Project Controls Director

Job Description

The Director, Project Controls leads the project controls function across commercial construction and technology infrastructure projects (including data center, mission-critical, and large commercial builds), with primary ownership of schedule management, document control/change management, risk identification and control, project management structure & governance, and progress reporting/physical completion measurement.

This role establishes the standards, tools, and workflows that keep project information organized, traceable, and actionable; from baseline schedule development (preconstruction) through post commissioning closeout. This key leader will partner with Project Management, Internal/External Design, Self Perform & External Construction Operations, and Owner/Client representatives to ensure projects are executed on a disciplined, well-governed foundation. The Director maintains general awareness of cost and budget performance as it relates to schedule and change activity but does not hold primary ownership of cost/EVM functions, which are managed by a separate Cost Controls discipline.

The Director leads and develops a team of schedulers, document control specialists, and progress/reporting analysts, driving consistency and continuous improvement in project controls practices across the portfolio.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Leadership & Development

• Develop the overall vision and strategy for the Project controls department. This includes developing a staffing strategy to support a rapid growth strategy within QDC.
• Lead, mentor, and develop project controls staff, including mid-level managers, schedulers, document control specialists, and reporting analysts
• Establish training and onboarding programs to build consistent project controls capability across the organization
• Provide functional leadership including staffing strategy, performance management, and resource allocation across projects
• Be a collaborative, disciplined, and detail-oriented project controls leader within QDC and all other Quanta companies. Set the standard and drive the correct culture.
• Benchmark project controls processes & performance against in-company teams as well as industry best in class standards to identify gaps and drive continuous improvement

Schedule Leadership

• Oversee the development, integration, and maintenance of project level master integrated schedules. This includes detailed subcontracted project schedules (CPM), for design, procurement, construction, and commissioning activities
• Review and validate schedule logic, durations, sequencing, resource loading, and milestone alignment with contractual requirements
• Lead schedule quality reviews, critical path and near-critical path analysis, and recovery/mitigation planning
• Facilitate interactive planning and pull-planning sessions with project teams, trade partners, and stakeholders
• Ensure schedules reflect current scope, approved changes, and field progress on a consistent update cycle
• Own the schedule basis and update procedures, and ensure schedule time impact analyses are prepared to support change and delay evaluations

Document Control & Change Leadership

• Establish and oversee project document control procedures, including submittal logs, transmittals, drawing revisions, and record retention
• Own the change management process end-to-end - identification, logging, evaluation, approval workflow, and incorporation into schedule, scope, and reporting baselines
• Ensure changes (RFIs, PCOs, CCDs, ASIs, field directives) are tracked, dispositioned, and closed out in a consistent, auditable system
• Maintain version control and traceability across drawings, specifications, and contract documents throughout the project lifecycle
• Ensure document control practices support audit readiness and contractual/legal defensibility of project records

Risk Identification & Control

• Lead project risk identification, qualification, and quantification, including schedule and delay risk
• Establish and maintain project risk registers, ensuring risks are assigned owners, mitigation plans, and regular review cadence
• Facilitate risk workshops with project leadership, design, and construction teams to surface emerging risks early
• Integrate risk analysis into schedule contingency, forecasting, and executive reporting
• Track risk trends over time and ensure lessons learned are captured and fed back into future project setup

Project Management Structure & Governance

• Establish standardized project file structures and document retention protocols across projects
• Define and oversee governance for RFIs, RFQs, submittals, and drawing organization, ensuring consistent numbering, workflows, and turnaround tracking
• Implement and maintain project management structures (WBS, coding standards, filing conventions) that support consistent controls across the portfolio and/or support specific customer requirements
• Ensure project setup on new projects follows standardized project controls execution plans (PCEPs) and templates
• Partner with IT/systems teams to select, configure, and optimize project controls and document management platforms
• Drive adoption of consistent naming conventions and organizational standards across teams and offices

Progress Reporting & Physical Completion

• Oversee development of physical progress and percent-complete measurement methodologies (quantity-based, milestone-based, or weighted)
• Ensure accurate, timely progress reporting, including variance analysis, trending, and forecasted completion dates
• Direct development of executive dashboards and status reporting (e.g., Power BI) that clearly communicate progress, risk, and open issues
• Reconcile field-reported progress against schedule and document control data to ensure a single source of truth
• Present progress, risk, and controls status in executive and client project reviews

EXPERIENCE & EDUCATION

• Bachelor's degree in Construction Management, Engineering, Business, or a related field preferred; equivalent extensive experience will be considered
• 10+years of progressive project controls experience, including significant experience leading scheduling, document control, and reporting functions on commercial construction or technology infrastructure projects
• Demonstrated experience establishing and scaling project management structures, file/document governance, and standardized controls processes across projects
• Advanced proficiency with CPM scheduling tools (e.g., Primavera P6) and document control/management platforms (e.g., Procore)
• Experience developing and maintaining project risk registers and leading risk workshops
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and reporting/visualization tools (e.g., Power BI)
• Advanced proficiency with cost and budget concepts sufficiently understand the cost impact of schedule changes and risks (cost/EVM ownership sits with a separate function)

SKILLS

• Deep expertise in scheduling, document control, change management, and risk management disciplines
• Strong organizational instincts - able to design and enforce structure (file systems, retention, numbering conventions) that scales across a portfolio
• Executive presence and credibility to influence senior leaders across divisions and drive change and alignment without direct authority
• Effectively collaborate across design, construction, and client teams and influence at multiple organizational levels
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including executive- and client-level reporting
• Detail-oriented, analytical, and proactive approach to identifying issues before they escalate
• Commitment to maintaining a safe, compliant, and well-documented project environment

TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS

• Travel: Yes
• Percent of Time: Up to 30%
• Position Location: Houston, TX