Quantity Surveyor (United Utlities) in Leyland

Lanes Group is one of the UK's leading utility services providers, with almost 5,000 employees delivering essential services nationwide.

As one Lanes Group, we combine specialist expertise, innovation and a customer-first approach to provide industry-leading solutions across the sectors we serve.

With annual revenues exceeding £650 million, we are a growing business that offers exciting opportunities, a collaborative culture and the chance to make a real impact.

Join us and be part of an organisation that values diversity, invests in development and helps people build successful careers.

Purpose of the role

We are looking for a commercially focused Quantity Surveyor to take ownership of allocated workstreams across our United Utilities contract.

This is a high-volume, low-value contract environment where accuracy, pace, strong process control and attention to detail are essential.

The successful candidate will be responsible for managing the end-to-end Quantity Surveying process across several workstreams, ensuring works are commercially controlled from instruction and delivery through to valuation, Application for Payment, WIP management, query resolution and final account.

The role will require someone who can work confidently with Operations, Planning, Finance, Administration and client representatives to ensure works are valued correctly, costs are captured accurately, payments are progressed, and commercial entitlement is protected.

Benefit: Company Car/Car Allowance

Key Responsibilities

• Quantity Surveying
• Take ownership of the QS process across allocated workstreams.
• Manage works from instruction/completion through to valuation, Application for Payment, payment resolution and final account.
• Ensure each workstream is commercially controlled, accurately reported and progressed in line with contract requirements.
• Manage a high volume of low-value jobs, ensuring pace, accuracy and strong attention to detail.
• Ensure all works are valued correctly using the appropriate schedule of rates, agreed pricing mechanism or commercial process.
• Identify and resolve commercial issues that could delay billing, payment or final account agreement.
• Maintain strong audit trails and supporting evidence across allocated workstreams.
• Applications for Payment and Revenue Recovery
• Prepare, review and submit accurate Applications for Payment for allocated workstreams.
• Ensure submissions are complete, accurate and supported by the required evidence.
• Review completed works to ensure all chargeable activities, materials, plant, subcontractors and variations are captured.
• Progress client queries, rejections and unpaid items in a timely manner.
• Work with Operations and Administration teams to obtain missing photos, measures, job notes, completion details or supporting information.
• Track reasons for rejected or delayed items and support actions to reduce repeat issues.
• Ensure revenue is recognised accurately and in line with commercial governance.
• WIP and Final Account Management
• Own and manage WIP across allocated workstreams.
• Review aged WIP regularly, challenging and progressing outstanding items.
• Identify blockers preventing billing, approval or payment and drive actions to resolve them.
• Monitor outstanding AFPs, queried items, rejected items and unpaid values.
• Support final account agreement across allocated workstreams, ensuring values are accurate and well evidenced.
• Escalate aged, high-risk or recurring issues where required.
• Cost Control, CVR and Margin Management
• Monitor cost, value and margin performance across allocated workstreams.
• Manage CVR reporting for allocated workstreams, ensuring revenue, cost, margin, WIP, risk and opportunity positions are accurate and clearly understood.
• Review job-level costs, including labour, plant, materials, subcontractors and other direct costs.
• Challenge incorrect cost allocations and work with Finance and Operations to resolve coding or cost issues.
• Ensure all valid costs and chargeable items are captured within submissions.
• Identify trends in cost movement, productivity, non-recovery or operational inefficiency.
• Provide clear commercial commentary on CVR performance, margin pressure, risks and improvement opportunities.
• Contract and Change Management
• Understand and apply the relevant contract requirements.
• Identify, prepare and submit Compensation Events, variations or change requests where required.
• Ensure commercial entitlement is protected through accurate records, timely communication and robust supporting evidence.
• Use agreed client and internal systems to manage submissions, records, queries and approvals.
• Ensure scope changes, additional works and variations are captured and progressed.
• Escalate contractual risks, recurring issues or areas of commercial exposure promptly.
• Operational, Client and Stakeholder Management
• Work closely with operational teams to ensure completed works are commercially accurate and ready for submission.
• Build effective working relationships with client representatives to support smooth approval, query resolution and payment progression.
• Respond to client queries professionally and promptly, ensuring responses are accurate, well evidenced and commercially sound.
• Support client meetings and commercial reviews where required, providing clear updates on allocated workstreams, WIP, AFPs, rejections, risks and actions.
• Build strong working relationships with Supervisors, Contract Managers, Planning, Finance, Administration and Commercial teams.
• Support operational teams in understanding commercial requirements, including evidence standards, job completion quality and coding accuracy.
• Challenge and influence internal teams where information is incomplete, inaccurate or affecting commercial recovery.
• Communicate clearly on commercial actions, blockers, risks and priorities.
• Maintain a collaborative client relationship while protecting the business’s commercial position.
• Reporting and Analysis
• Support weekly and monthly commercial reporting for allocated workstreams.
• Provide clear updates on revenue, cost, margin, WIP, AFP progress, rejections and aged items.
• Maintain trackers and reports to provide visibility of commercial performance.
• Analyse trends across rejections, under-recovery, aged WIP and operational process issues.
• Use reporting to drive improved commercial control and better first-time submission quality.

