Associate Cost Consultant – Independent Cost Validation & Assurance

We’re looking for an experienced Associate Cost Consultant to join our Infrastructure team, supporting major regulated programmes across energy, electricity transmission and distribution, water and rail.

This is a specialist role for someone who really understands how infrastructure estimates are built. You’ll independently review and challenge estimates, interrogating rates, quantities, productivity, assumptions and risk to determine whether proposed costs are reasonable and appropriately supported.

You’ll combine detailed estimate review with benchmarking and cost validation, helping clients make confident investment decisions across complex infrastructure programmes.

We’re looking for someone who understands estimating, not just cost reporting.

Whether you’re taking apart a composite rate, questioning productivity assumptions or investigating why an estimate sits outside its benchmark range, you'll use your experience and judgement to understand why the numbers are different and whether those differences are justified.

Ultimately, you’ll help clients ensure that investment decisions are backed by credible, independently challenged cost evidence.

• Reviewing and challenging contractor and designer estimates, including scope, quantities, rates, allowances and risk.
• Interrogating unit rates, labour, plant, materials, productivity, preliminaries and indirect costs.
• Benchmarking estimates against historical projects, cost databases and industry evidence.
• Normalising costs for differences in scope, location, design maturity, market conditions and construction methodology.
• Interpreting and reconciling different WBS/CBS structures and measurement conventions.
• Applying structured estimate review and validation approaches, including AACE 31R-03 and 110R-20.
• Preparing clear cost assurance reports and presenting findings to clients and senior stakeholders.

• Strong experience in civil engineering estimating, cost planning or infrastructure cost analysis.
• Experience across major or regulated infrastructure, ideally energy, utilities, water or rail.
• A track record of reviewing and challenging estimates prepared by others.
• Strong knowledge of CESMM4, unit-rate build-ups and construction methodologies.
• Experience with cost benchmarking, WBS/CBS reconciliation and historical cost analysis.
• Good understanding of productivity, risk, contingency and the factors that drive infrastructure costs.
• Advanced Excel skills and confidence working with complex cost datasets.
• Strong technical judgement with the confidence to constructively challenge assumptions and explain your findings clearly.
• Experience of Ofgem-regulated networks, NEC contracts, regulatory cost assessment or AACE estimating practices would be particularly valuable.
• A relevant degree or equivalent industry experience is expected, with professional membership such as RICS, ICE, CIOB or ACostE