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As we move America’s workforce toward the future, Amtrak connects businesses and communities across the country. We employ more than 20,000 diverse, energetic professionals in a variety of career fields throughout the United States. The safety of our passengers, our employees, the public and our operating environment is our priority, and the success of our railroad is due to our employees.
Are you ready to join our team?
Our values of ‘Do the Right Thing, Excel Together and Put Customers First’ are at the heart of what matters most to us, and our Core Capabilities, ‘Building Trust, Accountability, Effective Communication, Customer Focus, and Proactive Safety & Security’ are what every employee needs to know and do to be most impactful at Amtrak. By living the Amtrak values, focusing on our capabilities, and actively embracing and fostering diverse ideas, backgrounds, and perspectives, together we will honor our past and make Amtrak a company of the future.
This position is a tiered position. Incumbents will have a position level assigned based on their skills and experience, and in alignment with position development plans. Position placement is at Amtrak’s sole and absolute discretion.
SUMMARY OF DUTIES:
The Project Controls Specialist (Cost Engineering & Control) is responsible for using and improving existing enterprise tools, systems and work processes to assist Project Managers in effective development, management control and reporting on budget estimates and progress measurement for a moderately complex project. Individuals in this role may develop project dashboards, schedules, cost performance reports and risk registers in close collaboration with the assigned Project Manager and other team members. Project Control Specialists work under moderate supervision of a senior-level Controls Practitioner and may matrix into a project team.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:
• Assures compliance with department and enterprise practices on project budgeting, change management, scheduling, and/or cost engineering, and related project-specific requirements.
• Works with the Project Manager and team to develop project cost breakdown structure, baseline budget, and risk register using standard templates, methods, and tools within prescribed parameters of the assigned project
• Applies standard construction estimating concepts, practices, methodologies, and/or procedures as well as discipline-specific concepts to develop costs estimates for rail-specific work elements (e.g., electric traction, signals, structures, track) or general construction work elements.
• Performs investigation, including but not limited to market analysis, visits to the field, and interviews of delivery staff (e.g., engineers, superintendents, construction managers), to understand construction means and methods in order to develop adequate cost estimates.
• Collects project performance data such as installed quantities, expended labor and other progress measurement data from enterprise tools (e.g., Maximo) and/or project management staff to assess project/portfolio cost performance
• Tracks potential changes, ensuring suitable assessments of cost and schedule impacts are generated and given visibility with the client and project management
• Integrates cost and schedule data as well as information from vendors and external entities to facilitate schedule and budget performance reporting. Review and analyze customer and vendor program and project budgets as needed.
• Assists the Project Manager with maintenance and baseline reviews of project budgets in accordance with approved project parameters
• Participates in risk evaluation sessions or preconstruction reviews, and ensures risks are documented and assessed in terms of probability and impact to enable project team development of risk mitigation plans and contingencies
• Supports project and portfolio management teams in performing risk-based contingency determination in accordance with department policies, stakeholder requirements, and best practice.
• Supports the intake process of projects by developing and maintaining automated project evaluation tools and workflows
• Assists cost estimating and cost engineering work products to support the development of the Engineering Capital Construction yearly plan, ensuring timely completion of new estimates within assigned portfolio/project, ensuring schedule and cost data integrity and consistency, alignment with 5-year plan, and compliance with applicable requirements.
• Monitors actuals and works with other peers to review forecasting against budgets
• Supports project governance and project status review meetings
• Manages project controls data using designated applications or tools (e.g., Ineight Estimates).
• Maintains reference cost estimating data and analyzes variances against actual costs to validate and improve accuracy of estimates.
• Maintains reporting mechanisms, dashboards and presentations about project performance indicators and feed this data to ensure a cohesive picture of project’s contribution to the project and/or portfolio
• Assures quality and timeliness of recurring and ad-hoc deliverables, including but not limited to estimates, schedules, forecasts, reports, analyses, and source data.
• Prepares cost engineering reports, or presentations.
• Identifies opportunities for improvement in processes, methods, or tools
• Performs other related duties
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
• A combination of education and/or experience that provides the required knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the essential functions of the position.
• Bachelor’s Degree in Construction Management, Engineering, Science, Business, or a related field. Required education may be substituted for additional relevant experience in excess of the minimum requirements outlined below, on a two-for-one year basis.
• Required specialized experience in area of assignment:
– Knowledge of principles and practices of construction project management through all phases of the construction project lifecycle
– Understanding of principles and practices of construction contract administration, contracting methods and types; standard conditions of construction and engineering contracts (AIA, EJCDC).
– Applied knowledge of statistical analysis methods
– Experienced in processes, methods, techniques, standards, and best practices of construction project cost estimation, cost management, and earned value management in large and/or complex capital construction projects.
– Experience employing modern software tools and cost databases (e.g., Hard Dollar, RSMeans) to develop and maintain cost estimates on large and/or complex construction projects and extracting data to generate analysis and status reports.
