Cost Specialist

Summary
The Cost Specialist supports the costing activities within the Operations department. This role is responsible for preparing and reviewing cost estimates for research projects, ensuring accuracy, efficiency, and compliance with company policies. This role works closely with Research teams and other Operations teams to support project planning, budgeting to ensure profitability.

This role requires the ability to effectively communicate with stakeholders and plan and manage the costing based on strict timeline and budget. To be successful in this role, you must have strong interpersonal skills, exceptional organizational and excellent attention to detail.

Responsibilities

• Prepare costing for the Research team including preparing detailed cost estimates for research projects based on project parameters, review and validate cost estimates to ensure accuracy, completion and profitability.
• Complete the cost analysis by analyzing project requirements, including identifying potential cost-saving opportunities, ensuring alignment with company policies and financial guidelines and providing insights and recommendations to the Costing Manager for cost optimization.
• Identify and suggest improvements to the costing processes and tools, assist in developing and implementing standardized costing procedures, and deployment and integration of costing tools and process.
• Guide, and train the Research Teams on costing tool, costing processes, decisions and requirements to ensure client satisfaction

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, or a related field.
• Minimum of 5 years' experience project management.
• Minimum of 5 years' experience in Operations side of Market Research
• Minimum of 1 years' experience using finance software and using MS Excel in analytic, finance and reporting.

Skills

• Excellent interpersonal skills: Ability to manage relationships with internal clients and people within department units.
• Strong cost management skills: To analyse, plan, allocate, manage costs on all projects in effort to support project profitability within a strict timeline and budget.
• Exceptional attention to detail and analytical skills: With high degree of accuracy, analyse project specs to provide accurate cost to clients ensuring project profitability.
• A problem-solving mindset: Anticipate potential costing discrepancy, with the ability to proactively provide an appropriate and rapid recommendation to internal client.