Cost Manager

Clayco is a full-service, turnkey real estate development, master planning, architecture, engineering, and construction firm that safely delivers clients across North America the highest quality solutions on time, on budget, and above and beyond expectations. With $8.1 billion in revenue for 2025, Clayco specializes in the  art and science of building,  providing fast track, efficient solutions for mission critical, industrial, life sciences, power & energy, aviation, commercial, institutional, residential and sports & entertainment related building projects.

Clayco’s Consolidated Distribution Company (CDC) uses its extensive relationships to secure competitive pricing and product availability. By negotiating with top brands and manufacturers, CDC provides cost-effective solutions for construction equipment, materials, and finishes. It excels in managing complex projects through strategic sourcing and mass purchasing, offering integrated design, and purchasing power for both internal and external clients.

The Cost Manager provides accurate, timely job-level cost data and analysis to support the Project Team’s accountability for job profitability and cost management. This role ensures the financial foundation for informed decision-making by Operations, Accounting, and FP&A. Operations owns job performance;
Cost Manager ensures they have the cost visibility and data quality to manage it. The role reports to the Business Unit Leader / President, with oversight and support from the VP of FP&A to maintain consistent cost management practices and standards across the business.

• Serves as the primary financial analyst supporting Operations accountability for job performance and profitability.
• Owns accuracy and timeliness of cost data and reporting; validates data quality without absorbing operational ownership.
• Translates field cost reality into forecasts and analysis that Accounting and FP&A can build on without re-checking.
• Anticipates cost and billing risk; escalates early with context and analysis.
• Holds cost code and cost reporting standards consistently across portfolio.
• Builds trust with Operations by explaining variances and supporting their decision-making, not just flagging issues.
• Balances support for Operations and Accounting without absorbing accountability that belongs to the field.
• Applies sound judgment on when a variance is routine versus material enough to escape to leadership.

• Develop and maintain monthly Estimate at Completion (EAC) forecasts by job, including labor, material, and other direct costs; support Operations' forecast accuracy and decision-making.
• Validate fully-loaded labor cost methodology (wage + tax + WC + benefits) and baseline; flag underestimation issues to Project Team and leadership.
• Conduct monthly cost reviews with Operations teams to validate forecasts, identify cost drivers, and support their variance explanations.
• Validate labor allocation and cost code accuracy; flag misallocations and unbudgeted charges to Project Team for correction.

• Analyze and explain job profit/margin variance each month; provide cost drivers and operational context to support Operations' accountability for performance.
• Investigate and document billing variances (actual vs. projected); provide analysis to Accounting and FP&A.
• Escalate material cost and billing variances (>5% or >$250K) to Director and BU Leadership with context and recommended actions.
• Track contingency and management reserve usage; report balances and draws to support leadership's approval decisions.

• Own job-level cost code…