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Estimator / Cost Planner
The Estimator / Cost Planner is responsible for all aspects of cost planning and estimating, working closely with senior colleagues, project teams, and both internal and external clients from project inception. Main duties include preparing estimates for bids, developing strategies, managing approval processes, and coordinating all bid components such as cost plans, commentary, fees, and value engineering. The role involves challenging design teams to deliver efficient solutions within budget, supporting best practice development, sharing expertise, and ensuring forecast margins are met throughout project delivery.
Key Responsibilities
The Estimator / Cost Planning Manager assumes commercial and functional management. Key responsibilities include overseeing the pre-construction cost planning process, developing and implementing best-practice estimation methodologies, driving value engineering initiatives and managing commercial risk registers on major tenders. This role is responsible for tender sign-off and bid strategy alignment, engaging in client negotiation on project costs, and acting as a commercial liaison for external stakeholders.
Cost Planning
- Utilise and support the development of the company’s preferred cost planning software and tools
- Be proficient in taking off quantities using the Bovis measurement software
- Collaborate with the commercial team to secure market prices for trade packages and analyse these against cost plan allowances
- Prepare, review, and analyse preliminaries for first and second stage bids, including producing standard preliminaries aligned with the proposed bid strategy
- Incorporate programming requirements, methodology, phasing, and associated implications into cost plans and preliminaries
- Accurately quantify and price cost plans from Development Brief / Feasibility stage through to Contract Price with the preferred contractor
- Ability to build rates from first principles (labour, plant, and materials) is desirable but not essential
- Accurate forecasting (inflation) of current trade rates
- Manage external consultants (EQ Bill of Quants Consultancy), including initial engagement, appointment, issue of information, quality control, and ensuring submission and return in line with the programme
- Be able to assess sub-contractor proposals
- Prepare design fees with support from the relevant Design Manager
- Prepare tender documentation for submission
- Prepare cost plan commentary and supply key information to Bid Managers to support technical and written responses within tender submissions
- Ensure that scope, assumptions, and pricing are clearly documented throughout all cost planning stages
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Design and Cost Control
- Support project teams with change control and major variations during conversion and delivery stage
- Support project and design teams in producing a design that meets cost plan requirements. Continuously analyse the design against cost plan assumptions, design briefs/target metrics, and benchmark project
Bidding and Strategy
- Lead or support a bid as a Cost Planner either independently or as part of a team, depending on project scale and complexity
- Support compliance of the cost plan with brief, authority, financiers’, and customer requirements during the conversion stage
Data / Analytics
- Support the updating of design and cost KPIs
- Support benchmarking data and workstreams (cost / design / programme), ensuring data is captured and maintained. And support an initiative for the development of benchmarking systems
- Contribute to the development of best practices, standards, knowledge bases, sector expertise, industry trends, yardsticks, and benchmarks
- Produce written narratives outlining key insights derived from cost and benchmarking analysis, including justification of the cost plan within the context of these findings
Credentials
- Maintain CSCS card for the role
- Currently holding, or working towards a related Chartership such as MRICS / MCIOB
Essential Skills, Knowledge, Experience & Behaviours
Skills
- Ability to influence and lead teams
- Ability to read drawings and construction design information
- Data analysis and data analytics including use of PowerBI
- Document control
- Negotiation
- Presentation skills
- Problem solving
- Process compliance
- Quantity take-off
- Strong Commercial acumen
- Tendering subcontract works packages of medium to high value
- Time management and prioritising tasks in order to meet deadlines
- Value engineering
- Written and verbal communication to influence and build relationships with various stakeholders
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Knowledge
- Ability to contribute to value engineering as part of the design process
- Allocation of scope to trade packages
- Be able to produce detailed prelim forecasts
- Understand and apply cost planning & financial procedures and reporting tools
- Understanding of various procurement routes, including the RIBA design processes
Experience
- Proven track record of working on various bid stages included Stage 1 (initial tender) and Stage 2 (Conversion into contract / PCSA)
- Reviewing subcontractor tender offers and subcontractor tender analysis produced by the commercial team to ensure a robust cost position
- Building inflation models / calculations
- Coordinating multiple trade packages into a master cost plan / bill of quantities to ensure all scope gaps are found, priced, and any duplication is removed
- Coordinating resources internally to ensure deliverables are met
- Preparing cost plans at various RIBA stages
- Presenting to stakeholders
- Understanding, building, and using benchmarking data for use at reviews, and for use externally with clients / consultants
Behaviours
- Flexibility and openness of approach and willingness to work as a team player
- Has a great attention to detail and thoroughness in all of the work they produce
- Is analytical thinking
- Taken ownership of Reporting, including populating all key templates and documents for reviews
- Provides constructive challenge and feedback to others within the team
We Will Provide
- Car allowance
- Flexible and hybrid work options
- Up to 10% employer pension contribution
- Private medical health benefit
- Life assurance
- 25 days annual leave with the option to buy or sell additional days
- 3 days wellbeing leave in addition to annual leave
- Health and wellbeing support and initiatives
- 24/7 confidential Employee Assistance Programme including direct access to Talking Therapies and Coaching services
- Discounted gym membership to over 2,500 gyms nationwide
- Industry leading parental leave
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