– Integration of estimating and scheduling processes, tools, systems, and data.
– Use of internal financial system data or external benchmarking to validate and improve estimates.
– Understanding of project financial reporting, forecasting, and analysis and monitoring capital project / portfolio funding and/or budget.
– Ability to clearly organize and present project portfolio reports, and other related portfolio technical information
– Ability to research, analyze, evaluate performance gaps, and implement new business processes, tools, methods, and techniques to improve performance or output.
– Skill in researching, analyzing, and applying contracts, agreements, policies, laws, rules, and regulations to ensure compliance at all levels within areas of responsibility
– Intermediate to advanced Excel user skills
– Intermediate to advanced PowerPoint skills
– Skill in communicating complex information clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing across all levels
– Strong focus on collaboration, team building, and customer service
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
• Bachelor’s degree, or higher, in Science, Engineering, or Construction Management.
• Experience performing or leading cost and schedule controls for large or mega capital construction projects and/or portfolios.
• Capital construction controls experience in the rail industry, oil and gas, energy, or pharmaceutical industry.
• One or more of the following certifications / credentials:
– Oracle Primavera P6 certification
– SP or RMP (PMI)
– PSP, CEP, EVP, or CCP (AACE)
– Chartered MRICS
– EVMP
– FAC-P/PM Level III
– PRINCE2
– CCA, or CDT (CSI)
Hands-on experience with data analysis and visualization tools like PowerBI
Experience with database management and data operations (e.g., SQL)
– Five (5) years’ experience in construction project cost management and project controls, preferably on highly complex or large (>$500 million) projects.
– Five (5) years direct hands-on experience as an estimator using modern software to develop and maintain multi-discipline estimates for large complex projects.
WORK ENVIRONMENT:
Environmental Conditions:
Office environment; exposure to computer screens.
Physical Conditions:
May require maintaining physical condition necessary for sitting, walking or standing for prolonged periods of time.
COMMUNICATIONS AND INTERPERSONAL SKILLS:
Must have excellent oral and written communication skills.
The salary/hourly range is $75,500-$$97,840 for the Project Controls Specialist and 96,750-125,380 for the Lead Project Controls Specialist. Pay is based on several factors including but not limited to education, work experience, certifications, etc. Depending on an employee’s assigned worksite or location, Amtrak may consider a geo-pay differential to be applied to the employee’s base salary. Amtrak may offer additional incentive and pay programs to recognize and reward our employees, including a short-term incentive bonus based upon factors such as individual and company performance that is commensurate with the level of the position and/or long-term incentive plan compensation. In addition to your salary, Amtrak offers a comprehensive benefit package that includes health, dental, and vision plans; health savings accounts; wellness programs; flexible spending accounts; 401K retirement plan with employer match; life insurance; short and long term disability insurance; paid time off; back-up care; adoption assistance; surrogacy assistance; reimbursement of education expenses; Public Service Loan Forgiveness eligibility; Railroad Retirement sickness and retirement benefits; and rail pass privileges. Learn more about our benefits offerings here.
Requisition ID:158634
Posting Location(s):Pennsylvania
Job Family/Function:Engineering
Relocation Offered:No
Travel Requirements:Up to 25%
You power our progress through your performance.
We want your work at Amtrak to be more than a job. We want your career at Amtrak to be a fulfilling experience where you find challenging work, rewarding opportunities, respect among colleagues, and attractive compensation. Amtrak maintains a culture that values high performance and recognizes individual employee contributions.
Amtrak is committed to a safe workplace free of drugs and alcohol. All Amtrak positions requires a pre-employment background check that includes prior employment verification, a criminal history check and a pre-employment drug screen.
Candidates who test positive for marijuana will be disqualified, regardless of any start or local statue, ordinance, regulation, or other law that legalizes or decriminalizes the use or possession of marijuana, whether for medical, recreational, or other use. Amtrak’s pre-employment drug testing program is administered in accordance with DOT regulations and applicable law.
In accordance with DOT regulations (49 CFR § 40.25), Amtrak is required to obtain prior drug and alcohol testing records for applicants/employees intending to perform safety-sensitive duties for covered Department of Transportation positions. If an applicant/employee refuses to provide written consent for Amtrak to obtain these records, the individual will not be permitted to perform safety-sensitive functions.
In accordance with federal law governing security checks of covered individuals for providers of public transportation (Title 6 U.S.C. §1143), Amtrak is required to screen applicants for any permanent or interim disqualifying criminal offenses.
Note that any education requirement listed above may be deemed satisfied if you have an equivalent combination of education, training and experience.
Amtrak is an EOE/Affirmative Action Minority/Female employer, and we welcome all to apply. We consider candidates regardless of race/color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth and related conditions), national origin/ethnicity, age, disability (intellectual, mental and physical), veteran status, marital status, ancestry, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, genetic information, citizenship or any other personal characteristics protected by law.