Associate Director/ Project Director - Quantity Surveyor Defence

Turner-; Birmingham; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Job summary

Turner & Townsend is seeking an Associate Director/Project Director - Quantity Surveyor for Defence. The role focuses on end-to-end cost management, procurement, and client liaison on major defence projects, with hybrid working and a strong emphasis on responsibility and leadership.

The candidate will oversee cost planning, value engineering, reporting, and team leadership while developing new business with existing and new clients in a Defence context.

Qualifications

• Experience in defence or related infrastructure projects is preferred.
• Chartered status or degree-level education preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to manage complex cost models and estimates.

Responsibilities

• Act as Commission Manager delivering end-to-end cost management on large/complex commissions.
• Interface with client to ensure delivery of value-added cost management.
• Manage estimating, cost planning, procurement, and post-contract cost variances.
• Produce monthly post-contract cost reports and present to client.
• Lead cost management team and develop new business opportunities.
• Improve cost management procedures, templates and products.

Skills

Cost management

Value engineering

Client interface

MS Excel

Cost reporting

Education

Estimating/Quantity Surveying/Cost Engineering qualification

Tools

Estimating software

Microsoft Office Suite

Job description

Associate Director/ Project Director - Quantity Surveyor Defence

• Full-time
• Department: Defence

Important: Before applying, due to the sensitive nature of these projects, you must be a SOLE UK National who is able to achieve and maintain UK MoD Security Clearance (SC). See Security Clearance Section.

At Turner & Townsend, we’re passionate about making the difference. That means delivering better outcomes for our clients, helping our people to realise their potential, and doing our part to create a prosperous society. Every day, we help our major global clients deliver ambitious and highly technical projects in over 110 offices worldwide.

Turner & Townsend within the UK has a wide range of key clients in various sectors, including Health, Local Authorities, Higher Education, Highways, Utilities, Rail, and Defence. Our diverse portfolio of clients provides our team members with unique and rewarding opportunities to gain experience across a broad range of major programmes and projects.

Turner & Townsend are a key Tier 1 supplier of project and programme management services to the Ministry of Defence and strategic Defence suppliers in the UK. We play a crucial role in supporting the defence of the United Kingdom, whilst ensuring our clients achieve better outcomes

Join a Team Where Your Perspective Matters

At Turner & Townsend, you’ll benefit from strong professional development and international exposure, as well as comprehensive health and well-being support. Employees also frequently highlight our positive work–life balance and the flexibility offered through hybrid working opportunities.

We know that diverse teams deliver better outcomes — and we actively welcome people of all identities, backgrounds, and career journeys. If you’re looking for a place where your voice is valued, your potential is supported, and your work has real impact, we’d love to meet you.

Our Cost Centre, Programme Performance, combines practical transformation delivery with project insight to help organisations make better decisions, manage uncertainty, and deliver consistent programme performance. Our service offerings span across Defence, including in the regulated environment.

We are actively looking to expand the team due to client requirements and have talented individuals join us who will support our broad client portfolio, whilst further developing their career, working on a range of complex and challenging commissions.

MAIN PURPOSE OF THE ROLE:

You will be a AD/PD Quantity Surveyor within our Defence business working on a variety of client and Turner & Townsend projects and initiatives.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES:

The AD/PD performs the role of the Commission Manager, taking responsibility for end-to-end service delivery, often with respect to large or complex commissions.

To act as the key, day to day client interface, ensuring that client objectives are met through the delivery of a value-added cost management service.

Commission Management, to include:

Conducting feasibility studies and writing procurement reports

Applying Value Management techniques at the outset of a project and where appropriate involving Turner & Townsend’s specialist Value Management team

Managing estimating and cost planning activities to include taking ownership of and presenting the final cost plan

Managing the procurement process, ensuring that all stages including pre-qualification, enquiry, analysis, selection and contract preparation are performed effectively

Ensuring that post-contract cost variances and change control processes are managed effectively

Ensuring that cost checking and valuation work is managed effectively

Ensuring the production of monthly post-contract cost reports and presenting them to the client

Value engineering and life cycle costing

Ensuring that final accounts are negotiated and agreed

Taking a lead role in interfacing with the client and other consultants, at all project stages

Where appropriate, leading a cost management team, ensuring that they deliver on all of the above accountabilities.

Taking responsibility for developing new business opportunities with existing and new Turner & Townsend clients

Identifying and acting upon cross-selling opportunities

Working with Directors to construct bids for new work

Identifying and acting upon opportunities to improve cost management procedures, templates and products and hence improve the service provided to clients

Staff management (where appropriate) – Inputting into the formal management of Senior Cost Managers and Assistant Cost Managers or small cost management team, to include 2ndround recruitment interviews, input into resource management and attendance at junior staff appraisals

Knowledge management

Internal capability development, building Defence Estimating, Quantity Surveying or Cost Engineering experience

Qualification in Estimating, Quantity Surveying or Cost Engineering

Experience of working in the Infrastructure (Rail, air, power, highways) sector

Demonstrable and proven experience in:

Compilation, assurance and delivery of complex estimates and cost models

Working within an integrated Project Controls team

Single-sourced, non-competed public procurement

Excellent and flexible skills in Microsoft Office Suite (MS Excel, Work, PowerPoint)

Strong written and verbal communication skills with experience of working in a client-facing environment

Preferred:

Membership of a relevant professional body with chartered status and/or educated to degree level

Experience of working in the Defence sector

Experience in early-stage estimating in complex / major Infrastructure programmes

Familiarity with industry-standard estimating software packages

Working in teams/ Office & Site attendance:

Turner & Townsend recognises the importance of helping its employees harmonise their work and home life by offering hybrid working, that enable them to balance their working life with other priorities. At the same time T&T recognises that employee office and site attendance must always remain in line with the demands of the business and clients. Currently, we anticipate you being on client sites or Turner & Townsend offices 60% of your time, but this may flex depending on client and business requirements. The office is not the onlyplace work gets done, but it is increasingly important for teams to be stronger togetherby learning, collaborating, and creating amazing work together

Security Clearance

Important: Before applying, due to the sensitive nature of these projects, you must be a SOLE UK National who is able to achieve and maintain UK MoD Security Clearance (SC).
Many of the clients and projects we support are subject to MoD security clearance and Trade Control restrictions. This means that your eligibility for certain roles may be affected by your place of birth, nationality, time out of country, current or former citizenship, and any residency you hold or have held. Further details are available at United Kingdom Security Vetting: clearance levels - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Values & Behaviours:

• The successful candidate will demonstrate behaviours that are consistent with the T&T Value and Behaviours Model

Love a challenge

• We love a challenge and we work hard to make change happen and see things through. We don’t stand still, challenging ourselves and others to do better every day. And we are trusted to do the right thing, raising standards all the time.

Stronger together

• We’re stronger together by connecting people in diverse teams, so that we can all collaborate to deliver our best work. We focus on what matters and use our influence to build a better world for everyone.

Bring out the best in everyone

• Our inspired people share our vision and mission. We provide a great place to work, where each person has the opportunity and voice to affect change.
• We want our people to succeed both in work and life. To support this we promote a healthy, productive and flexible working environment that respects work-life balance.

Turner & Townsend is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees and actively encourage applications from all sectors of the community.

SOX control responsibilities may be part of this role, which are to be adhered to where applicable.

Join our social media conversations for more information about Turner & Townsend and our exciting future projects:

SOX control responsibilities may be part of this role, which are to be adhered to where applicable.