The Head Estimator is responsible for leading the Estimating function and overseeing the commercial evaluation and governance of all tender opportunities.
The role ensures accurate cost planning, robust commercial evaluation, structured risk assessment, and disciplined tender management. The Chief Estimator will provide strategic leadership throughout the bidding process to secure profitable, commercially viable, and strategically aligned projects while maintaining strong governance and estimating standards.
- Key Focus Areas
- Strategic Tender Leadership & Governance
- Commercial Management, Cost Planning & Risk
- Bid Strategy, Performance & Profitability
- Estimating Team Leadership & Development
- Continuous Improvement & Process Optimisation
- Key Responsibilities
Strategic Tender Leadership & Governance
- Own and govern the commercial strategy of the tender portfolio, ensuring alignment with business growth objectives, margin targets, and risk appetite.
- Lead executive-level bid evaluations and provide strategic recommendations regarding opportunity selection, bid positioning, and pricing approach.
- Define and approve pricing strategies across major bids to optimise profitability, competitiveness, and risk-adjusted returns.
- Establish, maintain, and enforce estimating governance, standards, procedures, and controls to ensure consistency, accuracy, and compliance across all tender submissions.
Commercial Management, Cost Planning & Risk
- Oversee the development, review, and validation of complex cost models, ensuring accuracy, robustness, and commercial integrity.
- Provide commercial leadership during tender adjudication, negotiations, and value-engineering exercises to protect margins and minimise commercial exposure.
- Identify and evaluate key commercial, contractual, technical, and operational risks associated with tender opportunities.
- Ensure appropriate contingencies, risk allowances, and commercial assumptions are incorporated into pricing strategies and tender submissions.
- Maintain strong commercial awareness of market conditions, supplier pricing, subcontractor trends, labour costs, and other factors influencing project costs.
Bid Strategy & Performance
- Lead the development of competitive bid strategies that balance commercial attractiveness, profitability, deliverability, and organisational risk.
- Work closely with Commercial, Procurement, Operations, Engineering, and Project Leadership teams throughout the tender process.
- Ensure a seamless transition from tender award to project delivery, with clear communication and protection of key tender assumptions, exclusions, risks, and commercial commitments.
- Monitor tender portfolio performance and analyse bid outcomes, cost variances, and commercial performance.
- Capture and implement lessons learned to improve future estimating accuracy, forecasting, competitiveness, and profitability.
Leadership & Team Development
- Lead, manage, mentor, and develop the Estimating team, establishing clear performance expectations and high professional standards.
- Build organisational estimating capability through coaching, succession planning, knowledge sharing, and continuous professional development.
- Effectively manage resources and implement strategies to support departmental and overall business performance objectives.
- Foster a collaborative, accountable, and high-performance working environment.
Continuous Improvement, ESG & Technical Excellence
- Promote Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices within the function, supporting sustainability standards and wider corporate responsibility objectives.
- Lead continuous improvement and innovation initiatives within the Estimating function to streamline workflows, optimise resources, improve accuracy, and deliver measurable efficiency gains.
- Support the adoption and optimisation of digital estimating systems, tools, data analytics, and process automation.
- Apply strong technical expertise and discipline-specific knowledge to ensure high-quality commercial and estimating outcomes.
- Undertake any other reasonable duties or responsibilities assigned by management in accordance with business requirements.
- Skills & Competencies
Essential
- Strong enterprise-level commercial acumen and margin governance.
- Extensive knowledge of estimating, tendering, cost planning, and commercial management.
- Strategic bid evaluation and portfolio decision-making capability.
- Strong understanding of project costs, commercial risks, tender assumptions, and pricing strategies.
- Executive-level influencing, negotiation, and stakeholder-management skills.
- Strong governance, process management, and commercial control capabilities.
- Proven ability to lead and develop high-performing estimating teams.
- Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
Desirable
- Advanced financial, commercial, and risk-modelling capability.
- Strong market intelligence and competitive-positioning skills.
- Experience with digital estimating systems and estimating-process transformation.
- Knowledge of enterprise risk management and corporate governance.
- Experience implementing continuous improvement, automation, or digitalisation initiatives within an Estimating or Commercial function.
- Qualifications & Experience
- Degree, professional qualification, or equivalent qualification in Engineering, Quantity Surveying, Construction Management, Commercial Management, or another relevant discipline.
- Equivalent demonstrated professional experience may also be considered.
- Minimum of 12+ years of relevant experience within Estimating, Tendering, Cost Management, Commercial Management, or a related discipline.
- Significant experience managing complex and high-value tenders.
- Demonstrated experience developing pricing strategies, cost models, commercial evaluations, and risk assessments.
- Proven experience leading and developing an Estimating team.
- Experience working within the construction, engineering, MEP, infrastructure, or contracting sector would be highly advantageous.
