Senior Quantity Surveyor – Power Schemes
Location: Gateshead, Newcastle upon Tyne
About the role
A Tier 1 multi-utilities contractor is hiring a Senior Quantity Surveyor to work across its power schemes in the North East.
This is a role focused on the delivery of power infrastructure projects, including but not limited to transformers, switchgear and associated civil engineering works. You'll be looking after the commercial side of these schemes from start to finish, working closely with the operational team to make sure projects are delivered profitably and the numbers stand up.
The business has an established presence in the utilities sector, with power forming a key part of its workload. You'll be joining a contractor that understands the complexities of delivering infrastructure projects and the importance of having strong commercial people involved from the outset.
You'll report directly to the Commercial Director and work closely with the project managers delivering the schemes. That means genuine involvement in decisions, direct access to senior leadership and the opportunity to influence commercial outcomes rather than simply report on them.
The role is based out of Gateshead, making it well placed for someone living in Newcastle, Sunderland, Durham or the wider North East.
What the work actually involves
This is power infrastructure work, and the commercial detail matters.
You'll take responsibility for the commercial management of live power schemes, including projects involving transformers, switchgear and the associated civils that come with delivering this type of infrastructure.
You'll be managing costs, valuations, variations and subcontractor accounts, keeping a close eye on the contractual position as projects progress.
NEC contracts are a key part of the role. You'll need to be comfortable working within the contract, managing compensation events, understanding early warnings and making sure the right commercial processes are followed as schemes develop. It's about knowing how the contract works in practice, not just recognising the terminology.
There's a mix of work to consider, with different subcontractors, programme pressures and commercial challenges to manage along the way.
You'll be expected to understand where each project stands financially, where the risks are sitting and what needs doing to protect the margin.
It's not a role where you disappear into spreadsheets and send a report at the end of the month. You'll be working alongside delivery teams, challenging costs where necessary, dealing with subcontractors and making sure the commercial position reflects what's actually happening on site.
Power infrastructure is a specialist area, and the experience you build here is experience that stays relevant. You'll be working on schemes that demand proper commercial control, sound judgement and the ability to make decisions while the work is moving.
What they actually need
Three things are non-negotiable.
You own the CVR. They need someone who can take full responsibility for cost value reconciliation, understand exactly where a project stands and explain the numbers with confidence. Not someone who simply produces a report, but someone who uses it to drive commercial decisions.
You know your way around NEC contracts. This is a key requirement. They need someone with hands-on experience administering NEC contracts, who understands compensation events, early warnings, contractual notices and the commercial implications of getting these things wrong. You'll know how to protect the contractual position without making every issue unnecessarily complicated.
You can negotiate to a result. Whether that's agreeing compensation events, managing subcontractor accounts or resolving commercial issues, they want someone who's comfortable having the conversation and getting to an outcome. Someone who can be firm when needed, pragmatic when it makes sense and doesn't let issues sit unresolved.
Beyond that, you'll need to be comfortable managing the commercial side of power and civils schemes, understanding contractual obligations and working closely with operational teams.
They want someone who takes ownership, spots problems early and knows when to challenge rather than waiting for someone else to make the call.
It suits more backgrounds than you'd think
You don't necessarily need to have spent your entire career working on power schemes.
Experience across utilities, power infrastructure, civil engineering, groundworks or major infrastructure contracting could all translate well.
What matters is that you've operated at Senior Quantity Surveyor level, have strong working knowledge of NEC contracts, understand the commercial demands of delivering infrastructure projects and can demonstrate that you've taken real ownership of the numbers.
If you've managed subcontractors, controlled costs, dealt with compensation events and protected margin on technically demanding schemes, there's a good chance your experience will be relevant.
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 07367437969 or [email protected] .
Same conversation, same handling, just a different way in.
