Estimator

Willmott Dixon; Birmingham; Hybrid; GBP 45,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading construction firm in Birmingham is seeking a Construction Estimator to manage costs and collaborate closely with project teams. The successful candidate will play a vital role in pricing trades, creating cost plans, and supporting design processes. Essential qualifications include experience with two-stage tenders, a relevant degree, and proficiency with estimating systems. This position offers a hybrid work model and promotes diversity alongside a comprehensive benefits package including enhanced pension and medical schemes.

Benefits

Enhanced pension scheme

Full private medical

Life assurance

Incentive bonus

Car scheme

Motoring expenditure allowance

Qualifications

• Experience in successful delivery of two-stage tenders.
• Strong understanding of various construction methods.
• Experience in reading and interpreting technical drawings.

Responsibilities

• Manage commercial activities with high acumen.
• Create accurate cost plans through design stages.
• Guide design team on affordability.

Skills

Cost control

Technical interpretation

Mathematical ability

Collaboration

Education

Relevant degree or level 4 qualification

Tools

Conquest Estimating System

Job description

Construction Estimator

Willmott Dixon Construction are looking to recruit a Estimator to join our Midlands region in our Birmingham Snowhill office, working on a hybrid basis. You will be joining a team who are passionate about their work and share in the continued success of the business.

The main role of an Estimator at Willmott Dixon is to manage commercial activities with a high degree of acumen whilst identifying opportunities to add value throughout the project process. The successful candidate will be able to deliver the right net cost to the highest quality and accuracy.

In doing so you will price selected trades from first principles using agreed Willmott Dixon outputs. You will also be able to produce a detailed control document at handover to delivery team and complete project take-offs to the required level of detail up to the level of SMM 7 for agreed trades.

Key Responsibilities

The key duties/ responsibilities will include:

• Ensure that all costs on the project are in accordance with the project scope, the customer's requirements and current legislation.
• Collaborate with the wider preconstruction team to secure and convert tender projects.
• Create robust accurate cost plans through the various design gateways up to target price.
• Guide the design team and inform the customer with respect to affordability.
• Use technical experience to identify opportunities and risks along with solutions to add value.
• Collaborate with the project team to identify and value alternative design solutions where required and present to the customer for review.
• Support the design discipline by costing change control items as identified and track through the RIBA Stages.
• Complete or manage project take-offs to the required level of detail (SMM7/NRM2/building quants).
• Provide a complete and robust cost information pack during the substantiation process to the commercial build team at handover, to include completed comparisons, bills of quantities, tender book and quotations.
• Lead the procurement schedule and build supply chain interaction and relationships.
• Review the performance of supply chain partners with the operations team.
• Collaborate with the design lead to capture and include design fees in the tender summary book (consultants, statutory authorities, surveys, schedules, and the like).
• Assist in the change control process, identifying design changes between RIBA stages, advising on the impact of the change and approximate cost.
• Carry out cost assessments on alternative design solutions to inform the final design and project/customer budget.
• Make customer insight led and data-driven decisions to provide solutions to customer requirements.

Essential and Desirable Criteria

Essential Criteria

• Successful delivery of two-stage tenders with experience pricing all work packages.
• Have experience of various construction methods.
• Experience of controlling costs, timing and quality in line with targets.
• Experience of reading and accurately interpreting drawings and technical specifications.
• Good standard of mathematical ability.
• Appropriate CSCS card.

Desirable Criteria

• Minimum relevant level 4 qualification (HNC/NVQ4 etc).
• Relevant degree.Use Conquest Estimating System or similar.
• Experience of taking off quantities up to SMM 7.
• Working towards MCIOB/RICS.

Additional Information

Willmott Dixon embraces diversity in the workplace and will consider flexible and agile working.

We are a disability confident employer.

We reward our people generously with a competitive package that gives you flexible benefits to fit your lifestyle and priorities. This includes but is not limited to, an enhanced pension scheme, full private medical, life assurance, incentive bonus and a car scheme which will make us a market leader in sustainable company travel. This role will benefit from a motoring expenditure allowance (MEA) and everyone can access a new generation of low carbon and electric cars via the Willmott Dixon run car leasing scheme.

About Us

With 170 years of rich history, Willmott Dixon's purpose beyond profit is to deliver brilliant buildings, transform lives, strengthen communities, and enhance the environment so our world is fit for future generations. Ensuring that we add lasting value to the neighbourhoods we work in; our values, people, innovation, partnerships and focus on sustainability has allowed us to build a successful and trusted privately owned business where our people can thrive.

Willmott Dixon was recognised by The Sunday Times as one of the Top 10 "Big" Companies to Work For in 2025, named among the Times Top 50 Employers for Gender Equality in 2024, and ranked in the Top Five of Europe's 1,000 best workplaces by the Financial Times in 2025. Willmott Dixon is also the first major contractor and developer to win a King's Award for Enterprise in the category of sustainable development.