About the role
A Tier 1 multi utilities contractor is hiring a Quantity Surveyor into its connections team. They work mainly across power and water, and this role sits on the ICP side, getting new developments connected to the grid.
In plain terms, if a building, site or scheme needs connecting, this is the work. New developments, EV charging infrastructure, the civils that go with it, water connections and the occasional gas connection too. Projects run from around fifty thousand pounds to half a million, so you'd carry a varied portfolio rather than babysit one slow job.
You'd report straight into the Head of Commercial and work hand in glove with the project manager, which means real visibility and no long chain to get a decision made.
The role is based in Sale, just outside Manchester, so it sits well for anyone across the North West.
What the work actually involves
This is connections work, and it moves. You own the commercial side of live schemes, manage cost against value, and keep the numbers honest as the work changes underneath you. The pace comes from the volume and the variety, several schemes at different stages, each with its own contractor conversations to have and its own margin to protect.
It also sits right in the middle of where the market is heading. Grid connections, electrification and EV infrastructure are growing, not shrinking, so the pipeline of work behind this role is the kind that builds rather than dries up.
What they actually need
Two things are non-negotiable.
You own the CVR. This isn't a monthly chore you tolerate here; it's the part of the job you're trusted to get right. They want someone who knows their numbers cold and can stand behind them.
You can negotiate to a result, fast. Connections work doesn't wait, and the commercial conversations that come with it can't sit for three weeks. They need someone who can get into a negotiation, find the outcome and close it, rather than dragging it out or hiding behind email.
Beyond that, it's about how you work. If you can manage several live schemes at once, read a contract properly and hold a firm, professional line when one's needed, you'll do well here.
It suits more backgrounds than you'd think
You don't need to have done ICP work before. Multi-utilities, civils, groundworks, main contractor and connections backgrounds all map across naturally. What matters is that you can own the commercials on a portfolio of fast-moving jobs and negotiate like you mean it.
About how this one's being run
You won't see this advertised anywhere else. That's by choice on the client's side. They'd rather have the right person found the right way than whoever happens to be looking that week, which tells you something about how they hire.
About us
We're clearnorth. Quantity Surveying is the only thing we do, perm and contract, nothing else. People call us the QS People, which started as a nickname and stuck because it's accurate. It matters here because we've taken the time to understand this role properly rather than running commercial people through a generic process.
Why applying isn't a risk
We know what it means for someone in your position to send a CV out. Your name in the wrong inbox, your current employer hearing about it second hand, your details sitting in a database you don't control. Your CV goes nowhere until we've spoken and you've told us you're happy for it to. Your name reaches the client only once we've agreed how. That's not a service line, it's how we work.
If now isn't quite the right time but the role has landed, reaching out still works. We'd rather be the people you've already met for whenever something shifts, six weeks or six years from now.
You can reach me directly on 01946 372 172 or [email protected]. Same conversation, same handling, just a different way in.
