Project Operational Controller

Who we are:

ALTEN, an engineering and technology consultancy, We are a leading Engineering and IT consultancy operating across 30 countries, making waves in all sectors: Aeronautics, Space, Defence, Security and naval, Automotive, Rail and mobility, Energy and environment, Life Sciences and health, Industrial Equipment and electronics, Telecoms, Banking, Finance & Insurance, Retail, Services & Medias, Public Services & Government. With a team of passionate, diligent, and agile engineers, we are united by a common purpose: building tomorrow’s world today. Day by day, we support our customers' development strategies as well as their technological and sustainability transformation.

Due to ongoing expansion, Alten Ltd is looking for Project Operational Controller to join our growing team here in Derby office. This is a fantastic chance to join a fast-growing company with strong core values of; Excellence, Accountability, Integrity, and Service and well a clear developmental path for the successful candidate.

Job purpose

The Project Controller plays a key role in tracking, analyzing, and supporting the delivery of strong project margins across a range of customer projects within our technology and engineering consultancy.

Working closely with Technical Project Managers, this role ensures margin performance is accurately monitored and clearly reported to enable informed decision-making and alignment with strategic targets.

The Project Controller contributes to the wider transformation of internal Project Control processes, with a particular focus on reporting automation and improved operational insight.

Main duties and responsibilities

• Monitor and report on project margin performance against defined half-yearly targets, identifying risks and opportunities.
• Partner with Technical Project Managers to ensure margin-impacting factors (revenue, costs, financial progress) are tracked and understood.
• Analyse movements in project margins and provide narrative and recommendations to improve financial outcomes.
• Lead or support the automation of project margin reporting using tools such as Power BI, Excel, and Power Query.
• Develop clear and insightful dashboards and reporting outputs to support operational and leadership-level decision-making.
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of project control processes, with a focus on simplification, consistency, and transparency.
• Become a key user of the internal project management tool used to calculate and present margin performance.
• Provide ad-hoc support to project teams and leadership in relation to margin analysis, performance tracking, and reporting.

Skills & Experience

• Experience in project financials, ideally within a technology, engineering, or consultancy environment.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret financial data and communicate insights clearly to non-finance stakeholders.
• Experience supporting or driving process improvement and standardization initiatives.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel; working knowledge of Power BI and Power Query is highly desirable.
• Comfortable working with financial data related to project revenues, costs, and margins.
• Ability to build effective working relationships with technical teams and collaborate across functions.
• Part-qualified or studying towards a financial qualification (e.g., ACA , CIMA , ACCA ) is a plus but not essential.

What we offer:

By joining us you can expect:

• Autonomy to develop and grow your skills and experience.
• Be part of exciting project work that is making a difference in society.
• Strong, inspiring and thought-provoking leadership.
• A supportive and collaborative environment.
• Competitive basic salary accompanied by an attractive bonus based on your performance.

As well as this, we offer:

• Company benefits including Private Medical Healthcare, Life Insurance and Travel Insurance.
• Pension scheme with company contributions up to 6%.
• Working Conditions: 2-3 days a week in Central London head office.
• Wellness 24/7 Confidential employee assistance programe.
• Social – Breakfast Tuesdays, Thirsty Thursdays and Pizza on the last Thursday of each month.

Any doubts?

Studies have shown that some groups of people are less likely to apply to a role unless they meet 100% of the job requirements. Whoever you are, if you like one of our jobs, we encourage you to apply as you might just be the candidate we are looking for. As an equal-opportunity employer, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected attribute. Our commitment is to provide equal opportunities, an inclusive work environment, and fairness for everyone.