Mott MacDonald is a global engineering, management, and development consultancy committed to delivering impactful work that shapes the future.
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Whether you want to pursue excellence in your specialism or broaden your experience with flexible roles across our business, you’ll be connected to a community of global experts championing you to be your best. Join us and shape your story with Mott MacDonald, where everyone has the opportunity to be brilliant.
Role:
We are seeking a Principal Quantity Surveyor to strengthen our global Cost Capture and Benchmarking Centre of Excellence (CoE) capability. The CoE provides cost intelligence, benchmarking and analytical support to major capital programmes in the UK and internationally.
Initially, this role will initially focus on UK water sector capital investment, supporting regulated investment planning, assurance and programme optimisation. Over time, the CoE will expand to support other regulated and complex infrastructure sectors, including energy, transport and data led environments.
Working within Mott MacDonald’s Programme Advisory and Cost Intelligence teams, you will play a key role in developing robust, transparent and regulator credible benchmarking that supports investment decisions, assurance reviews and portfolio optimisation. You will work closely with UK based technical leads and subject matter experts, ensuring benchmarking outputs withstand scrutiny from regulators, independent reporters and internal governance.
Key responsibilities include:
- Support the development of like for like cost benchmarking across assets, programmes and portfolios
- Blend bottom up and top down benchmarking approaches to create sector credible comparisons
- Undertake element level, parametric and allowance based benchmarking to inform investment decisions
- Ensure transparent treatment of direct costs, indirect costs, overheads, risk and estimating uncertainty
- Apply AACE estimating class and maturity principles to assess estimate robustness and risk allowances
- Support the evolution of the cost benchmarking framework, methodologies and data structures
- Analyse full cost stacks, including contractor costs, client costs and corporate overheads
- Develop and maintain interactive dashboards (e.g. Power BI) to enable portfolio, programme and asset level drill down
- Provide clear, evidence based narratives explaining cost variances, drivers and efficiency positions
- Prepare benchmarking outputs suitable for regulatory submissions, assurance reviews and investment cases
Essential Experience
- A degree (or equivalent) in a numerical, analytical or engineering discipline — such as engineering, mathematics, economics, quantity surveying or similar
- Typically, 12+ years’ experience in cost analysis, cost engineering, project controls, commercial management or cost intelligence
- Experience working in the water sector or other regulated infrastructure environments
- Awareness of regulated delivery environments, assurance processes and investment governance
- Understanding of major infrastructure asset types (e.g. networks, treatment, civils, MEICA or equivalent)
- Experience working with cost estimates, bills of quantities, cost databases or benchmarking frameworks
- Ability to interpret and compare cost information across programmes, asset classes and delivery routes
- Strong analytical capability with proficiency in Excel and data visualisation tools (Power BI preferred)
- Ability to produce clear, defensible narratives for regulators, independent reviewers and senior stakeholders
- Comfortable working with uncertainty, incomplete data and multiple data sources
Desirable Experience
- Understanding of benchmarking methodologies (elemental, parametric, top‑down, bottom‑up)
- Awareness of AACE estimating classifications or similar maturity frameworks
- Experience working with large datasets, structured cost databases or cost intelligence platforms
- Exposure to regulated sectors or formal assurance environments
- Familiarity with UK water sector regulation (e.g. AMP cycles, PR24/PR29, Ofwat expectations)
- Knowledge of cost capture frameworks, structured cost breakdowns or standardised data models
- Experience supporting multiple projects or portfolios in parallel
- Exposure to collaborative delivery or alliance contracting environments
Flexible working
At Mott MacDonald, we support our staff to create work-life balance which works for them and welcome candidates looking for career flexibility. We are open to discussing flexible working at interview stage.
Our benefits package is designed to enhance your experience:
- Agile working
- Critical illness and compassionate leave
- Paternity Leave
- Group term life insurance, and Group medical insurance coverage
- Career mobility options
- Short and Long-term global employment opportunities
- Global collaboration and knowledge sharing