Data Centre Insights Lead North Asia

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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 programmes 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.

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1. Introduction & Background:

Turner & Townsend is a global professional services company specializing in programme management, project management, cost and commercial management, and advisory across the real estate, infrastructure, and natural resources sectors. Within our rapidly growing data centre business, the North Asia region presents significant opportunities and dynamic market conditions. To enhance our strategic positioning, client advisory, and business development efforts, we are establishing a dedicated market intelligence function focused on the data centre sector in North Asia. This role will be pivotal in gathering, analyzing, generating actionable insights, and disseminating market-critical information – including specific construction data – to internal stakeholders and clients.

2. Position Objectives:

The primary objective of this position is to develop and maintain a comprehensive understanding of the data centre market landscape across North Asia (e.g., Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and mainland China as appropriate). This includes tracking market trends, competitor activities, new developments, demand drivers, regulatory changes, emerging technologies, and crucially, collecting and analyzing construction-specific data such as costs, lead times, and resource availability from each key market. The aim is to proactively translate these combined insights into actionable recommendations and timely market updates for strategic advantage and client engagement. The intelligence gathered will support strategic decision-making, enhance service delivery, inform cost management practices, identify new business opportunities, and position Turner & Townsend as a thought leader.

3. Reporting Structure:

This position will report to the Head of Data Centres, North Asia.

4. Scope of Work:

The individual will be responsible for the following key areas:

• 4.1. Data collection & collation:
  • Systematically gather data from diverse sources including, but not limited to: industry publications, market research reports, financial analysts' reports, government agencies, public disclosures, industry events, networking, and internal Turner & Townsend sources (including cost management and project management teams).
  • Specifically focus on collecting detailed construction-related data for data centre projects within each North Asian market. This includes, but is not limited to:
    • construction cost benchmarks (e.g., per MW, per sqm/sqft for shell & core, fit-out).
    • key material and equipment lead times.
    • labour rates and productivity trends.
    • availability of specialist contractors and labour.
    • local permitting and regulatory impacts on construction timelines and costs.
  • Develop and maintain a centralized repository/database for all collected market intelligence data, including the specific construction data, for the North Asia data centre market.
  • Monitor key players in the market, including investors, developers, operators, contractors, and major supply chain vendors, noting their impact on construction capacity and pricing.
• 4.2. Market analysis & insight generation:
  • Analyze collected data (including general market data and specific construction data) to identify key trends, market sizing, growth forecasts, risk factors, and opportunities within the North Asia data centre sector.
  • Develop specific insights and benchmarking related to data centre construction costs and timelines across North Asian markets.
  • Act as the primary point of contact and thought leader for North Asia data centre market intelligence, including construction intelligence, within Turner & Townsend.
  • Develop and produce regular market intelligence reports and insight briefings (e.g., monthly, quarterly) for regional leadership and relevant business units. These reports should include:
    • market overview and key developments.
    • competitor landscape analysis (strategies, market share, new projects).
    • pipeline of new data centre projects and expansions.
    • analysis of demand drivers (cloud adoption, AI, IoT, 5G).
    • detailed analysis of key cost and construction trends impacting the sector in the region, drawing from the collected construction-specific data.
    • regulatory and policy changes affecting data centre development and operation.
  • Prepare ad-hoc reports and presentations on specific market segments, geographies, or topics as required, focusing on delivering actionable insights, particularly around construction costs and scheduling.
  • Proactively identify and rapidly analyze significant market events (e.g., major investments, M&A, regulatory shifts, technological breakthroughs, supply chain disruptions affecting construction) to produce timely "Breaking News" style white papers or concise briefings suitable for client dissemination.
  • Develop and maintain dashboards for visualizing key market indicators and insights, including construction cost and lead time trends.
  • Monitor and track inflation for material, labour and equipment costs to assess how inflation affects project budgets and timelines. Using insight gained provide forecasts for future inflation with the industry.
• 4.3. Industry event tracking & engagement:
  • Identify and track all significant data centre, construction (particularly those focused on cost and project delivery), and relevant technology industry events within North Asia and globally.
  • Attend key industry events to gather intelligence, identify emerging trends (including in construction methods, materials, and procurement), and network with industry professionals as well as present and participate in round tables at such events.
  • Summarize key takeaways and strategic implications from attended events, and identify content suitable for external "Breaking News" briefings.
• 4.4. Stakeholder collaboration & advisory:
  • Work closely with the Head of Data Centres for North Asia, regional business development teams, cost management teams, project management teams, and marketing teams to understand their intelligence needs (especially regarding construction data) and provide relevant support.
  • Proactively provide data-driven insights and strategic advice, including construction cost and schedule implications, to the Head of Data Centres for North Asia and other key stakeholders.
  • Present findings and insights to internal stakeholders in a clear, concise, and actionable manner.
  • Support the development of client-facing materials with relevant market and construction intelligence, including contributing to thought leadership content.

5. Key Deliverables:

• Comprehensive North Asia data centre market intelligence database/repository, with detailed construction data sections.
• Regular market intelligence reports and insight briefings, incorporating detailed construction cost and trend analysis.
• Competitor analysis reports with strategic implications.
• Project pipeline tracker for new data centre developments, including insight into development likelihood and timelines.
• Specific reports or database modules on North Asia data centre construction cost benchmarks and lead time analysis.
• Industry event calendar and post-event strategic summaries.
• Ad-hoc research reports and presentations delivering targeted insights, particularly on construction-related queries.
• Timely ad-hoc "Breaking News" style white papers/briefings on significant market events, including those impacting construction.
• Contributions of market and construction insights to client-facing presentations and proposals.
• Development and maintenance of market insight dashboards, including construction-specific KPIs.

• Proven experience a market research, market intelligence, business analysis, strategic consulting, insights, quantity surveying, or construction cost management role.
• Significant exposure to and understanding of the construction sector is essential, ideally with experience in data centres or other complex industrial/technical facilities. Direct experience with construction cost intelligence, estimating, or market analysis for construction is highly desirable.
• Strong analytical and critical thinking skills with the ability to rapidly synthesize complex information (including technical construction data) from diverse sources into clear, accurate, and actionable insights.
• Excellent research skills and familiarity with various data sources, research methodologies, and intelligence gathering techniques, including those specific to construction cost and market data.
• Proficiency in data analysis and visualization tools (e.g., Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint; experience with Power BI, Tableau, or other BI tools is highly desirable). Familiarity with construction cost databases would be a plus.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with a proven ability to craft compelling narratives, concise summaries, and present insights effectively to senior stakeholders and clients. Ability to write engagingly for different audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently, take initiative, manage multiple priorities under tight deadlines, and consistently meet them.
• Deep understanding of the North Asia business environment and cultural nuances.
• Fluency in English is essential. Proficiency in other North Asian languages (e.g., Japanese, Korean, Mandarin) would be a significant advantage.
• Strong networking, influencing, and interpersonal skills.

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