Projects Cost Consultant

Arcadis; Devon and Torbay; Hybrid; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

Arcadis in Cornwall seeks a Project Cost Consultant/Quantity Surveyor to deliver cost and commercial management for local government projects. You will support the capital programme across housing, schools, regeneration and coastal resilience within a multi-disciplinary team and contribute to achieving budget, time and quality targets.

This role offers hybrid working and opportunities to mentor junior staff while applying CostX and standard project tools to drive commercial excellence across

Qualifications

• Proven experience in cost management or Quantity Surveying on medium-sized projects.
• Experience in residential, public sector or local government projects is desirable.
• Ability to manage projects from inception to completion with clear reporting.

Responsibilities

• Lead cost planning, estimating and value engineering for medium-sized projects.
• Prepare and review Bills of Quantities, interim valuations, and cost reports.
• Manage multiple assignments ensuring budgets and timescales are met.
• Provide commercial advice and lifecycle costing to inform decisions.
• Identify and escalate risks to senior managers to avoid delays.
• Mentor and coach junior QS staff to raise capabilities.

Skills

Cost management

Quantity Surveying

Leadership

Stakeholder engagement

Mentoring

Education

Quantity Surveying degree

MRICS (desirable)

CSCS card holder

Tools

CostX

Project management tools

Job description

Arcadis is the world's leading company delivering sustainable design, engineering, and consultancy solutions for natural and built assets.

We are more than 34,000 people, in over 30 countries, dedicated to improving quality of life. Everyone has an important role to play. With the power of many curious minds, together we can solve the world’s most complex challenges and deliver more impact together.

Role Description

Join our Cornwall team as a Project Cost Consultant/Quantity Surveyor delivering cost and commercial management services for medium-scale local government projects under the Built Environment Professional Services Framework with Cornwall Council. You will support the capital programme across sectors such as housing, schools, regeneration and coastal resilience, working within a multi-disciplinary team to ensure projects meet budget, time and quality targets. This role combines technical cost control, stakeholder engagement and mentoring, with the opportunity to influence local outcomes and enjoy hybrid working suited to Cornwall’s lifestyle.

Role Accountabilities

• Lead cost planning, estimating and value engineering for medium-sized projects through RIBA stages, owning key elements of the cost programme.
• Prepare and review Bills of Quantities, interim valuations, cost reports, change control records and tender documentation.
• Manage multiple assignments or significant components of larger projects, ensuring efficient resource use and delivery within agreed budgets and timescales.
• Provide commercial advice, risk analysis and lifecycle costing to support client decision-making.
• Identify, escalates and help resolve project risks or issues promptly to senior managers to avoid programme impact.
• Mentor and coach junior QS staff, sharing technical knowledge to raise team capability and service quality.
• Analyse project and market data to identify trends and present clear recommendations for cost and process improvements.
• Maintain compliance with Arcadis quality assurance protocols and sector-specific regulations and standards.
• Build and maintain strong client and stakeholder relationships to ensure satisfaction and support business development opportunities.

Qualifications & Experience

• Proven experience in cost management or Quantity Surveying, ideally delivering residential, public sector or local government projects.
• Experience working within multi-disciplinary teams and on frameworks preferred.
• Competent user of measurement software (e.g., CostX) and common commercial/project management tools.
• Demonstrable ability to manage projects from inception to completion and to produce clear, commercially-focused reports and advice.
• Strong leadership and mentoring experience, with a record of developing junior staff.
• Relevant degree or equivalent in Quantity Surveying, Construction Management or related discipline.
• MRICS (or working towards) highly desirable.
• CSCS card holder.

Why Arcadis?

We can only achieve our goals when everyone is empowered to be their best. We believe everyone's contribution matters. It’s why we are pioneering a skills-based approach, where you can harness your unique experience and expertise to carve your career path and maximize the impact we can make together.

You’ll do meaningful work, and no matter what role, you’ll be helping to deliver sustainable solutions for a more prosperous planet. Make your mark, on your career, your colleagues, your clients, your life and the world around you.

Together, we can create a lasting legacy. Join Arcadis. Create a Legacy.

Our Commitment to Equality, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging

We want you to be able to bring your best self to work every day which is why we take equality and inclusion seriously and hold ourselves to account for our actions. Our ambition is to be an employer of choice and provide a great place to work for all our people. We believe that by working together diverse people with different experiences develop the most innovative ideas. Equality, diversity and inclusion is at the heart of how we improve quality of life and we work closely with our people across six ED&I Workstreams: Age, Disability, Faith, Gender, LGBT+ and Race. A diverse and skilled workforce is essential to our success.