Overview As Senior Cost Manager, you will serve as the main client interface, delivering cost management across a large-scale data center program near Indianapolis. You will lead change management, cost control, and governance, ensuring changes are evaluated, documented, and communicated through the construction lifecycle in a fast-paced environment. You'll work closely with clients and cross-functional teams to drive reliable cost outcomes and value-driven decisions. This role offers the chance to shape program governance and financial delivery on high-impact projects.
Compensation / Benefits- flexible working environment
- healthy work-life balance
- equal opportunity employer
- inclusive culture
- opportunity to influence change
- supportive leadership
Responsibilities- Lead and manage change management across the program with proper identification, evaluation, documentation, and approval of changes
- Review, evaluate, and negotiate change orders to ensure alignment and cost transparency
- Maintain change logs, contingency tracking, and commitment registers with clear cost visibility
- Establish and enforce change control procedures and governance across multiple projects
- Provide detailed cost analysis and recommendations to support client decisions on changes
- Support dispute avoidance and resolution through commercial oversight and documentation of changes
- Provide cost planning and estimating, including presenting final cost plans
- Review and participate with design team and general contractor on cost estimates
- Reconcile changes and validate contractor cost data for accuracy
- Communicate with GC and project team for updates and cost reporting
- Prepare comments on contractor submissions including executive summaries
- Coordinate inputs from subcontractors, suppliers, and design teams
- Inform and help drive construction priorities based on cost and change impact
- Proactively resolve cost, scope, and scheduling conflicts
- Manage cost checks and valuations on complex projects
- Lead post-contract variance analysis and ensure adherence to change control
- Prepare funding updates and support value engineering in response to change drivers
- Develop cost plans through design and update at milestones
- Review contractor pricing and support negotiations for fair outcomes
- Ensure cost auditing, validation, and reporting processes are applied
- Produce monthly cost reports highlighting changes, risks, and forecast impacts
- Support final account closeout with fully reconciled changes
- Maintain cost benchmarking data for future forecasting
- Mentor team members and promote best practices in change management and cost control
- Manage financial tracking, forecasting, and reporting for commissions
- Support internal systems, governance processes, and delivery methodologies
- SOX control responsibilities may apply where relevant
Key requirements- 5-7 years of experience in cost management in construction
- Demonstrated change management, change order negotiation, and cost control on complex projects
- Experience leading cost management on medium to large, high-complexity construction projects
- Preference for data center, industrial, or large campus developments; construction consultancy experience preferred
- Strong knowledge of commercial management, procurement routes, and value engineering
- Proven ability to manage high volumes of change in fast-paced environments
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills
- Client-facing experience in a professional services context
- communication
- stakeholder management
- client-facing demeanor
- cost management
- change management
- cost control
