Senior Cost Manager - Manufacturing / Data Center Construction

Turner & Townsend; Philadelphia (Philadelphia County); On-site; USD 140,000 - 175,000; Full time

Job summary

Turner & Townsend in the US seeks an experienced Senior Cost Manager to lead estimating, cost planning, and change control across manufacturing, industrial, and data center projects.

You will present cost plans to stakeholders, review vendor costs, and mentor team members while maintaining SOX controls and delivering value for clients. On-site presence is required and flexibility may be needed to meet client needs.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in construction management, cost management, quantity surveying, engineering, or related field.
• 5–7 years of relevant experience in cost management in the construction industry.
• RICS accreditation preferred or in progress.
• Experience leading cost management on medium to large-scale construction projects.
• Construction consultancy experience preferred.
• Knowledge of procurement routes, value management, value engineering, and industrial construction delivery methodologies.
• On-site presence requirements may vary by client needs.

Responsibilities

• Lead estimating, cost planning, and change order management throughout the construction lifecycle on complex manufacturing, industrial, and data center projects.
• Prepare and present cost plans, estimates, and budget updates across multiple project phases.
• Review and collaborate with design teams, contractors, suppliers, subcontractors, and equipment vendors on project costs.
• Reconcile cost changes and contractor submissions with current project conditions.
• Interface with owners, project managers, and contractors for status updates and executive reporting.
• Support engineering, design, and procurement decisions through cost analysis and value engineering.

Skills

Cost management

Estimating

Value engineering

Change management

Budgeting

Education

Bachelor’s degree in construction management or related field

Job description

Senior Cost Manager - Manufacturing / Data Center Construction

• Full-time

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 programs as we turn challenge into opportunity and complexity into success.

Our capabilities include program, 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 program, project and cost management offering in markets around the world.

Turner & Townsend is seeking an experienced Senior Cost Manager and/or Senior Quantity Surveyor to join our New York City team. This individual will act as the key day-to-day client interface, ensuring client objectives are achieved through the delivery of value-added cost management services across large-scale industrial, manufacturing, and mission-critical construction projects, including advanced manufacturing facilities and data center developments.

To be successful in this role, you must have excellent communication skills and be comfortable operating in a client-facing environment. The ideal candidate will be self-motivated, driven, and able to work both independently and as part of a team. In this role, you will provide leadership and direction while embedding and promoting the purpose, values, and vision of Turner & Townsend.

Responsibilities:

• Lead estimating, cost planning, and change order management throughout the construction lifecycle on complex manufacturing, industrial, and data center projects.
• Prepare and present cost plans, estimates, and budget updates across multiple project phases, ensuring alignment with project scope, technical requirements, and operational objectives.
• Review and collaborate with design teams, contractors, suppliers, subcontractors, and equipment vendors in the development and validation of project costs.
• Reconcile cost changes and contractor submissions, ensuring accuracy and consistency with current project conditions.
• Interface regularly with owners, project managers, and contractors to gather project status information and provide cost estimate updates and executive-level reporting.
• Support engineering, design, and procurement decisions through cost analysis, value engineering, constructability reviews, and design optioneering exercises.
• Manage cost checks, valuations, contingency tracking, commitment logs, and cost impact assessments throughout all stages of project delivery.
• Administer post-contract cost control, change management, cost auditing, and validation processes across multiple contracts and work packages.
• Review contractor and subcontractor pricing, support commercial negotiations, and ensure fair and competitive project outcomes on behalf of the client.
• Produce monthly cost reports highlighting key risks, trends, forecasts, opportunities, and recommendations for client stakeholders.
• Ensure final account negotiations and closeout activities are completed accurately and in a timely manner.
• Compile and analyze historical cost data and benchmarking information across industrial, manufacturing, and mission-critical project portfolios.
• Mentor and develop team members while providing leadership, technical guidance, and high-quality service delivery.
• Utilize internal systems to manage financial performance, including fee forecasts, resource planning, project margins, and reporting requirements.
• Implement and maintain business management systems, delivery methodologies, and governance processes while supporting a collaborative, high-performing team culture.
• SOX control responsibilities may be part of this role and must be adhered to where applicable.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in construction management, cost management, quantity surveying, engineering, or related field.
• Minimum 5–7 years of relevant experience working in a cost management role in the construction industry, with experience supporting manufacturing, industrial, data center, mission-critical, or highly technical projects preferred.
• RICS accredited or working towards it is preferred.
• Experience leading cost management on medium to large-scale construction projects, ideally within manufacturing, industrial, mission-critical, semiconductor, life sciences, or data center environments.
• Construction consultancy experience is strongly preferred.
• Good knowledge of construction industry technical matters, including procurement routes, value management, value engineering, and industrial construction delivery methodologies.
• *On-site presence and requirements may change depending on our client's needs.

The base salary range for this role is $140K-$175K USD. This range reflects the company's good faith estimate of the base salary for this position at the time of the posting. Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, skills, qualifications, and internal equity. In addition to base salary, employees may be eligible for bonuses and a comprehensive benefits package.

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.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.