Cost Engineer

Sagentia Defence is a leading consultancy operating at the forefront of innovation in the defence and security sectors, leveraging our deep expertise in science and technology to tackle some of the most pressing challenges facing our customers. Our collaborative approach with government departments and major aerospace and defence organisations ensures that we are not only meeting today's demands but also anticipating and preparing for the future.

As we embark on an ambitious growth journey, we are looking for talented and experienced Cost Engineers to join our P3M team of experts based in Bristol. Joining Sagentia Defence means becoming part of one of the UK’s leading consultancies, where your skills and expertise will be valued and nurtured. Being part of a global brand, you will also have access to wider development opportunities across the Group. Our people are our greatest asset, and we are committed to providing an exciting, evolving, and supportive work environment. If you are passionate about making a difference and eager to work on high-profile defence programmes, Sagentia Defence is the place for you.

Role

As a Cost Engineering Consultant, you will be providing the cost estimates and modelling support to help the UK MoD and industry make better decisions. You will work closely with national government bodies, international institutions, and global prime contractors, leading and supporting procurement decisions with analytical thinking and outcomes, modelling of operational performance and sustainment. This may be working autonomously within customer teams to support business cases, estimating of procurement and in-service costs, or leading workshops with customers and Subject Matter Experts to improve accuracy and understanding of project costs.

About You

The successful candidate must be able to demonstrate the following essential and desirable skills and attributes:

• Essential:

• Proven experience in a Cost Engineering or Analyst role within a P3M environment.
• Educated to degree level or equivalent, with a relevant professional qualification (e.g., CCEA, CPCostE, CEng).
• Experience of working in the defence sector or a military background.
• Good knowledge of statistics in support of parametric modelling, sampling, and risk analysis.
• Knowledge of Investment Appraisals, Trade Studies, Business Cases, and Cost Benefit Analysis to support stage gate approvals process.
• Experience in methods of estimating including bottom-up, analogous, and parametric techniques in support of both hardware and software systems acquisitions and through life support.
• Experience developing estimates that take account of design, manufacture, and support costs; allowances; overheads; profit, Government Furnished Assets & Resources, historical costs, and Estimating Maturity Assessment levels.
• Development of robust cost models that satisfy independent Verification & Validation scrutiny.
• Knowledge of quantitative assessment of uncertainty, cost, schedule risk assessment and awareness of Risk Management approach and the costing of Risk within the cost models.
• Experience of assisting the Bid Winning process and practice such as PQQ/ITT/ITN.
• Strong verbal, presentation, and report-writing skills.
• Strong attention to detail and organisational skills, with the ability to prioritise workloads under pressure.
• Ability to travel to client sites across UK as required.

• Membership of a professional body (e.g., ICEAA, ACostE) and a desire for continued professional development.
• Experience working in a consultancy environment or with government clients.
• Knowledge of and application of Visual Basic.
• Independent Verification and Validation against 3rd party supplied cost models.
• Knowledge of Earned Value Management (EVM).
• Application of Risk tools such as @Risk, ModelRisk etc.

You can expect:

• To work in an exciting, fast paced environment where you will have the opportunity to add value and make a difference.
• To work for a forward thinking, agile organisation who embrace diversity.
• Empowerment to deliver in a trusting and supportive environment.
• The opportunity to further enhance your skills through a training and development programme tailored to support your career aspirations.
• The support and encouragement to develop a long term and rewarding career.
• To work in an environment where creativity and innovation is encouraged and rewarded.

Other Requirements:

• Candidates must have an existing right to live and work in the UK.
• Candidates will need to undergo an internal BPSS check prior to gaining site access.
• Candidates will also need to either hold a current SC clearance or be willing and eligible to undergo a Security Clearance check (SC level) upon starting their employment with the company.
• To gain SC clearance you will normally need at least 5 years’ UK residency.