Quantity Surveyor

Vertical Recruitment Limited; Stockport; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

Vertical Recruitment Limited is helping a respected construction and property consultancy in Stockport expand its team with a Quantity Surveyor. You’ll bring around 3+ years’ experience, own a solid technical foundation and seek greater project ownership and direct client exposure.

You’ll work on a cross-sector portfolio across commercial, retail, residential and more, progressing from cost planning through final accounts, with a clear path to more senior responsibilities as you develop within a

Qualifications

• 3–5 years experience within Quantity Surveying or Cost Management.
• Good pre- and post-contract experience.
• Exposure to new-build, refurbishment and/or fit-out projects.
• Experience preparing cost plans, tenders, valuations and cost reports.
• Confidence communicating with clients, contractors and consultants.
• Good commercial awareness and attention to detail.

Responsibilities

• You’ll work across projects from early cost planning and procurement through construction and final account.
• As you get to know the client and programme, you’ll be given increasing responsibility for managing projects yourself.
• Prepare cost plans, estimates and project budgets.
• Support projects through pre- and post-contract stages.
• Prepare tender and contract documentation and manage tender processes.
• Produce regular cost reports and monitor expenditure; manage valuations, variations and change.
• Work directly with contractors, consultants and client teams; attend meetings.
• Support value engineering and commercial decision-making; manage final accounts and close-out.

Skills

Quantity Surveying

Cost management

Pre/post-contract experience

Client exposure

Education

QS degree or related

Job description

We’re working with an established independent construction and property consultancy in Stockport that is looking to add a Quantity Surveyor to its growing team. This is a particularly good opportunity for a QS with around 3+ years experience who is ready for more ownership, more direct client exposure and the chance to become an important part of a major long-term account. The consultancy has a really varied background, working across commercial, retail, hospitality, residential, industrial, education, healthcare and leisure, with projects ranging from individual developments and refurbishments through to repeat national programmes. You’ll initially have a clear focus on one of the business’s major accounts, but longer term there’s plenty of opportunity to broaden your experience across the wider portfolio.

The Opportunity

You’ll become part of the team supporting a major national operator with an ongoing development and investment programme across the UK.

There’s a strong pipeline of work, including new-build developments across the North West alongside an ongoing programme of fit-out and refurbishment projects across the North and Midlands.

The projects are relatively fast-moving, so you’ll get to see schemes through their full lifecycle rather than spending years working on one stage of a single development.

The account gives you exposure to:

• Ground-up new-build developments
• Fit-out and refurbishment programmes
• Existing estate upgrades and improvement works
• Multi-site roll-out programmes
• Projects in live operational environments
• Repeat projects delivered for an established national client

It’s a good account to develop on because you’ll get to properly understand how the client operates - their standards, commercial priorities and approach to delivery - while still having variety across individual projects and locations.

As your experience develops, there is also scope to become more involved across the consultancy’s wider portfolio.

Wider Project Exposure

Beyond this particular account, the business has experience across a genuinely broad mix of property and construction.

The wider portfolio includes large residential developments and apartment schemes, commercial property, education facilities, healthcare environments, industrial and manufacturing projects, leisure destinations, hospitality developments and nationwide retail programmes.

That can include everything from new-build development and major refurbishment through to commercial fit-out, operational estate improvements and complex projects delivered around existing occupiers.

For someone still relatively early in their QS career, that breadth is useful. You can build strong experience on a major account while still being part of a consultancy where your career doesn’t have to remain focused on one sector forever.

What You’ll Be Doing

You’ll work across projects from early cost planning and procurement through construction and final account.

As you get to know the client and programme, you’ll be given increasing responsibility for managing projects yourself rather than permanently sitting underneath a more senior QS.

Your role will include:

• Preparing cost plans, estimates and project budgets
• Supporting projects through pre- and post-contract stages
• Preparing tender and contract documentation
• Managing tender processes and reviewing contractor submissions
• Producing regular cost reports and monitoring expenditure
• Managing valuations, variations and change
• Working directly with contractors, consultants and client teams
• Attending project, site and client meetings
• Supporting value engineering and commercial decision-making
• Managing final accounts and project close-out

The client-facing side of the position is important. As you develop, you’ll increasingly become someone the client knows and trusts to manage their projects rather than simply providing QS support in the background.

What We’re Looking For

We’re looking for someone with roughly 3+ years of Quantity Surveying experience who has developed a good technical foundation and is now looking for more responsibility.

You could be coming from another consultancy or a relevant commercial environment. Previous experience in the exact same sector isn’t essential.

Ideally, you’ll have:

• Around 3-5 years experience within Quantity Surveying or Cost Management
• Good pre- and post-contract experience
• Exposure to new build, refurbishment and/or fit-out projects
• Experience preparing cost plans, tenders, valuations and cost reports
• Confidence communicating with clients, contractors and consultants
• Good commercial awareness and attention to detail
• A Quantity Surveying, Commercial Management or related degree

You don’t need to arrive knowing everything. The opportunity would particularly suit someone who has built a solid foundation but now wants greater project ownership, stronger client exposure and a clearer route to the next level.

Stockport & Travel

You’ll be based from the consultancy’s Stockport office, working alongside an experienced and close-knit team.

There will be some travel involved because of the nature of the account. New-build projects are predominantly across the North West, while the fit-out programme extends across the North and Midlands.

You’ll need to be comfortable visiting projects and meeting clients when required, but this isn’t a role built around constant travel or regularly spending several nights a week away from home.

It gives you a good mix of office-based collaboration, client contact and actually getting out to see the projects you’re commercially responsible for.

The Team & Culture

This is an established consultancy, but it has retained a smaller, hands‑on team structure.

You’ll work closely with experienced Quantity Surveyors, Project Managers and senior leadership, with access to people who have spent significant time delivering projects across different areas of the property and construction market.

There aren’t endless layers between junior staff and senior decision-makers. That means more visibility, more opportunity to ask questions and learn, and the chance to take on responsibility as soon as you’re ready for it.

The environment is professional but down‑to‑earth, with an emphasis on doing good work, building long‑term client relationships and giving people room to develop.

Where Could It Take You?

There’s great potential for this role to grow with you.

Initially, you’ll focus on getting to know the account, developing your client relationships and becoming confident managing individual projects independently.

From there, there’s scope to take on larger schemes, become more involved in the management of the wider account and gain exposure to other sectors and clients across the consultancy.

For someone at the 3+ year stage, it’s a chance to develop both sides of your career – becoming a stronger technical Quantity Surveyor while also gaining the client management, project ownership and commercial experience you’ll need to progress into more senior positions