Senior Estimator – Civil / Road Infrastructure

Job description

**ABOUT THE COMPANY** Our client is an Australian business supplying road safety barriers — for roadsides, car parks, schools and other sites — to councils, contractors and construction clients across Australia. The business is led by its General Manager and Operations Manager, who this role reports to directly. **PRIMARY PURPOSE** To independently run the day-to-day estimating and quoting workflow — checking plans against the schedule, taking off quantities, sourcing supplier pricing and working out margins — and to build the kind of trust with management, through accurate work, honest communication and a focus on keeping the client happy, that lets the role take on more of the client-facing side over time. ### ABOUT THE ROLE - A senior, full-time Estimator role at the centre of the quoting process — reviewing customer enquiries, checking supplied plans against the job schedule, and turning that into an accurate, priced quote using the company's own templates and rates. - Internally, one person currently runs estimating end to end, from enquiry through to submitting the quote to the client. Remotely, this role owns the estimating and quoting engine room — checking plans, sourcing supplier pricing, working out margins and building the quote — while management keeps final client sign-off and quote submission in-house at the start. - As trust builds over the first few months, there is scope for this role to take on more direct client contact. This is not a sales role, and no commercial decision is made without management's sign-off. - Trusted to work independently on the estimating and quoting workflow and exercise judgement on scope and pricing questions within agreed rates — but genuinely understanding an instruction, plan or piece of feedback, and asking a clarifying question rather than guessing or agreeing by default, matters more in this role than in most. - Keeping the client happy sits behind every part of this role — even while quote submission stays with management at the start, the accuracy, turnaround and professionalism of the work behind the scenes is what keeps the client relationship strong. ### KEY RESPONSIBILITIES **▸** **Enquiries & Plan Review** - Review new customer enquiries and the plans or drawings supplied for the job - Check the supplied plans against the job schedule to confirm they match, and flag any differences before quoting rather than assuming - Request missing photos, information or clarification from management rather than guessing **▸** **Takeoffs & Quote Preparation** - Perform takeoffs from civil/road design drawings using Adobe for markup and measurement - Record and tally quantities in Excel, and build the quote using the company's templates, pricing structure and rates - Own quote accuracy and turnaround time on the estimating side, with minimal supervision **▸** **Pricing & Supplier Coordination** - Source and compare pricing from a couple of different suppliers for each job - Chase, confirm and follow up outstanding supplier pricing - Work out margins and the final cost to the business before the quote goes to management **▸** **Client Communication (Phased)** - In the early months, prepare the quote for management to review and issue to the client directly — client-facing communication and quote submission stay in-house at the start - Communicate with suppliers directly as required, using the company's official email - Flag anything a client mentions that could be a new opportunity back to management, even though this is not a sales role - Over time, and only as agreed with management, take on more direct client contact — by email first, and potentially by phone later **▸** **Communication & Judgement** - Ask a clarifying question rather than guessing or agreeing to an instruction, plan or piece of feedback that isn't fully understood — the single most important trait for this role - Communicate clearly and accurately in written and spoken English with management and suppliers - Escalate only genuine exceptions once confident with the day-to-day workflow **▸** **Working Hours** - Full-time, aligned to Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) business hours, working the same calendar as the Australian-based leadership team ### WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE - Plans are checked against the job schedule and any discrepancies are caught before quoting, not after - Quotes are accurate, complete and out the door within agreed turnaround times, with minimal rework - Instructions and feedback are genuinely understood — questions are asked early rather than assumptions being made and found out later - Supplier pricing is current and chased proactively, with clear margins worked out before management sees the quote - Management is brought genuine exceptions, not routine questions they shouldn't need to see - The client stays happy — quotes are accurate and on time, and nothing management has to fix or apologise for after the fact ### QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE **MUST-HAVE (ESSENTIAL)** - Very good communication — clear written and spoken English, and asks a clarifying question rather than guessing or agreeing by default - Engineering background — ideally civil engineering, or hands-on experience with civil/road “horizontal works” (roads, pathways, council infrastructure) - 5+ years' experience as an Estimator, at a senior level — not a junior hire, and not needing heavy day-to-day supervision - Hands-on daily experience using Adobe (takeoff/markup of drawings) and Excel (recording quantities, building quotes) - A genuine focus on keeping the client happy — reliable, professional and responsive, even while working behind the scenes - Confident, independent reading of civil/road design drawings and schedules - Own computer/laptop (16GB RAM or more recommended) and a private home office suitable for full-time remote work - Available full-time on hours aligned to Australian business hours (AEST) **NICE-TO-HAVE (DESIRABLE)** - Sales aptitude or commercial awareness — nice to have, not required; this is not a sales role - Prior estimating experience with road safety barriers or similar civil/road infrastructure products - Experience working with Australian clients, councils, builders or construction companies - Familiarity with estimating or takeoff software beyond Adobe and Excel ### Required Experience - An engineering background — ideally civil engineering, or an architectural/design background with hands-on experience on “horizontal works” (roads, pathways, or council/civil infrastructure projects) - 5+ years' experience as an Estimator — this is a senior hire, not a junior one, and should not need heavy day-to-day supervision - Confident, independent reading of civil/road design drawings and schedules - Hands-on daily experience using Adobe (for takeoff and markup of drawings) and Excel (for recording quantities and building quotes) - Able to work full time on hours aligned to Australian business hours (AEST) ### Required Skills - Very good communication — clear, accurate written and spoken English, and the confidence to ask a clarifying question rather than agreeing by default when something isn't fully understood - A genuine focus on keeping the client happy — professional, reliable and responsive in how work and communication are handled, even while working behind the scenes at the start - Accurate, methodical takeoff and quantity calculation - High attention to detail — an error in a quote translates directly into lost margin or a lost job - Able to work independently on the estimating and quoting workflow while keeping client-facing communication with management in the early months - Own computer/laptop capable of running Adobe and large drawing files smoothly (16GB RAM or more recommended), and a private home office setup suitable for full-time remote work ### Highly Desirable - Sales aptitude or commercial awareness — comfortable spotting and flagging an opportunity in something a client mentions (nice to have, not a requirement — this is not a sales role) - Prior estimating experience with road safety barriers or similar civil/road infrastructure products - Experience working with Australian clients, councils, builders or construction companies — a bonus, not a substitute for the engineering background above - Familiarity with estimating or takeoff software beyond Adobe and Excel