Senior QS (Defence)

Senior Quantity Surveyor

Site-based in Barrow-in-Furness
Permanent, full-time
Circa £75,000 per annum, with flexibility for an exceptional candidate

Additional package including daily travel to and from site fully reimbursed, all reasonable expenses covered, private healthcare and a 4% employer pension contribution. Overnight accommodation options are also being considered.

Winsearch is proud to partner with a long-established specialist contractor looking to appoint an MRICS-qualified Senior Quantity Surveyor to support a major, long-term construction programme in Barrow-in-Furness.

The initial programme is expected to run for approximately six years, with further projects being pursued as part of the contractor’s plans to establish a substantial long-term presence in the area.

This is a senior, site-based commercial role requiring recent NEC contract experience and an advanced understanding of project costing. The successful candidate will take ownership of compensation events, project changes, cost build-ups and inflation or deflation adjustments across high-value packages.

The Role

You’ll lead the commercial management of roofing, cladding and associated construction packages across a large, highly regulated operational site.

The wider programme includes new-build and remediation works across storage facilities, specialist industrial buildings, hangar-style structures and supporting buildings. Packages will include several roofing and cladding systems, technically complex interfaces and some masonry solutions.

Reporting to senior commercial leadership, you’ll work closely with project teams, subcontractors, consultants and client representatives to maintain commercial control throughout procurement and delivery.

What You’ll Be Doing

Leading the commercial management of high-value construction packages
Preparing and agreeing commercial strategies
Administering NEC contracts and maintaining compliance with contractual timescales
Managing early warnings, project changes and compensation events
Producing detailed and properly substantiated compensation-event quotations
Assessing labour, plant, material, programme and access implications
Reviewing and validating estimates, cost build-ups and subcontractor pricing
Calculating and evidencing inflation and deflation adjustments
Managing subcontract procurement from enquiry through to appointment
Preparing and issuing Invitations to Tender
Negotiating subcontractor and supplier terms
Producing forecasts, cost reports and commercial updates
Managing valuations, applications for payment and subcontractor accounts
Monitoring committed costs, liabilities and anticipated final outcomes
Identifying commercial risks and recovery opportunities
Supporting dispute avoidance and contractual assurance
Maintaining accurate records to support commercial entitlement
Negotiating variations and final accounts
Liaising with the client, consultants, supply chain and internal teams
Mentoring junior commercial staff where required

What They’re Looking For

MRICS qualification
Significant experience as a Senior Quantity Surveyor or Commercial Manager
Strong and recent NEC contract experience
Detailed knowledge of early warnings, notices and compensation events
Strong project-costing and cost-build-up experience
Proven ability to price and negotiate high-value compensation events
Experience costing project changes and variations
Practical experience managing inflation and deflation within project costs
Commercial responsibility for high-value construction projects or packages
Background with a main contractor or specialist subcontractor
Strong subcontract procurement and negotiation experience
Ability to review and challenge estimates and commercial assumptions
Strong forecasting, reporting and cost-control capability
Confidence dealing with senior client and project stakeholders
Ability to operate independently within a site-based commercial role
Experience within roofing, cladding, waterproofing or the wider building envelope would be useful, but senior commercial capability and recent NEC experience are more important.

Experience within defence, nuclear, energy, infrastructure, industrial or similarly regulated environments would also be beneficial.

Qualifications

Essential

MRICS
Degree in Quantity Surveying or a closely related discipline
Recent and practical NEC contract experience
Full UK driving licence
Eligibility to obtain the required security clearance

Desirable

Existing or previous security clearance
Experience on major defence or infrastructure programmes
Roofing, cladding or building-envelope commercial experience
Experience mentoring junior Quantity Surveyors

Security Requirements

Due to the nature of the project, candidates must be eligible to obtain SC clearance.

Sole UK nationality is required for clearance eligibility. The appointment process will include the required identity, employment, residency and security checks.

About You

You’ll be commercially sharp, contractually confident and comfortable taking ownership of complex commercial matters.

The contractor needs someone who can assess the true cost of project change rather than simply process instructions. You should be able to build a detailed commercial position covering labour, materials, plant, access, programme effects and inflation or deflation.

You’ll need to remain close to project delivery, maintain accurate records and challenge commercial assumptions constructively. Strong relationships will be important, but you must also be confident protecting contractual entitlement and project margin.

How Success Will Be Measured

Commercial performance of assigned packages
Quality and accuracy of compensation-event pricing
Effective management of NEC timescales and processes
Control of project changes and contractual entitlement
Reliability of cost reports and forecasts
Accuracy of inflation and deflation assessments
Subcontract procurement outcomes
Cash-flow and margin performance
Timely agreement of variations and final accounts
Quality of client and supply-chain relationships

What’s In It For You

Circa £75,000 salary, with flexibility for an exceptional candidate
Daily travel to and from site fully reimbursed
All reasonable business expenses covered
Overnight accommodation options currently being considered
25 days’ annual leave plus statutory bank holidays
£200 annual loyalty payment
Additional half-day leave for your birthday
Corporate private healthcare
4% employer pension contribution
Senior responsibility on an initial six-year programme
Potential involvement in further long-term regional projects
Direct exposure to senior commercial leadership
Opportunity to manage varied and technically demanding packages
If you’re an MRICS-qualified Senior Quantity Surveyor with strong recent NEC experience and advanced project-costing capability, contact Winsearch for a confidential discussion.

INDWIN

Our clients and their customers come from diverse backgrounds and so do we. We hire our people from various walks of life, each of whom make our company stronger with their talent, uniqueness, and expertise. This is what makes our company special; if you want to help us grow and take this ethos to our clients, then we cannot wait to collaborate with you!

The UK has now left the European Union. Any EU, EEA or Swiss citizens living in the UK that wish to remain in the UK post Brexit need to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme. Although the closing date for applications was 30th Jun 2021, if you have not yet applied but believe that you would qualify under the EU Settlement Scheme, the Home Office have confirmed that they will consider late applications. For further information please see (url removed) />
Many Thanks
Only candidates based in UK and eligible to work in UK are allowed