Quantity Surveyor in Northwich

We’re supporting a well-established multidisciplinary construction consultancy that is looking to add a Quantity Surveyor to its team in Cheshire. You’d be joining a QS team within a close-knit office of around 20 people, backed by a consultancy that has been established for over 50 years, with offices across the UK and internationally.

The immediate workload is particularly strong - an established programme for a major global client, with 50+ projects already delivered through the relationship. Projects typically range from £2m-£10m and cover everything from new build through to refurbishment, retrofit and fit-out.

What stood out to me when speaking with the team was how they approach progression. There’s no expectation that you need to sit at a certain level for a set number of years – if you’re capable of taking on more, they’ll give you the opportunity to do it.

The local office is led by a Director and Associate who are given a high level of trust and autonomy to run and develop the team. It’s a good-sized environment for someone who wants experienced people around them, but also wants the opportunity to take on responsibility and have their contribution noticed. There’s a genuine one-team feel, with good communication across the wider business and plenty of collaboration between offices.

Development is taken seriously, but it isn’t particularly rigid. Progression is based much more on your ability, the responsibility you’re taking on and what you contribute than simply time served. Hybrid working is in place, giving you a balance between time with the team, project/client requirements and working from home.

The main workload for this position sits within a long-standing relationship with a major global client. The consultancy has now delivered more than 50 projects through the account, with individual schemes typically ranging from around £2m to £10m and work continuing across the UK. Projects are predominantly within logistics and distribution and include a mixture of:

• New-build developments
• Refurbishments
• Retrofit projects
• Office and operational fit-outs

Although you’re working across one key client account, the work itself is varied. The team makes a conscious effort to give people exposure to different projects and different stages of delivery. You could have several schemes running at once, with one at early cost planning stage while another is going through procurement or already on site. It gives you the chance to properly get to know a major client and build long-term relationships, while still getting the variety that comes from working across multiple projects.

Your exact responsibilities will depend on where you’re currently at in your career, but you’ll get exposure across the full QS lifecycle. This will include:

• Cost planning and estimating
• Procurement and tender management
• Preparing and reviewing tender documentation
• Contract administration
• Valuations, variations and change control
• Commercial and financial reporting
• Final accounts
• Attending client, contractor and project meetings
• Working across multiple projects at different stages
• Developing relationships directly with the client and wider project teams

As you develop, there’s scope to take more ownership of your own projects and become increasingly involved with the client. The idea is to develop someone into a well-rounded consultant who can confidently manage their own work and relationships, rather than keeping them behind the scenes producing reports.

We’re looking for someone with a good grounding in Quantity Surveying who wants to continue developing within a consultancy environment. You might already be working independently as a Quantity Surveyor, or you could be an experienced Assistant QS who feels ready to make the next step. A consultancy background would be ideal. Experience across industrial, logistics, distribution, commercial, refurbishment or fit-out projects would transfer well, but you don’t necessarily need to have worked across all of these areas.

More importantly, you’ll need a good understanding of cost management, be comfortable communicating with clients and have the ambition to take on more responsibility as you develop. You’ll ideally be degree qualified in Quantity Surveying or a related discipline. MRICS isn’t essential, with support available towards chartership and continued professional development.

There’s also quite a lot happening within data centres, which is becoming an increasingly important area for the wider business. This isn’t a completely new sector for them. They already have around 20 years of project history within the data centre market and currently have a dedicated team delivering pre-construction advisory, commercial support and data analysis. The plan is to build on that experience and grow the division significantly over time.

The immediate workload for this position is centred around the established logistics and distribution account, so I wouldn’t position this as a data centre role. However, for someone joining the business now, it does give you visibility of another major growth area and the potential to broaden your sector experience as the business develops.

It’s the combination of a smaller local team and the backing of a much more established business that makes this one interesting. You’ve got an established pipeline of work, a major long-term client and experienced people around you, but you’re joining a team where you can still be visible, take ownership and progress.

If you’re a Quantity Surveyor who feels ready for more responsibility - or an experienced Assistant QS who wants to make that next step - it’s definitely worth a conversation. You don’t need to be actively looking. I’m happy to give you some more context on the team, projects and progression first and you can decide whether it’s something worth exploring.