Walker & Sloan Ltd | Certified B Corp
Estimator
Get notified of more jobs like this · No spam, ever
How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
Estimator
Location: Bristol
Sector: Main Contracting / Construction
Salary: Up to £65,000 + Package
The Opportunity
An excellent opportunity has arisen for an experienced Estimator to join a highly regarded main contractor based in Bristol. You'll become part of an established pre-construction team working across a varied portfolio of projects throughout Bristol and the wider South West. Rather than being focused on one particular sector or repetitive project type, you'll have exposure to a broad range of new-build, refurbishment and complex construction schemes.
This is an opportunity to join a contractor with a strong regional presence, an excellent reputation for the quality of its projects and a genuine focus on developing and retaining its people. You'll be trusted to take ownership of your tenders while working closely with experienced colleagues across pre-construction, commercial, design and operations to put together competitive, considered and commercially robust bids.
Role Overview
As Estimator, you'll be involved throughout the tender process, from the initial review of an opportunity through to final submission and successful handover into the delivery team. You'll review drawings, specifications and wider tender information to understand exactly what is required before developing accurate cost estimates and pricing. You'll consider construction methodology, programme, logistics and buildability alongside the numbers, ensuring each tender properly reflects how the project will actually be delivered.
Supply chain engagement will form an important part of your role. You'll prepare subcontractor and supplier enquiries, analyse returned quotations and work with trusted supply chain partners to achieve competitive and accurate market pricing. You'll also identify risks and opportunities within tender information, challenge assumptions where appropriate and work with the wider team to explore value engineering solutions that could improve the bid.
Reasons to use Rodeo
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
It searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
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.
As tenders progress, you'll contribute to internal reviews and adjudications, clearly presenting the basis of your estimate before making any required adjustments ahead of final submission. Following a successful tender, you'll provide a comprehensive handover to the operational and commercial teams, ensuring the people delivering the project understand the pricing strategy, key risks, opportunities and assumptions made during pre-construction.
About You
You are an experienced Estimator with a background working within main contracting and a good understanding of how construction projects are priced and delivered. You'll be comfortable reviewing drawings and specifications, completing take-offs and developing detailed estimates while understanding the commercial implications behind your decisions. You are confident engaging with subcontractors and suppliers and can analyse quotations properly rather than simply selecting the lowest price. You'll understand scope, exclusions and risk and be able to identify where additional clarification is required before committing to a figure. You'll be commercially aware, methodical and naturally attentive to detail, but you'll also enjoy working collaboratively. You'll regularly interact with design, commercial and operational colleagues, so being able to communicate your thinking clearly will be just as important as your technical estimating ability.
Experience across a mixture of construction sectors and project types would be advantageous, although the quality of your main contracting estimating experience will be more important than having worked within one particular sector.
Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
Company Profile
You'll be joining an established main contractor with a long-standing presence across the South West and an excellent reputation within the regional construction market. The business delivers a diverse range of projects for both public and private sector clients, combining the resources and project capability of an established contractor with a collaborative and people-focused working environment.
With a healthy pipeline of opportunities across the region, this is a strong long-term opportunity for an Estimator who wants to continue developing without necessarily moving into the environment of a huge national contractor.
What's in it for you?
- 💰 Salary up to £65,000
- 🚗 Competitive car allowance / package
- 💷 Company pension
- 🏥 Additional company benefits
- 🏖️ Competitive annual leave entitlement
- 📈 Genuine opportunities for career development and progression
- 🏗️ Varied pipeline of projects across Bristol and the South West
- 🤝 Established and experienced pre-construction team
About Walker & Sloan
Walker & Sloan are a BCorp certified recruitment business specialising in construction and the built environment. I, Jack Houghton, work closely with contractors, developers and consultancies across the UK and handle all applications with complete confidentiality.
Next Steps
If you're an Estimator looking to join an established main contractor in Bristol and would like to hear more about the business, projects and package, I'd be keen to speak with you.
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London
Location