About Vantage Data Centers

Vantage is committed to being a workplace of inclusion, equity, respect and acceptance. We celebrate diversity and intentionally seek out opportunities to learn from one another’s experience.

Vantage Data Centers powers, cools, protects and connects the technology of the world’s well-known hyperscalers, cloud providers and large enterprises. Developing and operating across North America, EMEA and Asia Pacific, Vantage has evolved data center design in innovative ways to deliver dramatic gains in reliability, efficiency and sustainability in flexible environments that can scale as quickly as the market demands.

Department Overview

The Commercial Development Delivery EMEA department shapes commercial practices and supports projects from inception through to completion and handover. The department is responsible for providing specialist cost and commercial support to individual projects and central business initiatives alike, ensuring that projects are delivered to budget.

Position Overview
Vantage is looking for an ambitious Commercial Manager to provide region specific commercial strategy, guidance and support to projects throughout the project development stages. This role involves working closely with various internal teams and external stakeholders to ensure cost efficiency, accurate budgeting, and effective project execution. The Commercial Manager will also contribute to continuous business improvement, driving process and practice improvement in alignment with Vantage’s Goals.

Essential Job Functions

General

• Embody the VDC core values of Trust, Agility, Respect and Accountability.
• Support VDC in the development and deployment of new and revised practices, templates and reporting tools. Drive continuous improvement.
• Collaborate with commercial department colleagues and contribute to knowledge share and continuous improvement between VDC projects across the portfolio.
• Work closely with internal teams, including design, engineering, and procurement, to align commercial goals with project requirements.
• Provide commercial support to company initiatives. Assist other VDC departments as required, offer support to these departments to ensure accurate reporting and information sharing.
• Conduct regular reviews of cost manager performance.
• Provide strategic and local insight to ensure VDC practices align with regional variances.
• Ensure the accurate implementation of all VDC templates, and that all policies and procedures are followed in line with company guidance.
• Ensure change control is implemented correctly on projects and that the VDC company policy and accounting procedures are followed. Ensure REACH change control process is used correctly, offer support to site teams if queries around its application arise.
• Provide commercial support to allocated regional projects in line with the below:

Development Pre-Construction

• Assist development team in the selection and appointment of cost management consultants.
• Onboard and continually support project cost managers, ensuring they are aware of and meet all deliverables.
• Manage and assist the project team in creating detailed project budgets, including cost estimates for project scope and changes, identifying potential cost savings and applying the value engineering programme.
• Conduct reviews of cost plans in conjunction with the Estimating department, ensuring that the correct data is conveyed to the VDC finance teams.
• Support and monitor the production of all necessary reporting.
• Provide bid levelling support to the development teams and support the contractor selection process.
• Consistently review lessons learnt to ensure these are captured in latest budget developments and ensure there is a feedback loop to the central commercial team.
• Develop and maintain accurate cost databases and historical cost data for reference.
• Review lease agreements to capture full customer scope in estimates and cost plans.

Project Execution

• Work with cost managers and all other project stakeholders to achieve cost certainty against project budgets.
• Support cost managers with VDC processes, contract, legal, and financial queries. Always offer a first point of contact to cost managers to support them with the day-to-day cost management role.
• Ensure cost managers comply with monthly reporting deliverables. Review and challenge the content of reporting, focusing on accuracy of data, auditability, and quality of forecasting. Ensure consistency across different reporting tools.
• Support cost managers in the identification, management and presentation of client reimbursable costs. Ensure these costs are accurately accounted for and any risk presented by them is identified.
• Support cost managers in the understanding of lease agreement requirements and assist in the identification of any scope changes affecting VDC and our supply chain. Coordinate with our customer team, for the substantiation and submission of costs. Ensure any changes that impact the supply chain are administered in accordance with the construction contract and other agreements.
• Understand project risks and assist projects with their mitigation and management, and ensure any associated costs are reported in accordance with VDC practices.
• Review project risk registers, ensuring that known risks are identified either within the Proforma or the project Risk Register.
• Ensure construction contracts are administered in accordance with their legal requirements, including change, payment, and general contract management.
• Ensure cashflow information is calculated correctly by the site teams, including change or latest schedule delays and associated liabilities.
• Support cost managers in negotiations with GCs and all other vendors throughout the execution of the project.
• Conduct regular reviews with cost managers on all commercial matters. Prepare teams for their monthly reporting cycle.
• Develop and update benchmark data, provide regular feedback to Estimating department.
• Support VDC Development Delivery Directors with their site-specific requirements.
• Note: The Development Delivery Director is the budget holder on all projects and is therefore ultimately responsible for the cost of delivery, however the cost manager in parallel with the site teams is responsible for the daily commercial administration.

The scope and role will develop in line with the above; the commercial manager shall be responsible for several VDC projects and is expected to manage their time and attendance to adequately execute the role.

Key Skills & Experience

• Degree in quantity surveying, commercial management or equivalent discipline
• 10 years+ related experience
• Data Center experience is preferred, but not required
• Understanding of all construction disciplines, including electrical, mechanical, structural, and civil
• Knowledge of and understanding of estimating disciplines
• Knowledge and experience of managing multiple projects
• Developer Experience and advantage
• Experience preparing/reviewing contingency evaluation, durations, escalation, reconciliations for estimates
• Experience preparing business cases and cost estimates for whole projects
• Expert knowledge and extensive experience using Microsoft Office software tools, such as MS Project, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, and Word, to be utilized in managing and reporting estimate throughput, status and manpower allocation

Travel / Attendance

The requirement is for the Commercial Manager to undertake regular visit to regional project and office locations (minimum 20% of time) to effectively execute the role, which may include attending VDC corporate offices in Newport, South Wales or London for Team meetings.

We operate with No Ego and No Arrogance. We work to build each other up and support one another, appreciating each other’s strengths and respecting each other’s weaknesses. We find joy in our work and each other, actively seeking opportunities to inject fun into what we do. Our hard and efficient work is rewarded with an above market total compensation package. We offer a comprehensive suite of health and welfare, retirement, and paid leave benefits exceeding local expectations.

Throughout the year, the advantage of being part of the Vantage team is evident with an array of benefits, recognition, training and development, and the knowledge that your contribution adds value to the company and our community.

Don't meet all the requirements? Please still apply if you think you are the right person for the position. We are always keen to speak to people who connect with our mission and values.

Vantage Data Centers is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Vantage Data Centers does not accept unsolicited resumes from search firm agencies. Fees will not be paid in the event a candidate submitted by a recruiter without an agreement in place is hired; such resumes will be deemed the sole property of Vantage Data Centers.