Skills and Experience Required

Essential

• Experience as a Quantity Surveyor or Assistant Quantity Surveyor within utilities, construction, infrastructure, highways, water, wastewater or a similar operational environment.
• Experience managing end-to-end QS processes, including Applications for Payment, WIP, cost control, CVR reporting, forecasting and final account.
• Ability to manage several workstreams at once in a high-volume, fast-paced environment.
• Good understanding of schedule of rates contracts or similar pricing mechanisms.
• Strong attention to detail, with the ability to identify errors, missing evidence, incorrect costs or incomplete submissions.
• Confident dealing with client representatives, including responding to queries, supporting commercial reviews and progressing payment issues.
• Confident working with operational teams to obtain information and resolve commercial issues.
• Ability to challenge constructively where processes, costs or submissions are not correct.
• Strong Excel and reporting skills.
• Good communication skills, with the ability to build relationships across Operations, Finance, Planning, Administration and Commercial teams.
• Organised, proactive and able to manage multiple deadlines and priorities.

Desirable

• Experience working on water, wastewater, utilities or framework contracts.
• Experience using client systems, commercial trackers or contract management platforms.
• Experience managing rejections, aged WIP, AFP queries or high-volume billing processes.
• Degree qualified in Quantity Surveying, Commercial Management or a related discipline.
• RICS qualified, working towards RICS chartership, or open to professional development.
• Experience supporting process improvement, reporting automation or commercial governance improvements.
• Personal Attributes
• Commercially aware and detail-focused.
• Proactive, organised and able to work at pace.
• Confident taking ownership of allocated workstreams.
• Strong communicator who can work well with operational, finance and client teams.
• Comfortable challenging information where required.
• Resilient and able to manage a high-volume workload.
• Practical and solutions-focused.
• Able to spot trends, risks and repeat issues.
• Collaborative, but able to protect the commercial position.
• Focused on accuracy, recovery and continuous improvement.

Living the Company Values

By embedding our companies core values and purpose into each role, ensures that every employee, regardless of their role or level, understands how their individual development and contributions align with our purpose of ‘improving today for a better tomorrow’.

• Leading: Acts as a role model, shaping the learning agenda and influencing change.
• Agile: Anticipates learning needs, adjusts quickly to changing operational contexts.
• Nurturing: Supports the development of others through coaching and structured development plans.
• Engaging: Inspires and motivates learners, builds trust and credibility
• Safe & Secure: Ensures all learning is aligned to safety and compliance standards.

Your Contribution to the company

• Strive to be always positive and constructive
• Adhere to all company policies
• Straight talking about the facts of the situation – open discussions are the best way to find solutions
• Help others through communicating clearly
• Deliver on commitments
• Ensure that any ideas that may enhance the productivity or systems of the company are brought to the attention of Senior Management, or your colleagues
• Deliver our Company Values understanding that by working together in unity we are ‘Stronger Together’

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

At Lanes Group, we are dedicated to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued and empowered.

We believe that our differences make us stronger and are committed to providing equal opportunities for all employees.

We welcome and encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds, including those from underrepresented groups.

Join us in our commitment to creating a more inclusive and diverse world.

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