Estimator & Project Coordinator - Residential Construction

Pioneer Building & Maintenance; Canberra; Hybrid; AUD 47,000 - 65,000; Part time

Job summary

Pioneer + The Pod in Canberra is seeking an experienced residential construction professional for a permanent part-time role (22 hours/week) with work-from-home flexibility and growth potential.

You'll price, plan and deliver renovations, extensions and custom homes, coordinate trades, monitor risk and keep projects on track with direct access to the builder. Some site visits will be required.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of residential construction experience.
• Ability to price work, read plans and manage pre-construction to delivery.
• Buildxact experience is highly desirable.
• Experience coordinating trades, suppliers and project programmes.
• Current unrestricted Australian driver’s licence.
• ACT Working with Vulnerable People registration or willingness to obtain.

Responsibilities

• Price work and prepare estimates.
• Plan and schedule projects from pre-construction to completion.
• Coordinate trades, suppliers and project programmes; manage risks.
• Deliver projects on time within budget and with quality outcomes.
• Maintain client communications and attend site visits as required.

Skills

Estimating

Planning

Project delivery

Commercial decisions

Trade coordination

Education

Construction qualification or trade background

Tools

Buildxact

Job description

Pioneer + The Pod | Canberra ACT Permanent part-time | 22 hours per week | Work from home + genuine flexibility Salary commensurate with experience

Residential construction experience. A working week with room for the rest of your life.

You shouldn't have to choose between interesting residential construction work and genuine flexibility.

Pioneer + The Pod is looking for an experienced residential construction professional to join our small Canberra team in a permanent 22-hour-per-week role, with the opportunity for your hours to grow as the business grows.

You’ll work across renovations, extensions and custom residential projects, as well as The Pod's architecturally designed secondary residences.

Working directly with our Director / Builder, you’ll use your experience across estimating, planning, commercial decision-making and project delivery — with the autonomy to take ownership and make a visible impact.

The role is primarily work from home, with site visits and meetings when the work requires them.

Why join Pioneer + The Pod?

22 hours. Genuine flexibility.

This is genuinely a part-time role — not a full-time job squeezed into part-time hours.

We'll agree how those hours are structured with you and set priorities that are realistic within them, balancing the flexibility you're looking for with the continuity our customers and projects need.

Your judgement matters.

We're not looking for someone to simply populate estimates, update schedules or chase tasks from a checklist.

We want your experience.

You’ll have the autonomy to price work, identify risks, coordinate projects and bring practical solutions — with direct access to the builder when his expertise or decision is genuinely needed.

See the impact of what you do.

In a small team, good judgement makes a visible difference.

Spotting something in an estimate, resolving an issue before it reaches site or getting the sequencing right can materially change the outcome of a project.

You won't be several layers removed from the work, the decisions or the results.

Work across the project — not one narrow piece of it.

You'll stay connected from detailed pricing and pre-construction through scheduling, delivery and completion.

Price it. Prepare it. Plan it. Coordinate it. Follow it through.

Grow with the business — and the role.

Pioneer is strengthening its capability as the business grows and undertakes more of its own construction delivery.

You’ll be joining at a point where your experience can genuinely influence how we work. As the business and project pipeline grow, there is opportunity for the role — and your hours, if you're interested — to grow with it.

About you

You're an experienced residential construction professional who understands how projects actually come together.

You can look at a set of plans and think beyond what's drawn — what needs to be priced, what might be missing, what one decision affects downstream and what needs to happen next.

You're comfortable moving between plans, numbers, customers, trades and site. You take ownership, follow things through and know when to make the call yourself — and when something genuinely needs the builder's input.

You'll ideally bring:

• strong residential estimating and pricing capability;
• confident plan reading and practical construction knowledge;
• experience in renovations, extensions, custom homes or similar residential work;
• experience across pre-construction and project delivery;
• an understanding of construction sequencing and trade dependencies;
• commercial confidence across scope, pricing and variations;
• experience coordinating trades, suppliers and project programmes; and
• practical problem-solving and strong follow-through.

Around 5+ years' relevant experience is a guide, not a rule.

We're more interested in what you've actually done, the responsibility you've held and the judgement you can bring than the title currently on your business card.

A relevant construction qualification or trade background would be well regarded, but demonstrated capability matters more.

Buildxact experience is highly desirable. Strong experience with comparable residential construction systems is also welcome.

The practical things

You'll need:

• a current unrestricted Australian driver's licence;
• a current ACT Working with Vulnerable People registration, or be willing and eligible to obtain one; and
• the ability to attend customer homes and project sites across Canberra and surrounding areas when required.

Experience driving a manual vehicle and the ability to drive a light truck or similar work vehicle are highly desirable.

Because we work in and around people's homes, professionalism, discretion and respect for our customers, their privacy and their property are essential.

Appointment may be subject to relevant pre-employment screening.