Cost & Commercial Analyst - Soft Services & Security

JLL; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading global provider of real estate services is seeking a skilled Cost & Commercial Analyst in Birmingham. This role focuses on managing costs for facilities services, ensuring invoice accuracy, and driving cost efficiencies. Ideal candidates will possess at least 3 years of relevant experience and strong analytical skills, with proficiency in Microsoft Excel. The position offers opportunities for personal and professional growth in a dynamic environment.

Qualifications

• At least 3 years’ experience managing costs in facilities management or construction.
• Strong analytical ability and attention to detail.
• Fluent English language skills.

Responsibilities

• Oversee facilities management invoice validation and cost assurance of invoices from suppliers.
• Manage collaborative partnering relationships with clients and suppliers.
• Support cost efficiencies and savings initiatives.

Skills

Numerical acumen

Analytical ability

Problem solving

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft PowerPoint

Education

Bachelor’s degree in legal / business / quantity surveying

Job description

JLL empowers you to shape a brighter way.

Our people at JLL and JLL Technologies are shaping the future of real estate for a better world by combining world class services, advisory and technology for our clients. We are committed to hiring the best, most talented people and empowering them to thrive, grow meaningful careers and to find a place where they belong. Whether you’ve got deep experience in commercial real estate, skilled trades or technology, or you’re looking to apply your relevant experience to a new industry, join our team as we help shape a brighter way forward.

JLL supports the Whole You, personally and professionally.

Our people at JLL are shaping the future of real estate for a better world by combining world class services, advisory and technology to our clients. We are committed to hiring the best, most talented people in our industry; and we support them through professional growth, flexibility, and personalized benefits to manage life in and outside of work. Whether you’ve got deep experience in commercial real estate, skilled trades, and technology, or you’re looking to apply your relevant experience to a new industry, we empower you to shape a brighter way forward so you can thrive professionally and personally.

We are looking for a Cost & Commercial Analyst – Facilities Management for our Work Dynamics business line.

UK (ideally West Midlands but this is not essential)

Candidate could work remotely with periodic travel to client sites and / or JLL offices

Role Purpose

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Cost & Commercial Audit Analyst to join JLL’s Work Dynamics business in a specific client account.

The Cost & Commercial Audit Analyst will oversee facilities management invoice validation and cost assurance of the invoices received from the client’s suppliers and will lead and support the client’s drive to achieve cost efficiencies and savings across its FM services. The role will support internal and external benchmarking of FM services costs vs the wider market and will help in providing periodic client reporting on FM services supplier costs and commercials.must obtain SC clearance for permanency in role.

What this job involves

Collaborative Stakeholder Relationships

• Develop and manage collaborative partnering relationships with the client, the client’s appointed suppliers, the departments occupying the client’s sites, JLL’s account team and other internal colleagues across the wider JLL business
• Work closely with the client’s suppliers to help them resolve commercial challenges
• Share commercial best practice across the client’s suppliers to improve the overall commercial service the client receives

• Lead collaboration workshops and process review sessions to unlock potential cost saving opportunities, identify added commercial value and innovation across all the client’s suppliers, helping to maximise the commercial benefits the client sees from its supplier partners
• Tapping into the client’s digital platform to foster data-based decision-making with the client and client’s suppliers

Commercial & Cost Audit

• Manage the commercial assurance process for validating the costs and best value approach from the client’s suppliers for chargeable works
• Validation of the monthly payment amounts due to the suppliers, including:

• 10% audit and verification of chargeable reactive repairs
• 10% audit and verification check of planned work
• 10% audit and verification of amounts due for other work

• 10% audit and verification of other amounts to be paid or retained
• 100% audit of any adjustments resulting from suppliers’ failure to meet contracted KPI scores
• 100% value for money check on Task Orders issued by the client’s suppliers, providing a recommendation to the client on acceptance / rejection

• Provide a monthly consolidated pack of commercial, audit and invoice validation information, flagging items where payment may be disputed with the suppliers in advance of certification of invoices for payment
• Track disputed invoice items to resolution with the suppliers, ensuring they provide the required documents, certificates, cost breakdowns etc.

• Retrospectively review payments to suppliers to account for building audit findings and ensure the client has accurately paid for works completed. Manage discrepancies to resolution with the client and suppliers.
• Validate supplier fixed & variable fee invoice accuracy, based on a 10% sample check, including:

• Penalty / incentive amounts vs performance & KPI outcomes
• Calculation of invoice line item costs
• Correct cost code/GL code/cost centre allocation

• Accuracy of other splits (e.g. VAT)
• Completeness of accompanying backup information to confirm invoices are accurate and should be certified for payment

Savings

• Manage and support work with the client and client’s suppliers to find cost efficiencies and savings, (ie. real terms net spend reduction from the agreed baseline)
• Record, evaluate and analyse the operational, KPI cost impact on cost efficiencies and savings initiatives
• Accurately and fairly attribute cost efficiencies and savings to the most suitable party within the delivery chain
• Manage tracking, proof and sign-off of cost efficiencies and savings
• Manage process to verify any gain-share payments for suppliers

• Chair a monthly cost efficiency and savings proposal review meeting with the client and client’s suppliers, to evaluate and attribute savings proposals
• Report annually on all cost efficiency and savings proposals

Benchmarking

• Measure and report on relative commercial performance and value for money being delivered across the client’s suppliers, including regular benchmarking of suppliers against one another
• Support “internal” benchmarking across the client’s suppliers, summarise findings and present a relative ranking of comparable suppliers on core service contract pricing and additional chargeable works
• Support “external” benchmarking which provides the client with an understanding of:

• How contract pricing structures from its suppliers compare with the wider market
• Examples where the client may not be gaining best value for money from its supplier contracts, based on comparisons with the wider market

Other Reporting

• Support management reporting which shows cost of services across the client’s estate, with information for each service including monthly cost, Y.T.D cost, monthly cost vs budget and Y.T.D cost vs budget etc.

Sound like you?

To apply you need to be able to demonstrate the following skills and experience:

• At least 3 years’ experience managing costs in facilities management or construction
• Excellent numerical, commercial and financial acumen.
• Strong analytical ability and attention to detail.

• Excellent problem solving
• Ability to manage multiple work assignments simultaneously and manage multiple or conflicting priorities
• Fluent English language skills.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills

• Strong Microsoft Powerpoint skills
• Candidate must demonstrate personal impact and gravitas, with high velocity & speed of response and a proactive, 'can-do' attitude
• Positive, solution-oriented communications with a willingness to take responsibility and a talent for getting thigs done

The following skills and experience, although not required, are preferred

• Preferred – Bachelor’s degree in legal / business / quantity surveying degree
• Pursuing qualification or pursuing the MRICS facilities management qualification
• Experience in hard services or in use construction

This is a role for someone who is experienced and is able to contribute as a professional advisor.

The role is contingent upon the successful candidate receiving SC clearance.

#LI-JA1

Location:

On-site –Birmingham, GBR

If this job description resonates with you, we encourage you to apply, even if you don’t meet all the requirements. We’re interested in getting to know you and what you bring to the table! If you require any changes to the application process, please email [e-mail] or call [phone] to contact one of our team members to discuss how to best support you throughout the process. Please note, the contact details provided are to discuss or request for adjustments to be made to the hiring process. Please direct any other general recruiting inquiries to our Contact Us page > I want to work for JLL.

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