Senior Cost Manager / Quantity Surveyor - Data Center Construction

Turnertownsend; Richmond (VA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Turner Townsend in Virginia seeks an experienced Senior Cost Manager to act as the key day-to-day client interface, delivering cost management across a large-scale data centre programme.

This role emphasizes change management, cost control, and commercial governance, with strong collaboration across design teams, general contractors, and project teams to ensure accurate cost reporting and informed decision-making.

Qualifications

• Bachelor degree in Quantity Surveying, Construction Management, Engineering, or related field.
• 5–7+ years cost management on medium to large construction programmes.
• Strong knowledge of budgeting, cost-control systems, and Earned Value Management (EVM).
• RICS accreditation advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage change management processes across the programme.
• Review, evaluate, and negotiate change orders throughout the construction lifecycle.
• Maintain change logs, contingency tracking, and commitment registers.
• Provide cost planning, estimating, and final cost plans.
• Prepare monthly cost reports and support final account closeout.

Skills

Cost management

Project controls

Change management

Stakeholder management

Earned Value Management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Quantity Surveying/Construction Management/Engineering or related field

Tools

MS Office

Cost management tools

Job description

Turner & Townsend are looking for an experienced Senior Cost Manager to act as the key day-to-day client interface, delivering cost management services across a large-scale data centre programme. This role will have a strong emphasis on change management, cost control, and commercial governance, ensuring that all project changes are effectively evaluated, managed, and communicated throughout the construction lifecycle within a fast-paced, high-volume programme environment.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage change management processes across the programme, ensuring all changes are properly identified, evaluated, documented, and approved.
• Review, evaluate, and negotiate change orders throughout the construction lifecycle, ensuring commercial alignment and cost transparency.
• Maintain and manage change logs, contingency tracking, and commitment registers, providing clear visibility into cost impacts.
• Establish and enforce change control procedures and governance frameworks across multiple projects within the campus.
• Provide detailed cost analysis and recommendations to support client decision-making on change events.
• Support dispute avoidance and resolution through strong commercial oversight and documentation of changes.
• Provide cost planning and estimating, including producing and presenting final cost plans.
• Review and participate with the design team and general contractor in developing cost estimates.
• Reconcile changes and validate contractor cost data to ensure accuracy and completeness.
• Communicate with the general contractor and project team to gather updates and support cost reporting.
• Prepare written comments on contractor submissions, including executive summaries.
• Coordinate cost inputs from subcontractors, suppliers, and design teams.
• Inform and help drive construction priorities based on cost and change impact.
• Work proactively to resolve cost, scope, and scheduling conflicts.
• Manage cost checks and carry out valuations on complex projects.
• Lead post-contract cost variance analysis and ensure adherence to change control processes.
• Prepare funding updates and support value engineering sessions, particularly in response to change drivers.
• Develop cost plans through design and provide updates at key milestones.
• Review contractor pricing and support negotiations to ensure fair and commercially sound outcomes.
• Ensure cost auditing, validation, and reporting processes are consistently applied.
• Produce monthly cost reports with clear visibility into change activity, risks, and forecast impacts.
• Support final account closeout, ensuring all changes are fully agreed and reconciled.
• Maintain cost benchmarking data and programme records to support future forecasting and decision-making.
• Mentor team members and promote best practices in change management and cost control.
• Manage financial tracking, forecasting, and reporting for commissions.
• Support internal systems, governance processes, and company delivery methodologies.
• SOX control responsibilities may be part of this role, which are to be adhered to where applicable.

Qualifications

• Regular onsite presence is required.
• Bachelor's degree in Quantity Surveying, Construction Management, Engineering, or related field.
• 5-7+ years of cost management or project controls experience on medium‑to large‑scale construction programmes.
• Mission‑critical, industrial, or large campus‑scale experience preferred.
• Consultancy experience strongly preferred.
• Strong understanding of civil, structural, and MEP construction.
• Advanced knowledge of budgeting, financial reporting, cost‑control systems, and Earned Value Management (EVM).
• Proven experience managing full change‑management processes on major construction programmes.
• Strong cost‑focused project controls background, including forecasting and variance analysis.
• Ability to interpret schedules and assess cost impacts across phases and trades.
• Expertise in procurement strategy and commercial contract management.
• RICS accreditation (or progress toward certification) is advantageous.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and stakeholder‑management skills.
• Strong analytical abilities and attention to detail.
• Proficiency with industry‑standard cost management tools and Microsoft Office.

*On-site presence and requirements may change depending on our client's needs.

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 r