Senior Cost Manager - Manufacturing / Data Center Construction

About the role

Turner & Townsend is seeking an experienced Senior Cost Manager and/or Senior Quantity Surveyor to join our New York City team. This individual will act as the key day-to-day client interface, ensuring client objectives are achieved through the delivery of value-added cost management services across large-scale industrial, manufacturing, and mission-critical construction projects, including advanced manufacturing facilities and data center developments.

To be successful in this role, you must have excellent communication skills and be comfortable operating in a client-facing environment. The ideal candidate will be self-motivated, driven, and able to work both independently and as part of a team. In this role, you will provide leadership and direction while embedding and promoting the purpose, values, and vision of Turner & Townsend.

Responsibilities

• Lead estimating, cost planning, and change order management throughout the construction lifecycle on complex manufacturing, industrial, and data center projects.
• Prepare and present cost plans, estimates, and budget updates across multiple project phases, ensuring alignment with project scope, technical requirements, and operational objectives.
• Review and collaborate with design teams, contractors, suppliers, subcontractors, and equipment vendors in the development and validation of project costs.
• Reconcile cost changes and contractor submissions, ensuring accuracy and consistency with current project conditions.
• Interface regularly with owners, project managers, and contractors to gather project status information and provide cost estimate updates and executive-level reporting.
• Support engineering, design, and procurement decisions through cost analysis, value engineering, constructability reviews, and design optioneering exercises.
• Manage cost checks, valuations, contingency tracking, commitment logs, and cost impact assessments throughout all stages of project delivery.
• Administer post-contract cost control, change management, cost auditing, and validation processes across multiple contracts and work packages.
• Review contractor and subcontractor pricing, support commercial negotiations, and ensure fair and competitive project outcomes on behalf of the client.
• Produce monthly cost reports highlighting key risks, trends, forecasts, opportunities, and recommendations for client stakeholders.
• Ensure final account negotiations and closeout activities are completed accurately and in a timely manner.
• Compile and analyze historical cost data and benchmarking information across industrial, manufacturing, and mission-critical project portfolios.
• Mentor and develop team members while providing leadership, technical guidance, and high-quality service delivery.
• Utilize internal systems to manage financial performance, including fee forecasts, resource planning, project margins, and reporting requirements.
• Implement and maintain business management systems, delivery methodologies, and governance processes while supporting a collaborative, high-performing team culture.
• SOX control responsibilities may be part of this role and must be adhered to where applicable.

Qualifications & Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in construction management, cost management, quantity surveying, engineering, or related field.
• Minimum 5-7 years of relevant experience working in a cost management role in the construction industry, with experience supporting manufacturing, industrial, data center, mission-critical, or highly technical projects preferred.
• RICS accredited or working towards it is preferred.
• Experience leading cost management on medium to large-scale construction projects, ideally within manufacturing, industrial, mission-critical, semiconductor, life sciences, or data center environments.
• Construction consultancy experience is strongly preferred.
• Good knowledge of construction industry technical matters, including procurement routes, value management, value engineering, and industrial construction delivery methodologies.
• Excellent communication skills.

Additional Information

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

The base salary range for this role is $140K-$175K 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.

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 respects work-life balance.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

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It is strictly against Turner & Townsend policy for candidates to pay any fee in relation to our recruitment process. No recruitment agency working with Turner & Townsend will ask candidates to pay a fee at any time.

Any unsolicited resumes/CVs submitted through our website or to Turner & Townsend personal e-mail accounts, are considered property of Turner & Townsend and are not subject to payment of agency fees. In order to be an authorised Recruitment Agency/Search Firm for Turner & Townsend, there must be a formal written agreement in place and the agency must be invited, by the Recruitment Team, to submit candidates for review.