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Senior Cost Manager / Quantity Surveyor - Construction Management

Turner & Townsend

Company websiteturnerandtownsend.com (Turner & Townsend, opens in new tab)

Base salary $130K  to $160K

Employer-published annual base salary, USD. Advertised base range in Chicago, IL

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  • LocationChicago, IL
  • WorkplaceHybrid
  • Status at last checkSource accepting applications when checked
  • Last checked (1 h ago) · observed since

About this job

Company Description


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.

We are majority-owned by CBRE Group, Inc., the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm, with our partners holding a significant minority interest. Turner & Townsend and CBRE work together to provide clients with the premier programme, project and cost management offering in markets around the world.

Job Description


Turner & Townsend is seeking an experienced Senior Cost Manager / Quantity Surveyor to join our Chicago team and serve as a key day-to-day client interface, ensuring client objectives are achieved through the delivery of value-added cost management services.

Our Chicago team supports projects across commercial real estate, corporate occupier, data center, mission-critical, and other public and private sector developments, providing opportunities to partner with leading clients on complex and high-profile programs.

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 independently as well as collaboratively. In this key position, you will provide leadership and direction while promoting the purpose, values, and vision of Turner & Townsend.

Responsibilities:

  • Estimating and negotiating change orders throughout the construction lifecycle. 
  • Provide estimate and cost planning to include producing and presenting the final cost plan. 
  • Review and participate with the design services team and general contractor in the development of cost estimates. 
  • Reconcile changes and assist the general contractor to ensure that their data is accurate. 
  • Communicate or meet with the general contractor and owner of project manager to gather status information to prepare a cost estimate update. 
  • Prepare written comments to the general contractor’s submissions, including the executive summary. 
  • Coordinate all sources of cost information for cost discussions and suppliers direct from NPA, subs, quantities from A/Es. 
  • Inform and drive engineering priorities based on cost impact. 
  • Work proactively with minimal supervision to resolve scheduling issues. 
  • Manage cost checks and carry out valuations on larger projects. Complete timely, accurate cost checking and valuation processes. 
  • Participate effectively with post-contract cost variances and the change of control processes. 
  • Manage Cost impact / contingency management and commitment tracking logs. 
  • Prepare funding data presentations and coordinate VE sessions with stakeholders. 
  • Developing cost plans and estimates through the design phase, delivering updated cost plans at appropriate design milestones. 
  • Providing commercial input to design optioneering and input into value engineering exercises. 
  • Reviewing contractor and subcontractor pricing and leading negotiations on behalf of the client to drive fair contract prices. 
  • Performing quantity surveying, cost controls, and change management activities throughout the project lifecycle. 
  • Ensuring that post-contract cost variances and change control processes are managed effectively. 
  • Ensuring that cost auditing and valuation work is managed effectively and that a robust process for cost validation is in place. 
  • Carrying out the production of monthly cost reports for presentation to the client. 
  • Ensuring that final accounts are negotiated and agreed upon in a timely manner. 
  • Compiling built cost estimate records for benchmarking purposes. 
  • Identify, coach and mentor talent to realize their potential and celebrate the success of others.
  • Display excellence in leadership and service delivery on commissions is in line with the conditions of appointment
  • Financial Management - Utilize internal software to track ongoing margin levels and monthly fee/resource forecasts for each commission and financial reports
  • Implement and maintain the use of internal Business Management Systems and company delivery methodologies and tools in the office to ensure consistent delivery of best practice for Clients and the company
  • Be a role model that drives a one business culture that achieves great outcomes by striking the right balance for our people, clients, stakeholders, and society. 
  • SOX control responsibilities may be part of this role, which are to be adhered to where applicable.

Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree in construction management, cost management, quantity surveying, engineering or field related to construction.
  • Minimum 5-7 years of relevant experience working in a cost management role in the construction industry.
  • RICS accredited or working towards it is preferred.
  • Experience of leading cost management on medium or large sized construction projects of medium to high complexity. 
  • Construction consultancy experience is strongly preferred.
  • Good knowledge of construction industry technical matters, such as different procurement routes, value management, and value engineering.
  • 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 $130K-$160K 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.

Turner & Townsend is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees and actively encourage applications from all sectors of the community.

Please find out more about us at www.turnerandtownsend.com/ and www.heery.com/

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

Join our social media conversations for more information about Turner & Townsend and our exciting future projects: 

Twitter

Instagram

LinkedIn

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. 

Source: Turner & Townsend on SmartRecruiters · View original posting (opens in new tab)

Pay in context

This role's base floor ($130,000) is above 67% of the 124 Engineering (non-software) roles in Illinois listed on this site; 5 others list the same floor. Their median floor is $120,000; the middle half runs from $108,137 to $133,416.

Only jobs on this site count, and each one publishes a base salary of $100,000 or more, so this compares six-figure jobs with each other, not with the whole market. Computed Nov 8, 2026.

This range next to 6 other live Turner & Townsend roles with the nearest advertised base floor
Chart as a table
This range next to 6 other live Turner & Townsend roles with the nearest advertised base floor
RolePublished base
Senior Cost Manager / Quantity Surveyor - Construction Management (this listing)$130K - $160K
Senior Construction Project Manager - Government$130K - $160K
Senior Construction Project Manager-K-12 Projects$130K - $150K
Senior Construction Project Manager- Federal Projects (Anticipated Opening)$130K - $180K
Senior Consultant - Procurement, Contracts and Supply Chain$130K - $165K
Senior Cost Manager / Quantity Surveyor - Commercial Real Estate$130K - $160K
Design Manager- Aviation Construction (Anticipated Opening)$130K - $175K

Same $100K to $400K scale as every card. All Turner & Townsend roles · How to read the bar

Observed changes

  1. First observed on the employer's board
  2. Began meeting the published-salary criteria
  3. fields changed
Observed since
Employer-stated posting date
2026-10-28
Where this pay comes from

Location as the employer wrote it: Chicago, Illinois, United States

The base salary range for this role is $130K-$160K USD. This range reflects the company's good faith estimate

Method
Employer text, read with fixed rules and re-verified
Checked
Rule set
us-base-v2

The pay passage appears in the employer's own job text. Fixed, deterministic rules located it, and the passage below was checked against the stored copy of the posting.

What we verified

  • The pay figures come from the employer's own listing, quoted exactly above.
  • The pay is an annual base salary in US dollars with a minimum of at least $100,000.
  • The role was publicly listed on the employer's job board when last checked.

We do not verify what the employer will actually offer, whether the employer is still recruiting for the role, or anything beyond what the employer published. Full methodology.

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