Quantity Surveyor (M&E) in Leeds

Reporting To: Commercial Manager / Project Commercial Director

Project: Major data centre / commercial construction project

Basic Hours: 45 hours per week

Working Days: Monday – Friday

Working Hours: 8:00am – 5:00pm

About the Opportunity: ESD Recruitment is recruiting on behalf of a well-established main contractor delivering large-scale data centre and commercial construction projects. The business is recognised for its strong commercial governance, technically complex project portfolio, and structured approach to cost control, change management, and contractual compliance across high-value M&E packages.

Role Description: The M&E Quantity Surveyor is responsible for the full commercial management of Mechanical, Electrical and Public Health (MEP) packages on a major project. The role is accountable for driving commercial certainty, programme alignment, and contractual compliance across all M&E scopes. This includes management of subcontractor accounts, monthly valuations, variations, change control, procurement support, and upstream client submissions — all delivered in a clear, auditable, and contractually robust manner. You will take ownership of interim valuations, change assessments, detailed variation pricing, measurement, benchmarking, and commercial negotiations. The post holder is accountable for the accuracy, timeliness, and completeness of all M&E commercial outputs, including CVRs, variation logs, commercial trackers, risk registers, and final accounts.

Essential Knowledge:

• Strong technical understanding of Mechanical, Electrical and Public Health systems
• Detailed knowledge of: Containment, cabling, busbar, switchgear, UPS, generators, BMS, HVAC, CHW, heating, water services and drainage
• Understanding of offsite manufacturing, commissioning sequencing, and interfaces with CSA packages
• Strong knowledge of M&E buildability, sequencing, logistics and access requirements
• Working knowledge of FIDIC, JCT and NEC contracts, including bespoke amendments
• Proven ability to measure, benchmark and substantiate complex M&E variations
• Strong commercial acumen including forecasting, cost control, CVR reporting and risk management

Essential Competencies:

• Clear verbal and written communication skills
• Ability to challenge and influence subcontractors, consultants and client teams
• Highly analytical with strong numerical and commercial reasoning
• Proactive, solutions-focused and commercially assertive
• Organised and methodical, able to manage multiple large M&E packages
• Capable of working independently with minimal supervision
• Strong contractual awareness with evidence-led commercial decision making
• Professional, confident and collaborative in stakeholder engagement

Commercial Management:

• Full commercial ownership of allocated M&E packages from procurement to final account
• Prepare and submit client valuations with auditable measurement and substantiation
• Assess and certify subcontractor applications and issue payment recommendations
• Maintain strict change-control procedures, including: Logging EIs, design changes, coordination changes and site-driven variations
• Pricing and submitting variations within contractual timeframes
• Providing full cost breakdowns (labour, plant, materials, prelims, star rates)
• Produce clear, defensible variation assessments for upstream submission
• Contribute to CVR reporting, forecasting and cost-risk reviews

Programme & Interface Alignment:

• Align commercial assessments with programme progress and commissioning milestones
• Identify and manage interface risks between M&E, CSA, logistics and access
• Support Project Managers with recovery plans and resequencing strategies
• Maintain clear scope definition to avoid gaps or overlaps

Contractual Compliance & Governance:

• Operate in accordance with contract conditions and internal commercial procedures
• Issue and respond to contractual notifications, instructions and correspondence
• Maintain accurate and audit-ready records including: EI / VO logs, Instruction registers, Subcontractor change logs, Risk registers, Procurement trackers
• Support preparation of upstream claims and entitlement submissions

Procurement & Supply Chain:

• Support procurement of mechanical, electrical, PH and specialist packages
• Prepare enquiries with detailed scope breakdowns and technical clarifications
• Lead bid levelling with commercial, technical and design teams
• Benchmark rates against market data and internal cost databases
• Support negotiations and ensure subcontract orders reflect agreed scope, risk and commercial position
• Monitor subcontractor commercial performance throughout delivery

Leadership & Stakeholder Engagement:

• Provide timely and accurate commercial information to senior management
• Communicate professionally with subcontractors, consultants and client teams
• Present commercial positions confidently at internal and external meetings
• Maintain commercial discipline and contractual rigour across the project

Minimum Competence Expectations:

• Ability to accurately measure and price M&E works including containment, cabling, busbar, HVAC, plant and commissioning allowances
• Ability to build auditable variation cost models using benchmark data and star rates
• Strong understanding of commissioning, sequencing and access constraints
• Ability to challenge subcontractor pricing using evidence-based analysis
• Ability to negotiate and defend commercial positions both upstream and downstream

Additional Information: The post holder is accountable for the accuracy and integrity of all commercial outputs. This role description is not exhaustive and may evolve with project requirements. A professional attitude and commitment to continual development is essential.