Senior Cost Manager

Turner & Townsend; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Turner & Townsend is seeking a Senior Cost Manager to join our expanding team supporting major water and infrastructure programmes. The role requires on site presence in Peterborough three days per week and involves cost planning, estimation, forecasting, and commercial management across a diverse project portfolio.

You will work across contractual delivery models, ensuring governance, risk management, and value optimisation while maintaining safety and quality standards.

Qualifications

• Extensive cost management experience across infrastructure projects.
• Proven ability to lead cost workstreams and develop Cost Managers.
• Experience with NEC contracts and procurement processes.
• Strong governance and reporting discipline across programmes.

Responsibilities

• Own cost planning, estimating, forecasting and cost control across major water/infrastructure projects.
• Manage change control, commercial reporting and contract administration.
• Collaborate with clients, contractors and delivery partners to optimise value.
• Lead risk management and opportunities to improve project outcomes.

Skills

Cost management

Client-facing

NEC contracts

Cost planning and estimation

Forecasting

Stakeholder management

Contract administration

Education

Quantity Surveying or Cost Management

MRICS preferred

Job description

About Turner & Townsend

Turner & Townsend is a global professional services company with over 22,000 people in more than 60 countries.

Working with our clients across real estate, infrastructure, energy and natural resources, we transform together delivering outcomes that improve people’s lives. Working in partnership makes it possible to deliver the world’s most impactful projects and programmes as we turn challenge into opportunity and complexity into success.

Our capabilities include programme, project, cost, asset and commercial management, controls and performance, procurement and supply chain, net zero and digital solutions.

We are majority-owned by CBRE Group, Inc., the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm, with our partners holding a significant minority interest. Turner & Townsend and CBRE work together to provide clients with the premier programme, project and cost management offering in markets around the world.

Job Description

We have exciting opportunities for Senior Cost Managers to join our expanding team. Due to continued growth across the UK water, wastewater and infrastructure sectors, we are seeking experienced Senior Cost Managers to support the successful delivery of major programmes and projects. The role requires on site presence in Peterborough x3 days per week.

As a Senior Cost Manager, you will be independently responsible for cost and commercial management across a diverse pipeline of major water and infrastructure projects and programmes, from inception through to completion. Working across a range of contractual and collaborative delivery models, you will be responsible for cost planning, estimating, forecasting, cost control, change control, commercial reporting and contract administration, while proactively managing risk and identifying opportunities to optimise value. You will work collaboratively with clients, contractors and delivery partners to achieve financial, commercial and successful project outcomes while maintaining the highest standards of safety, quality and performance.

The successful candidate will be comfortable operating in a regulated environment, managing competing priorities and working collaboratively across multiple stakeholders. A strong focus on governance, programme controls, safety and delivery excellence is essential.

Senior Cost Managers at Turner & Townsend

• Minimum of 5 years' experience within the infrastructure, engineering, or construction industry, with a proven track record of delivering complex projects and programmes in a client-facing environment
• Strong teamworking and leadership skills, with the ability to manage cost management workstreams and supervise and support the development of Cost Managers within multidisciplinary project teams in a complex environment
• Ability to review and assure work produced by Cost Managers, checking its accuracy, completeness and compliance with project requirements
• Demonstrable experience in the successful delivery of major programmes, managing complex stakeholder environments, multidisciplinary teams, significant budgets, and strategic project objectives
• Strong interpersonal and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to work effectively with clients, contractors, multidisciplinary teams and key project interfaces
• Strong experience of providing cost and commercial management services across major infrastructure projects throughout the project lifecycle
• Experience developing and maintaining cost plans, estimates, budgets and cost baselines, with the ability to provide robust cost forecasts and advice to support informed decision-making
• Experience in cost control, earned value or performance monitoring, financial reporting, including challenging cost information and assumptions from the project teams and contractors. Ability to identify trends and variances and recommend corrective action
• Experience managing procurement activities, including preparation of tender documentation, tender evaluation and commercial negotiations
• Strong working knowledge and practical experience of NEC contracts, including the administration, management and successful delivery of projects under NEC frameworks, with an ability to proactively manage risk, programme, compensation events and stakeholder relationships
• Demonstrates a strong understanding of operating within a consultancy environment, acting as a trusted advisor to clients while maintaining independence from both client and supplier organisations, and balancing multiple stakeholder needs to achieve successful project outcomes
• Experience administering contracts and independently resolving moderately complex cost and contractual matters, providing clients with informed advice and escalating matters beyond delegated authority where appropriate
• Experience managing valuations, variations and final accounts
• Experience taking ownership of cost reporting for assigned projects or workstreams and contributing to programme or portfolio-level reporting where required
• Ability to take responsibility for the quality and compliance of cost management outputs within assigned projects or workstreams
• Promote safe delivery and compliance with project governance requirements, with an appropriate understanding of health, safety and wellbeing principles, including CDM

Qualifications

Experience:

• Experience within the water, utilities or environmental sectors
• Experience working across a range of delivery models with exposure to programme or portfolio delivery and transformation management activities
• Familiarity with public sector organisations, non‑departmental or arm’s length bodies relevant to infrastructure

Qualifications:

• Relevant qualification in Quantity Surveying or Cost Management or equivalent professional experience
• MRICS qualified or equivalent professional qualification preferred

Additional Information

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.

Please find out more about us at www.turnerandtownsend.com/

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

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It is strictly against Turner & Townsend policy for candidates to pay any fee in relation to our recruitment process. No recruitment agency working with Turner & Townsend will ask candidates to pay a fee at any time.

Any unsolicited resumes/CVs submitted through our website or to Turner & Townsend personal e-mail accounts, are considered property of Turner & Townsend and are not subject to payment of agency fees. In order to be an authorised Recruitment Agency/Search Firm for Turner & Townsend, there must be a formal written agreement in place and the agency must be invited, by the Recruitment Team, to submit candidates for review.