Principal Cost Planner

VITA PMC SG PTE. LTD.; Singapore; On-site; SGD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Vita Partners in Singapore seeks a Principal Cost Planner, a senior commercial expert in the Project Control Management division. You will provide rigorous cost planning, estimation, and governance across the full lifecycle from feasibility to construction delivery for GMP-regulated life sciences clients.

The role requires leadership in cost planning, tender pricing, and commercial benchmarking, with responsibilities spanning procurement support, progress valuations, and cost reporting to ensure

Qualifications

• Lead the cost planning function across the business.
• Develop robust lifecycle cost plans for all project stages and pre-tender budgets.
• Prepare tender cost estimates and benchmark pricing.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Function: Drive and manage the overall cost planning function for the business.
• Lifecycle Estimates: Prepare, develop, and maintain robust cost plans across all project stages, including order-of-magnitude estimates, elemental cost plans, pre-tender budgets, and post-contract cost reports.
• Tender Pricing: Generate accurate, well-substantiated cost estimates for commercial tenders and budget calculations across life sciences projects.
• Commercial Benchmarking: Validate contractor and subcontractor pricing against market rates.
• Procurement Support: Advise on tender submissions, bid comparisons, and pre-qualification criteria.
• Works Administration: Manage works in progress with adherence to specifications and contract documents.
• Financial Tracking: Develop cash flow forecasts and cost increase estimates.
• Progress Valuations: Value monthly work progress and interim payments.
• Reporting & Analytics: Provide monthly financial statements and cost-to-complete analyses.
• Accounts & Closeout: Prepare final statements and closeout documentation.
• Dispute Resolution: Assist in dispute resolution and claims analysis.
• Change Evaluation: Lead cost management of design development and variations.
• Variation Governance: Maintain a variation register and report changes.
• Scope Optimisation: Advise on design changes to minimize cost creep.

Job description

Vita Partners is Asia-Pacific's largest pan-regional pure-play life science, innovation and R&D real estate platform, backed Australian headquartered multinational real estate company Lendlease and leading US private equity growth investor Warburg Pincus. The platform focuses on investing, acquiring, developing, constructing, managing, and operating real estate projects in fast-growing life sciences, innovation and R&D real estate markets in Asia-Pacific. The company operates within two main segments - a high-barrier-to-entry life sciences project construction management business and a specialized investment management business. Since the 2000s, the project construction management business has worked on over 200 projects in Asia-Pacific for more than 100 blue-chip life sciences and pharmaceutical companies, with many repeat clients. The investment management business currently manages ~SGD 2 billion of AUM on behalf of institutional investors, with strong aspirations for growth within the region.

Job Role

Role Overview

The Principal Cost Planner is a senior commercial subject matter expert within Vita's Project Control Management (PCM) division. This role is central to the commercial success of Vita's project delivery pipeline. It provides rigorous cost planning, estimation, and commercial governance across the full project lifecycle from early feasibility and concept design through tender, procurement, and construction delivery. Operating within Vita's EPCM framework and serving GMP-regulated life sciences, pharmaceutical, and advanced manufacturing clients, the position demands a high degree of technical precision, commercial acuity, and stakeholder leadership. The successful candidate will deliver research and in-depth analysis, acting as a subject matter expert to provide input and support into the policy, administration, collection, measurement, analysis, interpretation, portrayal, and dissemination of cost planning information. This role ensures that cost planning practices align with organisational objectives and project delivery standards.

Responsibilities

Cost Planning & Estimation

• Lead the Function: Drive and manage the overall cost planning function for the business.
• Lifecycle Estimates: Prepare, develop, and maintain robust cost plans across all project stages, including order-of-magnitude estimates, elemental cost plans, pre-tender budgets based on user requirements/design specifications, and post-contract cost reports.
• Tender Pricing: Generate accurate, well-substantiated cost estimates for commercial tenders, budget costing exercises, and tender proceedings across a broad range of life sciences and pharmaceutical project types.
• Commercial Benchmarking: Perform rigorous cost evaluations and benchmarking to validate contractor and subcontractor pricing, ensuring value for money and alignment with market rates.
• Procurement Support: Support the strategic appointment of contractors through thorough analysis of tender submissions, bid comparisons, and negotiation support. Advise on procurement strategies, contractual arrangements, and suggest tenderers alongside potential pre-qualification criteria.

Contract Administration & Cost Control

• Works Administration: Administer works in progress, ensuring strict compliance with engineering specifications, drawings, and contract documents.
• Financial Tracking: Develop construction-stage elemental cost plans, prepare project cash flow forecasts, and provide approximate estimates of future cost increases or variations.
• Progress Valuations: Value monthly work progress, assess construction compliance, and recommend appropriate interim payments for contractors and subcontractors.
• Reporting & Analytics: Provide ongoing commercial advice, monthly financial statements, and cost-to-complete analyses to maintain effective cost control during construction. Submit final cost statements and detailed cost analysis under the contract.
• Accounts & Closeout: Prepare interim and final statements of accounts, warranties, bonds, and collateral documentation. Settle final accounts with contractors/subcontractors and certify final payments.
• Dispute Resolution: Assist the project management team in dispute resolution, claims analysis, and arbitration/litigation support.

Design Change Management & Variation Control

• Change Evaluation: Lead the cost management of design development. Accurately identify, evaluate, and price design changes from initial concept and tender drawings through to final construction issue documents.
• Variation Governance: Maintain a structured variation register and ensure all scope changes or variations are captured, assessed, valued, and reported to the project management and client teams in a timely, transparent manner, accounting for material or labour fluctuations.
• Scope Optimisation: Provide proactive commercial advice during design development to minimise scope creep and optimise cost outcomes without compromising project qua