Pre-Lease Senior Cost Manager – Data Center Construction

  Turner & Townsend is a global professional services company with over 22,000 people in more than 60 countries.  Working with our clients across real estate, infrastructure, energy and natural resources, we transform together delivering outcomes that improve people’s lives. Working in partnership makes it possible to deliver the world’s most impactful projects and programmes as we turn challenge into opportunity and complexity into success.  Our capabilities include programme, project, cost, asset and commercial management, controls and performance, procurement and supply chain, net zero and digital solutions.  We are majority-owned by CBRE Group, Inc., the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm, with our partners holding a significant minority interest. Turner & Townsend and CBRE work together to provide clients with the premier programme, project and cost management offering in markets around the world.  Turner & Townsend is seeking an experienced Pre-Lease Senior Cost Manager to provide an independent cost view on data center deals from intake to lease execution. The role validates budgets, challenges developer numbers with a prepared view, reviews Cost Reimbursement Agreement (CRA) exhibits and expenses where applicable, and hands a clear cost position to delivery at lease. Our client makes the calls; the Pre-Lease Cost Manager makes sure they are informed calls.  Responsibilities:  Intake to letter of intent (LOI) and CRA  - Produce a high-level dollars per megawatt ($/MW) budget and rough order of magnitude (ROM) before the developer’s numbers arrive, and use it as the first test of every developer number.  - Join every deal call with notes; bring the context behind each cost review to the Pre-Lease Senior Program Manager.  - Set up the CRA exhibit where applicable, validate it, and pre-approve Expense Item Requests (EIRs); review every CRA and EIR claim against backup before spend is charged, within three business days.  - Review the developer’s preliminary budget and scope split (owner-furnished vs lease scope) on each iteration, and run two to three budget challenge rounds or workshops with the developer’s cost team.  - Issue the cost narrative (caps, cash flow, termination exposure) and contribute cost grades and entries to the Risk Exposure Log within 24 hours. Lease execution and handover  - Bound the build cost and confirm the cost position at lease: budget, CRA position and open items, handed to Delivery and carried into the owner’s cost report after lease.  - Review the general contractor (GC) procurement and delivery model as the design matures; flag ROM-to-guaranteed maximum price (GMP) drift early and maintain a cash-flow look-ahead.  - Build the portfolio cost forecast model inputs and, with the delivery team, hand over cost position and open items at the handover meeting. Reporting and benchmarking  - Report weekly CRA status and provide an auditable backup pack to our client’s finance team on request.  - Tag every deal to the work breakdown structure (WBS) Level 3 benchmark and $/critical MW entry; own global cost benchmarking across the portfolio.  - Maintain program-wide cost templates and the one-record standard; perform quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) and cover a colleague’s deals.  - Cover about six pre-lease deals (about 5.5 at full weight) alongside the Pre-Lease Senior Program Managers.  - Review the CRA exhibit, not the language: cost, scope and exposure only.  - Operate within the pre-lease scope boundary: coordinate, validate and synthesize, with our client making the calls. Do not negotiate LOI, CRA or lease terms, review legal language, give legal or commercial advice, or make deal decisions.  - SOX control responsibilities may be part of this role, which are to be adhered to where applicable. Project/Program specifications:  - Project/Program specific responsibilities: Pre-lease cost management for data center deals: ROM and $/MW budget, CRA and EIR review, developer budget review, benchmarking, cost position at lease and weekly CRA status.  - Market sector experience: Data center and mission-critical construction cost management; owner-side or consultancy.  - Software specific requirements: Excel (advanced), Power BI or equivalent, cost management and forecasting tools; developer budget and cost-report formats.  - Certification requirements: Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering (AACE) or equivalent preferred.  - Deal load: about six pre-lease deals, shared with one Pre-Lease Schedule Manager across a pair of Pre-Lease Senior Program Managers.  - Work location: Regional hub (Northern Virginia, Dallas, San Francisco or Canada) with visits to developer sites as needed.    - Bachelor’s degree in construction management, cost management, quantity surveying, engineering or field related to construction. - Minimum 5-7 years of relevant experience working in a cost management role in the construction industry. - RICS accredited or working towards it is preferred. - Experience of leading cost management on medium or large sized construction projects of medium to high complexity.  - Construction consultancy experience is strongly preferred. - Good knowledge of construction industry technical matters, such as different procurement routes, value management, and value engineering. - Excellent communication skills. *On-site presence and requirements may change depending on our client's needs. Our inspired people share our vision and mission. We provide a great place to work, where each person has the opportunity and voice to affect change. We want our people to succeed both in work and life. To support this we promote a healthy, productive and flexible working environment that respects work-life balance. Turner & Townsend is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees and actively encourage applications from all sectors of the community. Please find out more about us at www.turnerandtownsend.com/ and www.heery.com/ All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines. Join our social media conversations for more information about Turner & Townsend and our exciting future projects:  Twitter Instagram LinkedIn It is strictly against Turner & Townsend policy for candidates to pay any fee in relation to our recruitment process. No recruitment agency working with Turner & Townsend will ask candidates to pay a fee at any time.  Any unsolicited resumes/CVs submitted through our website or to Turner & Townsend personal e-mail accounts, are considered property of Turner & Townsend and are not subject to payment of agency fees. In order to be an authorised Recruitment Agency/Search Firm for Turner & Townsend, there must be a formal written agreement in place and the agency must be invited, by the Recruitment Team, to submit candidates for review.