Senior Cost Manager / Quantity Surveyor - Life Sciences Construction

Turner & Townsend; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 165,000; Full time

Job summary

Turner & Townsend is seeking a Senior Cost Manager/Quantity Surveyor in Boston, Massachusetts. The candidate will manage cost services for complex life sciences projects, ensuring client objectives are met. The role requires strong communication skills and a self-motivated attitude to thrive in a client-facing position.

Successful applicants should have a bachelor's degree in construction management or related fields, and significant experience in construction cost management. The offered salary ranges from $140K to $165K USD.

Qualifications

• 5–7 years of relevant experience in construction cost management.
• Experience supporting laboratory, pharmaceutical, or life sciences construction projects is preferred.
• RICS accredited or working toward accreditation is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Estimating and negotiating change orders throughout the construction lifecycle.
• Provide estimate and cost planning, including producing and presenting final cost plans.
• Review and participate with design teams in developing cost estimates for lab, R&D, and office projects.

Skills

Communication skills

Cost management

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor's degree in construction management, cost management, quantity surveying, engineering, or related field

Tools

Cost management software

Job description

Senior Cost Manager / Quantity Surveyor - Life Sciences Construction

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 programme 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.

Turner & Townsend are looking for an experienced Senior Cost Manager and/or Quantity Surveyor to act as the key, day‑to‑day client interface, ensuring that client objectives are met through the delivery of a value‑added cost management service across complex life sciences projects. This role supports a portfolio of laboratory, R&D, and office developments, including new builds, expansions, and renovations within established biotech and pharmaceutical environments in major innovation hubs.

To be successful in this role you must have great communication skills and be comfortable operating in a client‑facing role. The ideal candidate will be self‑motivated, driven and able to work independently as well as part of a team.

Responsibilities

• Estimating and negotiating change orders throughout the construction lifecycle.
• Provide estimate and cost planning, including producing and presenting final cost plans.
• Review and participate with design teams and general contractors in developing cost estimates for lab, R&D, and office fit‑out projects.
• Reconcile changes and assist contractors to ensure cost data accuracy.
• Communicate with contractors and owner project managers to gather status updates for cost reporting.
• Prepare written comments on contractor submissions, including executive summaries.
• Coordinate all sources of cost information, including suppliers, subcontractors, and design teams.
• Inform and drive engineering and design decisions based on cost impact.
• Work proactively with minimal supervision to resolve scheduling and cost issues.
• Manage cost checks and carry out valuations on medium to large‑scale projects.
• Participate in post‑contract cost variance and change control processes.
• Manage cost impact, contingency tracking, and commitment logs.
• Support funding data presentations and coordinate value engineering sessions.
• Develop cost plans through design phases, delivering updates at key milestones.
• Provide commercial input into design optioneering and value engineering exercises.
• Review contractor and subcontractor pricing and lead negotiations on behalf of the client.
• Perform quantity surveying, cost controls, and change management activities throughout the project lifecycle.
• Ensure cost validation, auditing, and valuation processes are robust and maintained.
• Produce monthly cost reports for client presentation.
• Ensure timely negotiation and agreement of final accounts.
• Compile as‑built cost data for benchmarking across similar laboratory and life sciences developments.
• Support delivery across projects involving laboratory build‑outs, R&D facility expansions, and campus‑style developments.
• Identify, coach, and mentor team members to realize their potential and celebrate success.
• Demonstrate strong leadership and high‑quality service delivery aligned with project objectives.
• Manage financial tracking, fee forecasts, and resource planning using internal systems.
• Implement and maintain consistent use of internal processes and best practices.
• Act as a role model contributing to a collaborative, high‑performing team culture.
• SOX control responsibilities may be part of this role, which are to 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 in construction cost management.
• Experience supporting laboratory, pharmaceutical, or life sciences construction projects is preferred.
• RICS accredited or working toward accreditation is preferred.
• Experience leading cost management on medium to large, complex construction projects.
• Construction consultancy experience strongly preferred.
• Strong knowledge of procurement routes, value management, and value engineering.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.

The base salary range for this role is $140K-$165K 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.

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.