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Graduate Quantity Surveyor

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Job Description
Costain have won extensive work across the water sector to support the AMP 8 investment cycle.
We have been appointed by United Utilities as one of 7 partners to the Enterprise, delivering £5.5bn of projects in the Asset Management Period 8 (AMP8) between 2025 – 2030, and AMP 9 (2030 – 2035). Our scope is to provide project management, design, construction and commissioning services on design and build schemes throughout the North West and Cumbria region covered by United Utilities. Projects vary in value, covering both infrastructure and non-infrastructure assets on water and wastewater sites with wider Enterprise partners.
We are now seeking expressions of interest from candidates wishing to develop their careers in the water sector and join our growing delivery team.
Graduate Development Programme
The programme will focus on helping you to grow your personal and leadership skills, alongside business and, of course, the technical skills you will learn day-to-day on the job. The programme is delivered in a variety of formats throughout the 2 years and will allow you to establish a network of contacts that will help and support you through your first 2 years and beyond.
We expect some of our graduates to rotate after a period of 8-12 months, to another project/sector of the business to fully understand the depth and breadth of the services offered by the company.
Our line managers are fully supportive of the Graduate Development Programme and will be involved in helping you along the way. In addition to the programme, we offer mentoring and support in every area of work, as well as a structured training programme to enable graduates to work towards achieving Chartership.
Graduates may have the opportunity to work on a number of exciting and progressive projects around the UK during the 2-year period, in sectors including nuclear, highways, rail, water, airports, and tunnels.
Responsibilities
Key Responsibilities
- Prepare enquiries, analyse tenders, negotiate, and manage allocated accounts including orders, payments & final accounts, and close outs in accordance with customer or company procedures.
- Assist in the preparation and agreement of applications for payment or the assessment & preparation of payment certificates.
- Play a key role in capturing, managing, and communicating change and risk on the project in accordance with the Contract.
- Assist in the preparation of the Project Control Reporting including project cost & value / EVA reports, budgets, and forecasts.
- Report to Line Management when contractual notices and correspondence with both customer and sub-contractors are required in accordance with the Contract.
- Assisting with the reporting of the Project Budget / Cost Report.
- Undertake record-keeping including but not limited to collating site records, the preparation of meeting packs, meeting invites, and taking meeting minutes.
- Carry out supply chain performance reviews on allocated packages.
- Contribute to Value management / value engineering.
- Understanding the implications of health and safety regulations.
- Ensure all health, safety, and environmental risk situations are brought to the attention of the Contract Leader / Project Manager.
Reasons to use Rodeo
I’m in my final year doing Economics and I don’t know whether to apply for grad schemes now or do a masters first. What do you think?
Honest answer — it depends on where you want to end up. A lot of top grad schemes (Big 4, civil service, banking) don’t need a masters. Let’s look at the ones you’d be competitive for now, and we can decide if a masters actually adds anything.
Also worth knowing: most autumn 2026 applications are open now. Timing matters more than you think.
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Graduate Consultant — 2026 Scheme
Why you're a good match
StrongYour economics background and your summer at a regional bank line up with what PwC looks for on the consulting scheme. Applications close in four weeks.
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Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Why you're a good match
You’ve got the grades and the economics background, and your bank internship is exactly the experience this scheme looks for. Apply soon — deadlines close within the month.
Experience fit
Your summer at the bank plus your econometrics coursework map directly to the day-one responsibilities on this scheme — client modelling, market briefings, and deal support.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Experience
- Be proactive in self-development and professional qualification.
- Understanding or experience of business systems, spreadsheet development, cost analysis, programme evaluation and development, compensation event and/or variations assessment and evaluation.
- Increasing knowledge of a variety of forms & options of contracts.
- Have experience or appreciation of the risk management process for both schedule and cost and the use of Earned Value Management.
- Due to the locations of United Utilities sites a Full UK Driving Licence is required.
Qualifications
- Holds or working towards an RICS/CICES accredited degree, with relevant experience.
Desirable
- Experience or appreciation of company policies, procedures & controls, operating office management systems including filing systems and document control and distribution and assist in the drafting of contractual correspondence on behalf of the project and project manager.
- Enrolled and working towards Full Membership of either RICS or CICES.


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About Us
Costain helps to improve people’s lives with integrated, leading-edge, smart infrastructure solutions across the UK’s energy, water, transportation, and defence markets. We help our clients improve their business performance by increasing capacity, improving customer service, safeguarding security, enhancing resilience, decarbonising and delivering increased efficiency. Our vision is to be the UK’s leading smart infrastructure solutions company. We will achieve this by focusing on blue chip clients whose major spending plans are underpinned by strategic national needs, regulatory commitments, legislation or essential performance requirements. We offer our clients leading-edge solutions that are digitally optimised through the following five services which cover the whole lifecycle of their assets: future-shaping strategic consultancy; consultancy and advisory; digital technology solutions; asset optimisation and complex programme delivery. Our culture and values underpin everything we do.
Costain appreciates the time and effort taken when applying for one of our positions but, due to the high volume of responses, we are unable to provide individual feedback on candidates at the application phase.
We do share individual feedback following an interview. A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that discloses they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people.
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