Senior Cost Manager

About the Role

Savills is seeking a Senior Cost Manager to lead project cost management and commercial workstreams. This full-time position is based in Riyadh and involves protecting the client’s financial and contractual position from project mobilisation through final account. The role provides senior advice on payments, change, claims, forecasting, procurement, and commercial risk across multiple work packages.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead project cost control, commercial governance, reporting, and coordination with the client, project management, and site supervision teams.
• Establish cost management procedures, change-control protocols, payment workflows, reporting templates, and commercial registers.
• Review and recommend interim payment applications based on verified progress and contractual entitlement.
• Lead the assessment, negotiation, and recommendation of variations, claims, provisional sums, and commercial settlements.
• Prepare and maintain cost reports, commitments, accruals, cash-flow forecasts, anticipated final cost, and risk/opportunity allowances.
• Provide contractual and commercial advice, including support on notices, delay events, extension-of-time matters, and dispute avoidance.
• Review contractor quotations, rates, build-ups, quantities, and supporting records; challenge unsupported or non-compliant submissions.
• Support procurement, tender evaluations, commercial clarifications, negotiations, and award recommendations where required.
• Manage final measurement, close-out of changes, and agreement of final accounts with complete supporting documentation.
• Lead and mentor cost managers, allocate workload, and ensure consistent, auditable commercial records.
• Present concise commercial dashboards and recommendations to senior client stakeholders.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Quantity Surveying, Commercial Management, Civil Engineering, or a related discipline.
• Typically 8+ years of relevant cost and commercial management experience, including major projects in KSA or the GCC.
• Chartered status with RICS, CIOB, or an equivalent recognised professional body is strongly preferred.

Required Skills

• Strong knowledge of measurement, valuations, change control, claims, final accounts, and procurement.
• Working knowledge of FIDIC-based contracts and KSA construction market practices.
• Advanced Excel and cost-reporting capability; experience with enterprise cost systems is advantageous.
• Excellent written and spoken English, strong reporting, and stakeholder communication skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and relevant project systems.

Work Environment

The role requires the ability to work effectively in a multidisciplinary, fast-paced consultancy environment within KSA. Candidates should demonstrate high standards of integrity, confidentiality, organisation, and attention to detail.