Job Description

Senior Quantity Surveyor (Freelance Contract)

PCD270043

Site-based or hybrid, City location, 6 to 12 months, £650 per day, IR35: Outside, start ASAP.

Role Summary
This freelance Senior Quantity Surveyor role leads commercial, cost, and contractual management across one or more major projects, ensuring budgets remain controlled, valuations are accurate, and the commercial position is protected throughout delivery. You will provide strong financial discipline and clear visibility of cost movement, while supporting delivery teams to progress at pace without losing control of risk, value, and contract compliance. The role requires confident negotiation, strong contract administration capability, and the ability to produce accurate, decision-ready reporting for senior stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities
You will manage cost planning, forecasting, and reporting across the full project lifecycle, establishing robust cost control routines and maintaining a clear view of committed cost, forecast at completion, and contingency management. You will prepare interim valuations, assess and agree subcontractor applications, and ensure payment processes are accurate, timely, and aligned to contract terms. You will lead the commercial management of variations and change, ensuring impacts are assessed, priced, agreed, and recorded with supporting evidence, and that change control is applied consistently to protect programme and budget outcomes.

You will take ownership of final account preparation and agreement, ensuring all variations, compensation events, and entitlements are closed out professionally with a clean audit trail. You will support procurement and subcontractor engagement, including tender comparisons, contract award recommendations, and mobilisation of commercial controls. You will actively manage subcontractor performance from a commercial perspective, tracking progress against milestones, ensuring contractual obligations are met, and addressing non-performance or commercial issues early.

You will identify and manage commercial risk and opportunity within the budget, maintaining a live risk register and ensuring mitigation actions are owned and implemented. You will handle claims promptly and professionally, preparing contractual positions, supporting negotiations, and escalating disputes where required with clear evidence and recommendations. You will contribute to commercial governance through structured reporting, approvals, and decision logs, ensuring stakeholders have clear insight into cost drivers, key exposures, and required actions.

Experience Required
You will have a proven Quantity Surveying background on major projects, with strong knowledge of measurement, valuation, and contract administration. You will be confident managing complex change and negotiating commercial outcomes with clients, consultants, and subcontractors. You will bring excellent commercial judgement, strong attention to detail, and the ability to communicate clearly with both site teams and senior stakeholders. Experience working under common contract forms (for example NEC or JCT) is advantageous, along with a track record of maintaining strong commercial discipline in high-pressure delivery environments.