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Senior Cost Engineer

Kent is looking for a Senior Cost Engineer based in Basra, Iraq.

As a Senior Cost Engineer embedded directly within the owner/operator’s project delivery team in Basra, Iraq, you will be responsible for the financial health, cost control, budgeting, and forecasting of major oil and gas capital projects. Acting as a key pillar in the project's financial governance, you will closely monitor project expenditures, manage change control, and ensure that all financial reporting is aligned with international joint-venture and asset-owner standards.

Skills and Responsibilities:
  • Track, analyze, and manage daily, weekly, and monthly project expenditures against approved budgets to ensure overall cost control.
  • Develop and maintain realistic Estimate at Completion (EAC) forecasts, cash flow curves, and contingency analyses.
  • Review, verify, and audit EPC and local contractor progress payment certificates, monthly invoices, and timesheets to validate actual progress versus billed costs.
  • Administer the variations and Change Order Request (COR) process, assessing the cost impact of positive or negative scope changes on the total project cost.
  • Generate Work Breakdown Structures (WBS), purchase requisitions, and process Service Entry Sheets (SES) directly inside SAP.
  • Prepare comprehensive monthly cost reports, cost variance analyses, and key performance indicators (KPIs) for senior management and project shareholders.
  • Partner with Project Managers, Planning Engineers, and Procurement teams to flag budget overruns and identify cost-saving initiatives early.
Your knowledge/skills, education, and experience:

Knowledge/ Qualification/ Training/ Certification:

  • Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Civil, Chemical, or Industrial), Quantity Surveying, Finance, or a related discipline.
  • 10 - 12 years of dedicated cost engineering or project controls experience specifically within the oil and gas sector (upstream, midstream, or gas processing).
  • Direct experience working on mega-projects or complex infrastructure upgrades within an operator or asset-owner environment is highly preferred (client-side experience vs. purely EPC contractor).
  • Prior experience working with major international oil companies (IOCs) or national oil companies (NOCs), including their specific commercial guidelines and project management frameworks.
  • Willing and able to work on a rotational schedule in Basra, Iraq. Excellent written and spoken English is mandatory for high-level reporting; conversational Arabic is highly preferred to interface effectively with local contractors.

Communication:

  • Excellent interpersonal and analytical attributes
  • Able to effectively communicate technical issues to peers and line manager (written and verbal)

Skills (Technical Competencies)

  • Mastery of SAP project system modules (WBS creation, PO tracking, and Service Entry Sheets).
  • High proficiency in MS Excel (pivot tables, complex formulas, and macro-based data analysis) and cost-estimation databases.
  • Familiarity with FIDIC contract management standards, estimation methodologies, and progress measurement systems.
  • Practical capability in tracking physical progress against financial burn rates to deliver accurate performance indices (CPI/SPI).

Behavioural Core Competencies

  • Strict adherence to audit compliances and financial governance protocols.
  • A data-focused, meticulous approach to checking contractor claims and verifying invoice milestones.
  • Professional confidence to push back on unjustified contractor claims, undocumented variations, or mathematical discrepancies.
  • Ability to articulate complex financial variances, budget risks, and mitigation strategies clearly to non-financial project management teams.

Preferred Certifications (Optional)

  • Certified Cost Professional (CCP) or Certified Estimating Professional (CEP) via AACE International.
  • Project Management Professional (PMP) or equivalent execution credentials.
  • Formal SAP End-User or Super-User certification in Project Systems (PS).

HSSEQ:

The Employee shall observe the Health, Safety, Sustainability, Environment and Quality rules of the Company; it’s clients and the governing authorities of the host country.

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