Senior Cost Manager / Quantity Surveyor - Life Sciences Construction

Turner & Townsend•Charlottesville, VA

About The Position

Turner & Townsend is seeking an experienced Senior Cost Manager / Quantity Surveyor to support the delivery of complex life sciences construction projects, including manufacturing, laboratory, R&D, and related capital projects. The role serves as a key day-to-day client interface and delivers value-added cost management to help achieve client objectives. It requires excellent communication and stakeholder-management skills, comfort in a client-facing environment, self-motivation, and the ability to work independently while collaborating with multidisciplinary teams. The position provides leadership and direction while promoting Turner & Townsend’s purpose, values, and vision. The role covers cost planning and estimating through design and construction, commercial input to design and value engineering, contractor pricing and negotiations, quantity surveying, cost controls, change management, cost auditing, valuations, reporting, and final-account agreement. It also includes financial and commission management, use of internal business systems and delivery methodologies, and coaching and mentoring colleagues. On-site presence and requirements may change depending on client needs.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in construction management, cost management, quantity surveying, engineering, or a construction-related field.
At least 5–7 years of relevant experience in a construction-industry cost management role.
Experience leading cost management on medium- or large-sized construction projects of medium to high complexity.
Good knowledge of construction-industry technical matters, including procurement routes, value management, and value engineering.
Excellent communication skills.

Nice To Haves

RICS accreditation or progress toward it.
Construction consultancy experience.

Responsibilities

Estimate and negotiate change orders throughout the construction lifecycle.
Provide estimating and cost planning, including producing and presenting final cost plans.
Review and participate with the design services team and general contractor in developing cost estimates.
Reconcile changes and help ensure general contractor data is accurate.
Communicate or meet with the general contractor and project owner or manager to gather status information and prepare cost estimate updates.
Prepare written comments on general contractor submissions, including executive summaries.
Coordinate cost information from sources including NPA, subcontractors, quantities, and architects and engineers for cost discussions.
Inform and drive engineering priorities based on cost impact.
Work proactively with minimal supervision to resolve scheduling issues.
Manage cost checks and valuations on larger projects, completing them accurately and on time.
Participate in post-contract cost variance and change-control processes.
Manage cost impact, contingency management, and commitment-tracking logs.
Prepare funding data presentations and coordinate value-engineering sessions with stakeholders.
Develop cost plans and estimates through the design phase and deliver updates at appropriate design milestones.
Provide commercial input to design optioneering and value-engineering exercises.
Review contractor and subcontractor pricing and lead negotiations on the client’s behalf to achieve fair contract prices.
Perform quantity surveying, cost controls, and change management throughout the project lifecycle.
Ensure cost auditing and valuation are managed effectively and that robust cost-validation processes are in place.
Produce monthly cost reports for presentation to the client.
Negotiate and agree final accounts in a timely manner.
Compile built-cost estimate records for benchmarking.
Identify, coach, and mentor talent and celebrate others’ success.
Provide leadership and service delivery on commissions in line with appointment conditions.
Use internal software to track commission margin levels and monthly fee and resource forecasts, and prepare financial reports.
Implement and maintain internal Business Management Systems, delivery methodologies, and tools to support consistent best-practice delivery.
Model a one-business culture that balances the needs of employees, clients, stakeholders, and society.
Adhere to applicable SOX control responsibilities.