Cost Controller

1. Purpose of the Role

The Cost Controller owns both sides of the contract's cost assurance: maintaining cost control records, escalation calculations and monthly cost/deviation reporting, and verifying quantities, hours and costs claimed by the Client's service providers against Job Cost Estimates (JCE), Job Cost Certificates (JCC) and Purchase Requisitions (PRs). The role ensures every Rand claimed is both correctly costed and independently verified before certification, within Client's Operational Delivery turnaround targets.

2. Key Responsibilities

•            Maintain cost control records and monthly cost reports across all active work assignments (clause 1.11).

•            Confirm and calculate escalation amounts for Contract Price Adjustments in line with contract documents (clause 1.14).

•            Prepare monthly final account reconciliation reports and deviation reports at the end of each calendar month (clause 1.37).

•            Track and report on all evaluated contract variations, day works and scope changes (clause 1.13).

•            Assist the QS team with cost implications of additional claims received from service providers (clause 1.15).

•            Support pre-design feasibility studies with cost/economic appraisal input where required (clause 1.21).

•            Maintain cost-planning, cost-analysis and cost-monitoring records where Client specifies special requirements (clause 1.22).

•            Reconcile budget vs actual spend and highlight variances to the Principal QS and Contracts Administrator.

•            Verify quantities and hours on JCCs and invoices for maintenance work via Job Cost Estimates (clause 1.46).

•            Verify quantities and hours on invoices for maintenance projects via Purchase Requisitions (clause 1.47).

•            Verify quantities and hours on JCCs and invoices for shutdown work and/or normal operations via JCEs and PRs (Invoice Verification scope, item 1).

•            Evaluate quantities and hours where a dispute arises between the Client and a service provider (Invoice Verification scope, item 2).

•            Complete maintenance-work verification within the 5-working-day turnaround target; shutdown/project verification within the 14-working-day target.

•            Check rates used on invoices against contractually agreed rate cards, and verify employees/hours claimed against clocking-system records where applicable.

•            Reconcile disbursements claimed against contract terms as part of both cost control and invoice verification checks.

•            Escalate non-compliant or disputed invoices, with supporting evidence, to the Principal QS/Professional QS for resolution.

•            Where turnaround times cannot be met, proactively notify the Client representative and agree a revised due date.

•            Maintain accurate, auditable cost-control and invoice-verification records to support quarterly commercial audits and the Commercial Compliance and Quality & Accuracy performance pillars.

3. Minimum Qualifications & Registration

•            National Diploma or Degree in Quantity Surveying, Cost/Financial Management, Commerce or a related field.

4. Experience Required

•            Minimum 4–5 years' combined experience in cost control, cost analysis, commercial reporting and/or invoice verification, ideally within construction, engineering or industrial maintenance environments.

•            Experience with escalation/CPA calculations and monthly cost-reporting cycles.

•            Familiarity with JCE/JCC/PR invoice-verification processes advantageous (Client systems experience a strong advantage).

5. Technical Skills & Knowledge

•            Advanced Excel and cost-management/ERP system proficiency.

•            Sound understanding of budgeting, variance analysis and cost-reporting principles.

•            Familiarity with contract price adjustment formulae and index-linked escalation.

•            Strong numerical accuracy and data-reconciliation skills for invoice/rate-card/clocking-system verification.

•            Attention to detail in reconciling large, concurrent data sets under SLA deadlines.

6. Behavioural Competencies

•            Strong analytical and numerical reasoning.

•            High accuracy and reliability under monthly reporting and SLA-driven verification deadlines.

•            Proactive in flagging discrepancies and risks.

•            Firm but fair in dealing with service providers on disputed invoices.

•            Good written communication for report preparation and escalation.

•            Well organised, able to manage cost reporting and invoice verification workloads in parallel.

7. Key Working Relationships

•            Principal QS and Professional QS team.

•            Contracts Administrator (variations, claims and record-filing).

•            Client Representative and the Client's appointed service providers.

•            AvenirHoldings Commercial/Contract Governance Manager and MIS/Data Analyst.

8. Work Conditions

•            Primarily office-based with periodic site visits to verify cost data or physical progress.

•            Peak workload around month-end, final-account and shutdown/project verification periods.

•       Must consistently meet SLA-driven invoice-verification turnaround deadlines (5/14 working days).