Strategic Cost Manager | Quantity Surveyor - Construction

Turner & Townsend; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Turner & Townsend is seeking an experienced Cost Manager / Quantity Surveyor to join our Chicago team and deliver cost management services on complex construction projects and programs. You will manage vendor prequalifications, prepare estimates, review costs, and drive value engineering and risk assessments for clients across real estate and infrastructure sectors.

The role emphasizes proactive cost control, stakeholder collaboration, and delivering successful project outcomes throughout the

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in construction management, cost management, quantity surveying, engineering or field related to construction.
• Minimum 3-5 years of relevant experience working in a cost management role in the construction industry.
• RICS accredited or working towards it is valuable.
• Experience supporting cost management on medium or large sized construction projects.
• Construction consultancy experience is strongly preferred.
• Good knowledge of construction industry technical matters, such as different procurement routes, value management, and value engineering.

Responsibilities

• Advising client on strategies, managing prequalification of vendors, assessing proposals, bids, and bid leveling documents, making final recommendations to the client, attending and chairing bid interviews, and managing appointment process.
• Manage estimating services for full project by developing project estimates (relating to construction, fees, direct work and other costs), reviewing estimations prepared by junior team members, presenting estimates to client, presenting value engineering recommendations and risk assessments to client, meeting with vendors to review, validate, and challenge costs, and reviewing estimates by utilizing benchmark data collected from other projects.
• Manage cost reporting by establishing reporting schedule, reviewing and presenting cost reports and forecasts, reviewing project budget and spend forecast with the client, developing and maintaining commercial risk register, and hosting periodic meetings with project team and vendors.
• Manage cost control process by reviewing payment application assessments prepared by junior team members, liaising with project managers to recommend contractor entitlements, reviewing requests for change orders from vendors and making recommendations to client, and using dispute prevention/management/resolution procedures to manage payment requisitions, change orders, and contractual disputes.
• Manage and monitor invoicing process.
• Benchmark performance against other successful commissions.
• Manage all facets of the final accounting process and post contract audits and account close outs.
• Hold post-contract reviews with the client to establish a lesson learned document and apply lessons to create training manual.
• Develop procedures governing handover of project.
• Perform all the duties above through the use/preparation of Bid Analysis Sheets, Change Control Forms, Cost Estimating Software, and Take-off Software.
• SOX control responsibilities may be part of this role, which are to be adhered to where applicable.

Skills

Cost management

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in construction management or related field

RICS accreditation in progress (valuable)

Job description

Turner & Townsend is seeking an experienced Cost Manager / Quantity Surveyor to join our Chicago team and deliver cost management services on complex construction projects and programs. You will manage vendor prequalifications, prepare estimates, review costs, and drive value engineering and risk assessments for clients across real estate and infrastructure sectors.

The role emphasizes proactive cost control, stakeholder collaboration, and delivering successful project outcomes throughout the