Manager, Project Accounting – Accounting

Alberta Blue Cross® is an Alberta based organization dedicated to delivering exceptional customer experience and community leadership. We’re committed to providing the best health coverage to over 1.8 million members and take an active role in promoting wellness. We believe in what we do—and place trust in our employees to deliver our vision.

Working at Alberta Blue Cross® means having a career where you’ll be recognized for your contributions. We value diversity, encourage our team members to maintain a healthy work-life balance and provide opportunities for career growth.

OVERVIEW:

The Manager, Project Accounting, is accountable for establishing, governing, and continuously improving the organization’s project accounting function, while also directly executing and overseeing day-to-day project accounting activities and reporting. This role ensures that projects are set up, tracked, reported, and closed in a consistent, well-controlled, and auditable manner, while providing hands-on financial management and reliable insight to project teams throughout the project lifecycle.

This role acts as the primary bridge between Finance and the Enterprise Project Management Office (EPMO), translating project activity into accurate financial reporting and ensuring alignment between project budgets, multi-year spend, and corporate fiscal plans. The role is hands-on, outcome-driven, and includes building and leading the project accounting function.

In this hybrid role, you will be required to commute to either the Edmonton and or Calgary office.

WHAT YOU WILL DO:

Project Accounting Framework & Governance

• Define and maintain project accounting standards, including:

  • What constitutes a project for financial reporting purposes.

  • Project lifecycle financial requirements (initiation, execution, close-out).

  • Capital vs. expense treatment and asset identification.

• Establish and enforce governance, controls, and approval requirements related to:

  • Project setup and changes.

  • Budget management and forecasting.

  • Capitalization of project costs.

  • Project dashboards and reporting.

• Serve as the finance authority on project accounting policies and practices.

Systems & Process Optimization

• Own the effective use of the project accounting module within the ERP.

• Partner with Finance Systems Analysts to drive continuous improvement and automation through system and process enhancements.

Financial Reporting, Execution & Reconciliation

• Perform and oversee core project accounting activities, including project setup, cost tracking, capitalization, and close-out.

• Perform and oversee month end activities related to projects and business assets.

• Produce and own:

  • Monthly project financial reporting that reconciles to the general ledger and financial statements.

  • Quarterly project reporting for leadership.

• Ensure project budgets, forecasts, and actuals are:

  • Reconciled to corporate fiscal year budgets.

  • Consistent with approved business cases.

• Investigate and resolve variances, ensuring transparency and accountability.

• Partner with FP&A to bridge project forecasts to corporate budgets and forecasts.

Business Partnering & Enablement

• Act as a trusted advisor to:

  • Project managers.

  • EPMO leadership.

  • Business sponsors.

• Support the development of project business cases and budgets.

• Provide guidance, tools, and templates to enable strong financial management of projects.

• Balance financial discipline with practical delivery needs.

People Leadership & Capability Building

• Provide oversight and direction to project accounting team members.

• Lead the delivery of project accounting work while developing team capability over time.

• Develop scalable processes and documentation to support growth.

• Build the foundation for a dedicated project accounting function.

• Champion process improvements and change initiatives.

WHAT YOU WILL HAVE:

• CPA or equivalent accounting designation.

• 8+ years of progressive experience, with 4+ years in a leadership capacity, in accounting or finance with direct involvement in project accounting, transformation initiatives, and financial planning & analysis.

• Experience with full cycle accounting and reconciliation processes.

• Strong understanding of:

  • Capital project accounting.

  • IFRS as it relates to asset capitalization.

  • Budgeting and forecasting for multi-year initiatives.

• Experience with ERP project accounting modules is an asset.

• Proven ability to build processes, governance, and reporting from the ground up.

• Comfortable influencing across functions without direct authority.

Key Attributes for Success

• Strong judgment and willingness to challenge the status quo.

• Pragmatic, solutions-oriented mindset.

• Able to operate independently and drive outcomes.

• Collaborative communicator who can bridge Finance and EPMO.

• Comfortable moving between strategy and hands-on execution.

Alberta Blue Cross® is an inclusive employer committed to a workplace that reflects the diversity of the communities we serve. We empower and are advocates for our team members by welcoming, respecting and valuing their unique perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences.

We offer the opportunity to work in an innovative, high-energy team-focused environment. If you have the qualifications we are looking for, apply online at careers.ab.bluecross.ca