Senior Cost Manager / Quantity Surveyor - Life Sciences Construction

Turner & Townsend • Boston, MA

10d • Onsite

About The Position

Turner & Townsend is seeking an experienced Senior Cost Manager and/or Quantity Surveyor to serve as the primary client contact, ensuring client objectives are met by delivering a value-added cost management service for complex life sciences projects. This role involves supporting 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. Success in this role requires excellent communication skills, comfort in a client-facing capacity, and the ability to be self-motivated, driven, and work both independently and as part of a team.

Requirements

• 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 leading cost management on medium to large, complex construction projects.
• Strong knowledge of procurement routes, value management, and value engineering.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.

Nice To Haves

• Experience supporting laboratory, pharmaceutical, or life sciences construction projects is preferred.
• RICS accredited or working toward accreditation is preferred.
• Construction consultancy experience strongly 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 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.

Benefits

• A great place to work, where each person has the opportunity and voice to affect change.
• Support for success in work and life.
• Promotion of a healthy, productive and flexible working environment that respects work-life balance.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior