Cost Engineer

Role Overview

We are seeking a Cost Engineer to assist the Financial Controller in managing and reporting on project and operational costs within the HVAC sector. The primary focus will be on precise cost tracking, margin evaluation, forecasting, and implementing cost-saving strategies to ensure profitable project delivery and service management.

Primary Responsibilities

• Monitor and analyze project expenses including labor, materials, subcontracting, plant, and overhead against established budgets.
• Maintain up-to-date cost-to-complete and cost-to-date reports for ongoing projects and service contracts.
• Generate detailed weekly and monthly cost reports that identify budget deviations, risks, and recommend necessary actions.
• Assist in month-end closing tasks related to job costing, accruals, and work in progress.
• Contribute to project budgeting, including establishing cost codes, baseline budgets, and expenditure profiles.
• Collaborate with Project Managers and Operations to develop forecasts encompassing cash flow and margin expectations.
• Detect early signs of cost overruns and suggest mitigating measures.
• Engage with Project Managers, Service Managers, Procurement, and Stores to verify cost accuracy and enhance cost data collection.
• Support procurement through supplier spend analysis and price comparison.
• Evaluate change orders and their financial impact alongside commercial and operations teams.
• Enhance costing procedures ensuring proper coding, approvals, and documentation consistency.
• Maintain audit readiness with organized records supporting costs and project reports.
• Create and update dashboards and KPIs such as gross margin per project, productivity metrics, material usage, and subcontractor performance.

Key Collaborations

• Financial Controller (direct supervisor)
• Project Managers, Contracts Managers, and Service Delivery teams
• Procurement personnel, Warehouse staff, Accounts Payable
• Senior Management for reporting and performance evaluations

Candidate Profile and Skills

• A minimum of three years experience in cost engineering, cost control, or project accounting in HVAC, MEP, construction, engineering, or building services industries.
• Deep knowledge of project cost components and margin factors.
• Advanced proficiency in Excel including pivot tables, lookups, and report generation; familiarity with ERP or job costing systems such as Sage, SAP, Microsoft Dynamics, or COINS is a plus.
• Meticulous attention to detail and ability to manage multiple concurrent projects efficiently.
• Effective communication skills with ability to constructively challenge cost variances in collaboration with operations teams.
• Strong organizational skills, capable of meeting month-end deadlines.
• Understanding of work-in-progress accounting, revenue recognition, and financial reporting in construction or engineering contexts.
• Experience developing Power BI dashboards or automating reporting processes.
• Exposure to estimating, tender preparation, or conducting post-project cost analyses.

Additional Information

This is a full-time permanent position based onsite in County Mayo, Ireland. Salary ranges from €45,000 to €55,000 annually depending on experience. The employer is committed to diversity, inclusion, and social responsibility initiatives.