Cost Planner

at  Thames Water Utilites

Exciting opportunity alert! Join us as a Cost Planner for Thames Water’s Water Resources Management Plan. You’ll be crucial in delivering a £50m investment programme in AMP8 by coordinating, monitoring, and reporting program and project costs. Don’t miss this chance to drive impactful projects and contribute to our success!

WHAT YOU’LL BE DOING AS A COST PLANNER

• Provide cost planning support to the programme manager across a portfolio of complex projects. Identify and understand variances across projects and support the project/programme manager to resolve these.
• Work alongside the programme manager to monitor and forecast Unbriefed allocations and drawdowns to eliminate the risk of double counting.
• Complete monthly reporting with high-quality analytics to enable quality and timely decision-making and onward reporting.
• Responsible for input of financial and project governance elements of Investment Committee papers and Business Cases. Responsible for ensuring SAP alignment with papers submitted and completion of the relevant processes to facilitate the timely release of funds once the budget has been approved.
• Raise purchase orders on SAP and goods receipt invoices, ensuring transparent and auditable reporting has been provided to justify the associated spending.
• Work with programme leads to establish a project structure and WBS for the new AMP, which will help track budgets and the programme.
• Provide leadership and guidance to project teams regarding best practices for cost management (Capex and Opex), financial governance, etc.
• Maintain SAP with information about budgets, forecasts, actuals, and slippage, as provided by the team, tracking key business milestones. Assure the quality of the data and compliance with financial and corporate policies on cost recognition.
• Led monthly project/programme meetings to capture accurate VOWD updates from Internal and external Clients and ongoing management of associated accruals.
• Support Budget setting and financial re-forecasting for their functional business area.
  Hybrid – Clearwater Court, Reading – you will be required in the office 2-3 days a week.
  36 hours a week, Monday to Friday – we are also open to part-time and condensed hours for this role.

WHAT YOU SHOULD BRING TO THE ROLE

• Cost Planner/ Financial Controller or Senior analyst with proven experience, ideally with regulatory reporting experience gained in a commercial or project controls environment.
• Knowledge of SAP transactions (or similar finance platform) and adept in capturing/analysing costs, forecasting, project information & governance, and supply chain.
• Can demonstrate best practice and compliance in managing Totex projects with multiple WBSs and workstreams.
• Strong numerical and analytical skills. Able to use Office 365 reporting products. Experience with Power BI would be desirable but not necessary.
• A good working knowledge of Planning Software (preferably P6, Microsoft Project).
• Strong communication skills, constructively engaging and collaborating with multiple partners and teams.
• Experience in governance and assurance compliance, including change management processes.
• Regulatory reporting experience gained in a commercial or project controls environment.