Cost Intelligence Manager

Job Title: Cost Intelligence Manager
Location: Warwick (Hybrid - 2-3 days per week onsite)
Contract: 12 months (potential extension)
Pay Rate: £600 per day via umbrella (Inside IR35)

About the Role

We are looking for an experienced Cost Intelligence Manager to play a pivotal role in building a new cost intelligence capability for a major infrastructure and energy organisation. This is not a traditional cost control or commercial role - it's a strategic transformation position focused on designing and delivering cost estimation platforms, libraries, and digital tools to improve transparency and decision-making on major capital projects.

You'll bring deep infrastructure expertise, hands-on solution-building skills, and the ability to engage stakeholders across the business to shape a function that will become critical to future investment decisions.

Key Responsibilities

• Solution Design & Build: Develop cost libraries, reference pricing models, and digital cost intelligence platforms for large-scale capital projects.
• Strategic Transformation: Define and implement a new operating model for cost estimation and intelligence.
• Data & Analytics: Use advanced Excel, pricing tools, and analytics (Power BI, SQL, Python, R) to design robust methodologies for cost capture and reporting.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Partner with business leaders, project managers, and commercial teams to drive alignment and adoption.
• Governance & Risk: Establish clear frameworks for data quality, compliance, and auditable cost practices.
• Continuous Improvement: Enhance processes and grow the cost intelligence database with lessons learned and external market data.

Candidate Profile

Must-Have Experience

• Strong background in infrastructure or construction industries (energy, utilities, transport, major capital projects).
• Proven experience building cost intelligence solutions (eg estimation platforms, libraries, reference pricing models).
• Track record of leading or contributing to transformation programmes, ideally with digital cost estimation tools.
• Advanced Excel and pricing tool capability, with exposure to analytics (Power BI, SQL, Python, R).
• Consulting background (Big 4 or similar) with expertise in cost modelling, data-driven decision support, and stakeholder management.

Nice-to-Have

• Knowledge of regulatory frameworks in utilities or infrastructure.
• Experience embedding governance, risk management, and compliance into cost estimation.
• Comfortable working in ambiguous, evolving environments and shaping new functions from the ground up.

Not Suitable

• Candidates with only finance/commercial backgrounds focused on recording/challenging costs.
• Candidates from digital transformation who lack infrastructure exposure.
• Candidates without hands-on cost solution development experience

Please note: Due to the high volume of applications, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. If you do not hear from us within 48 hours, your application has not been successful on this occasion. However, we may retain your details for future suitable opportunities.

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