Principal Quantity Surveyor

Thames Water Utilities Limited; Reading; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading utilities company in the UK is seeking a Principal Quantity Surveyor to join their team. In this role, you will manage a team of Quantity Surveyors, ensuring effective cost management and procurement processes. The ideal candidate will hold a degree in quantity surveying, be chartered with MRICs, and have experience in civil engineering. The position offers a competitive salary and various benefits including annual leave and private medical care.

Benefits

Car Allowance

Annual Bonus

Private Medical Health Care

26 days holiday per year

Qualifications

• Experience in both pre & post-contract quantity surveying duties.
• Background in civil engineering, such as transportation or utilities.
• Competence in line managing a small team.

Responsibilities

• Manage a team of Quantity Surveyors and ensure output delivery.
• Ensure cost management against the budget and highlight challenges.
• Support procurement through engagement with Suppliers and Contractors.

Skills

Strong communication and negotiation skills

Team management

Stakeholder engagement

Education

Degree or master's in quantity surveying

Chartered with MRICs

Job description

What you’ll be doing as a Principal Quantity Surveyor

• Working closely with the Managing Quantity Surveyor, managing a team of Quantity Surveyors, and ensuring they deliver their outputs.
• Ensure cost management against the budget, highlighting commercial challenges early, including managing and reporting on contingency/risk.
• Manage the cost estimating process using our Estimating Team; understand Business Plan budgets; validate the project's estimated cost and check its affordability against the Business Plan; provide insight and advice into estimates.
• Supporting procurement by ensuring Suppliers and Contractors are engaged under the most appropriate Terms & Conditions. Provide commercial support during the procurement of the main contract, including assisting in preparing tender documents, undertaking commercial evaluation, benchmarking, and negotiating tenders.
• Ensure contracts are administered according to the terms and conditions and act as the first escalation point should any challenges occur.
• Work with the finance department to ensure all financial systems are updated to time, cost, and quality; help identify non-performance and implement corrective action.
• Ensure we always maintain financial governance and provide expert input to financial and contract governance proposals.
• Support the management and optimisation of budgets and spending on your portfolio of contracts.
• As the senior member of the commercial team, provide commercial advice and guidance to others.

Role Location: This role will be based at Clearwater Court on a hybrid basis. Depending on business needs, you must work on-site and in the office 2-3 days a week.

What you should bring to the role

• Hold a degree or a master’s in quantity surveying and to be chartered with MRICs.
• I have a background in working in the civil engineering sector, such as transportation, nuclear, utilities, or similar fields.
• Be competent in line managing a small team and developing them for success.
• Experience in both pre & post-contract quantity surveying duties.
• Strong communication and negotiation skills are crucial, as well as the ability to bring numerous stakeholders together to bring project opportunities to fruition.

What’s in it for you?

• Competitive salary from £70,000 to £80,000 per annum.
• Annual Leave -26 days holiday per year, increasing to 30 with the length of service (plus bank holidays).
• Car Allowance of £5.8k.
• Annual Bonus.
• Private Medical Health Care.
• Access to lots of benefits to help you take care of you and your family’s health and wellbeing, and your finances – from annual health MOTs and access to physiotherapy and counselling, to Cycle to Work schemes, shopping vouchers and life assurance.

We’re the UK’s largest water and wastewater company, with more than 16 million customers relying on us every day to supply water for their taps and toilets. We want to build a better future for all, helping our customers, communities, people, and the planet to thrive. It’s a big job and we’ve got a long way to go, so we need help from passionate and skilled people, committed to making a difference and getting us to where we want to be in the years and decades to come.

Thames Water is a unique, rewarding, and diverse place to work, where every day you can make a difference, yet no day is the same. As part of our family, you’ll enjoy meaningful career opportunities, flexible working arrangements and excellent benefits.

If you’re looking for a sustainable and successful career where you can make a daily difference to millions of people’s lives while helping to protect the world of water for future generations, we’ll be here to support you every step of the way. Together, we can build a better future for our customers, our region, and our planet.

Real purpose, real support, real opportunities. Come and join the Thames Water family. Why choose us? Learn more.

We’re committed to being a great, diverse, and inclusive place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and want to ensure you feel supported throughout the recruitment process. If you need any adjustments, whether that’s extra time, accessible formats, or anything else just let us know, we’re here to help and support.

When a crisis happens, we all rally around to support our customers. As part of Team Thames, you’ll have the opportunity to sign up to support our customers on the frontline as an ambassador. Full training will be given for what is undoubtedly an incredibly rewarding experience. It’s also a great opportunity to learn more about our business and meet colleagues.

Disclaimer: due to the high volume of applications we receive, we may close the advert earlier than the advertised date, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.