhancement and positive cash performance.
• Ensures the accuracy of the PM system by overseeing changes to budget, commitments, forecasts, and expenditures, aligning work plans with client/contract requirements.
• Reviews and ensures timely and accurate invoice approval and payment applications according to client terms and requirements, including subcontracting needs. Collaborates with the project manager and cash management team to proactively resolve billing and revenue discrepancies.
• Generates and evaluates standard and ad hoc reports to identify and track potential cost issues and overruns. Investigates budget anomalies, resolves variances, and escalates findings.
• Forecasts and monitors project estimate-at-completion (EAC) by recording potential and actual changes to cost accounts, including change orders, trends, and deviations.
• Facilitates or leads an efficient earnings review process with the project team, using GAAP and revenue recognition concepts to analyze project finance performance. Performs project revenue adjustments with general supervision.
• Escalates project performance that impacts office results to the office finance manager in a timely manner.
• Develops client and subconsultant relationships, ensuring effective client service and efficient subconsultant management.
• May provide training and onboarding for project management staff on HNTB project management processes and procedures as needed.
• May offer guidance and mentorship to Project Finance Associates and earlier career Project Analysts, including oversight of day-to-day work. Utilizes PFAs for routine transactional support.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

What You'll Need:

• Bachelor's degree and 5 years of financial, project accounting/analysis, or related experience, or
• In lieu of education, 9 years of financial, project accounting/analysis, or related work experience

What You'll Bring:

• Ability to manage ownership of the project finance responsibilities for medium to large projects of increasing risk and complexity.
• Has ownership of large projects of varying complexity.
• Ability to read and comprehend contract requirements to identify opportunities for improvement.
• Strong understanding of HNTB internal project finance/accounting processes, able to provide guidance in those areas to other project finance staff and project managers.
• Advanced data analysis skills in tools such as Excel, HNTB's enterprise reporting system, and HNTB's project management system. Able to develop new, dynamic approaches to processing, interpreting, and analyzing data to drive effective action.
• Strong conceptual and analytical skills, driving action on data.
• Excellent organizational skills, ability to multitask, and self-directed.

What We Prefer:

• Project Management certification, and/or other contracting/project management certifications
• Bachelor's degree in relevant Finance, Accounting, Business, Engineering, or related field
• Master's degree in business or engineering
• Knowledge of project financial management/cost controls
• Knowledge of accounting/financial principles and practices
• Knowledge of A/E industry

Locations: Chicago, IL

The approximate pay range for Illinois is $91,710.82 - $143,445.15. Please note that the pay range provided is a good faith estimate for the position based on all selected locations within the state at the time of posting. Actual compensation will be dependent on factors, including but not limited to, the individual's qualifications, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities as well as physical work location within the state.