Lead Cost Engineer - NEOM

About Jacobs and Role Overview

Jacobs is committed to innovating the future by tackling critical global challenges in cities, environments, manufacturing, and scientific discovery. The Lead Cost Engineer position plays a vital role in overseeing cost reporting and control during project closeout phases within the portfolio. This role entails comprehensive budget management, forecasting, accrual reconciliation, and providing clear cost visibility to senior stakeholders.

Primary Responsibilities

• Manage cost reporting and control cycles monthly, establishing data needs and review schedules across the portfolio.
• Supervise approved budgets, allocations, cost coding, and transfers across several contracts and workstreams.
• Create, update, and maintain detailed forecasts, including forecast-at-completion and cost projections for closeout activities.
• Administer the monthly accrual cycle, validating, reconciling, reviewing aging reports, and eliminating unsupported or duplicate accruals.
• Monitor commitments, actual expenditures, liabilities, settlements, and exposures through contract closure.
• Develop cash flow forecasts and determine funding needs for termination, demobilization, preservation, settlements, and project closeout.
• Reconcile data among SAP, Oracle Unifier, commercial records, and project reports, resolving significant discrepancies.
• Lead cost inputs for weekly, monthly, and special portfolio and closeout reports, including dashboards and presentations.
• Provide thorough cost documentation and support during claims, disputes, settlement discussions, and final account reviews.
• Establish cost reporting templates, control measures, and data verification processes ensuring an audit-ready environment with transparent assumptions and forecast changes.
• Clarify variances in budgets, commitments, accruals, actuals, cash flow, and forecasts.
• Assist the Project Controls Manager during portfolio evaluations and discussions with senior stakeholders.

Required Qualifications and Experience

• At least 20 years of experience in project controls and cost management.
• Minimum 10 years working on large-scale projects within Saudi Arabia and/or the GCC region.
• Proven background managing cost control for mega-projects or mixed-use programs valued in multi-billion SAR, involving numerous contracts.
• Extensive expertise in budgets, accrual management, forecasting, commitments, cash flow, funding processes, and cost reconciliation.
• Experience supporting contract termination, demobilization, preservation, final account settlements, or project closeout tasks.
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Quantity Surveying, Project Management, Business, Finance, or related fields.
• Professional certifications such as PMP, CCP, RICS, AACE, or equivalent are favored.
• Experience in Owner, IPMT, PMC, or major program roles is advantageous.

Additional Information and Company Culture

Jacobs fosters an inclusive and supportive workplace where diverse backgrounds are embraced. The company promotes flexible work arrangements blending office and remote work to support employee wellbeing and productivity. Safety and flexibility are prioritized to enable team members to reach their full potential. Onsite roles require full-time presence at Jacobs facilities as dictated by role demands.

Jacobs encourages community engagement through global volunteering and giving programs. The company values collaboration and ensures continuous adaptation of recruitment and workplace processes to accommodate all applicants and employees.