{"id":180283,"date":"2025-10-09T16:14:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T14:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/?post_type=news&p=180283"},"modified":"2025-10-14T18:32:59","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T16:32:59","slug":"senior-cost-manager-job-cecile-fourquemin","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/en\/news\/senior-cost-manager-job-cecile-fourquemin\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside the role of a Senior Cost Manager by C\u00e9cile Fourquemin, I\u00c9SEG graduate"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A graduate of I\u00c9SEG\u2019s Grande \u00c9cole Program<\/a>, C\u00e9cile has been working for nearly ten years in the field of Project and Program Cost Management. Today, she is a Senior Cost Manager, balancing budget oversight, risk anticipation, and critical thinking, she supports large-scale projects. She tells us about her day-to-day work at AstraZeneca in Dunkirk.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can you tell us about your job?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

My current position is Senior Cost Manager. Broadly speaking, I oversee the budgetary and financial aspects of capital investment projects (CAPEX). For example, I\u2019m currently working on an expansion project for a production site at AstraZeneca in Dunkirk, where inhalers for asthma patients are manufactured. It\u2019s a new construction project that includes additional production lines, a fully automated high-bay storage facility, and a new logistics area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My role as Senior Cost Manager is cross-functional: I work closely with engineers, as well as project and program directors. On large-scale projects, everyone has their specific role, and all functions collaborate toward the same goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other words, what does your job involve?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

My job is to make sure a project\u2019s initial budget isn\u2019t exceeded and to manage day-to-day spending over several years. For some projects, we\u2019re also responsible for establishing that initial budget. In practice, I monitor costs and raise the alarm whenever I identify a risk of overspending \u2014 what we call \u201cmanaging cost at completion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To give a simple example: if someone tells me they want to add three extra doors to a room that weren\u2019t in the original plan, that means more money. Sometimes I\u2019ll discuss with the project manager to determine whether that expense is really necessary. Part of my job is to challenge changes to the project scope to help limit additional costs. It\u2019s essential to keep a critical mindset and ensure financial resources are used wisely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In what sectors can this job be done, and what types of projects do you work on?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This role exists across all industries and around the world \u2014 anywhere projects are large enough to require dedicated cost management resources. Examples include pharmaceuticals, defense, IT, real estate (office buildings, hotels, etc.), and infrastructure (bridges, metros, highways\u2026).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My work can apply to any kind of project, but personally, I love what we call \u201cmega-projects\u201d \u2014 those with budgets exceeding one billion euros. Their sheer scale requires a more robust management structure, and the complexity of activities \u2014 from contractual and legal negotiations to reporting systems and client requirement management \u2014 adds a whole new dimension to cost management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How has your work evolved since you started nearly ten years ago?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

After almost a decade in the field, my responsibilities have expanded. Today, my role includes a much more contractual dimension. I consult peers to exchange perspectives rather than just receiving instructions, and I also train junior colleagues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At first, my job was limited to tracking a budget, controlling expenses, and alerting my manager if needed. With experience, you develop a broader vision and deeper expertise, which lets you contribute to related areas \u2014 since the role is so cross-functional. You start helping other teams by bringing a fresh perspective. To sum it up: our job is to monitor, assess, negotiate, and challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does a typical day or week look like for you?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s no typical day or week actually\u2014 it’s more like a typical month. Each month starts with financial close. We make sure that the expenses recorded in the system accurately reflect the real activities performed on the project. That part is quite financial and accounting-focused. Then comes the monthly reporting. On my current project (around \u20ac100 million), that takes one to two days. On larger projects, it can take up to ten.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reporting means explaining cost variations: why we spent more or less than expected, whether an activity is delayed, if a contract wasn\u2019t signed on time, and so on. It\u2019s about giving a clear picture of the current situation and anticipating potential overruns. Whenever new information comes in, we adjust cost forecasts. If an activity is delayed, we update the projected spending and provide our project manager with an updated financial view. We must always be able to answer the question, \u201cWhere do we stand?\u201d<\/em> That requires continuous tracking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did you become a Senior Cost Manager?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

After graduating from I\u00c9SEG, I was lucky to do my final internship at AstraZeneca\u2019s Dunkirk production site \u2014 where I now work again. During that six-month internship, I discovered this job, which I\u2019d never heard of before. I stumbled into it by chance\u2026 and I loved it so much that I never left!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This career doesn\u2019t necessarily require deep financial or accounting expertise. You need some basic knowledge, of course, but the core of the job is cost and project management. What really matters is the ability to coordinate, negotiate, work in teams, manage resources, and sometimes mediate. These are all skills we developed extensively at I\u00c9SEG.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are the main challenges of your job?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d say the biggest challenge is being able to challenge others \u2014 the people you work with. That\u2019s not always easy, especially when you don\u2019t have an engineering background. You need to be curious enough to understand the topics and the people you\u2019re collaborating with, in order to maintain constructive communication despite differences in opinion or objectives across project functions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few years ago, I might have belived a colleague if they told me a change wouldn\u2019t cost anything. Today, with experience, I\u2019ve learned to ask the right questions. That comes with time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A graduate of I\u00c9SEG\u2019s Grande \u00c9cole Program, C\u00e9cile has been working for nearly ten years in the field of Project and Program Cost Management. Today, she is a Senior Cost […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":180277,"menu_order":0,"template":"","news-category":[180],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSenior Cost Manager: a job explained by C\u00e9cile, I\u00c9SEG graduate<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Senior Cost Manager: C\u00e9cile Fourquemin, an I\u00c9SEG graduate, explains her job that she's been practicing for nearly 10 years.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/en\/news\/senior-cost-manager-job-cecile-fourquemin\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Senior Cost Manager: a job explained by C\u00e9cile, I\u00c9SEG graduate\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Senior Cost Manager: C\u00e9cile Fourquemin, an I\u00c9SEG graduate, 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