Lead Estimator

Thames Water Utilities Limited; Reading; Hybrid; GBP 54,000 - 66,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual leave 26 days

Pension scheme via AON

Employee benefits

Wellbeing initiatives

Job summary

Thames Water Utilities Limited in Reading is seeking a Lead Estimator to develop bottom-up estimates and manage cost data for project scoping and budgeting. You will review requirements, approve costs, and help shape a new estimating database to enhance capability across the team.

The role demands extensive estimating experience in engineering/water/construction, strong leadership, and meticulous time management to meet tight deadlines.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in estimating is essential, along with previous experience within either an engineering, water or construction industry role.
• Exceptional team player and able to lead projects when required.
• Excellent time management with the ability to work to tight deadlines.
• High attention to detail.

Responsibilities

• Create bottom-up estimates when system costings aren’t available.
• Review of scope requirements for errors/inconsistencies and/or seek clarifications or additional information from the relevant designer team.
• Review and approve costs for all Estimates before submitting the final costing template to key stakeholders.
• Lead the process of developing a new bottom-up estimating database to improve our internal estimating capabilities.
• Review contractor returns, create or update standardised bottom-up estimate templates for future use by the wider Estimating team.
• Provide support and training to junior members of the team on the end-to-end process, supporting the system and providing any costing advice as deemed necessary.
• Proactively identify further opportunities to improve the end-to-end process.
• Ensure all stakeholders are actively engaged to meet agreed KPIs.

Skills

Estimating experience

Team leadership

Time management

Detail oriented

Tools

Benchmark

Job description

Job title Lead Estimator Ref 45865 Division Finance & Commercial Location Reading - Clearwater Court - RG1 8DB Contract type Permanent Full/Part-time Full-time Salary Competitive salary from £60,000 per annum, depending on experience Job grade B Closing date 23/09/2026

This is a fantastic opportunity for someone who is looking to get into a really niche team at Thames Water. You will be using the water industry-specific engineering estimating system (Benchmark) package as your main source of cost information, but also as part of the role expected to develop bottom-up estimates from various data sources.

This Estimating function will enable the development of a project cost from an agreed scope, for optioneering/budget setting approval. It will also be used for benchmarking contractors’ actual costs in value-for-money statements as part of the end-to-end business process.

What you’ll be doing as a Lead Estimator

• Create bottom-up estimates when system costings aren’t available.
• Review of scope requirements for errors/inconsistencies and/or seek clarifications or additional information from the relevant designer team.
• Review and approve costs for all Estimates before submitting the final costing template to key stakeholders.
• Lead the process of developing a new bottom-up estimating database to improve our internal estimating capabilities.
• Review contractor returns, create or update standardised bottom-up estimate templates for future use by the wider Estimating team.
• Provide support and training to junior members of the team on the end-to-end process, supporting the system and providing any costing advice as deemed necessary.
• Proactively identify further opportunities to improve the end-to-end process.
• Ensure all stakeholders are actively engaged to meet agreed KPIs.

Base Location: Reading - Hybrid

Working Pattern or hours: 36 Hours

What you should bring to the role

To thrive in this role, the essential criteria you’ll need are:

• Extensive experience in estimating is essential, along with previous experience within either an engineering, water or construction industry role.
• Exceptional team player and able to lead projects when required.
• Excellent time management with the ability to work to tight deadlines.
• High attention to detail.

What’s in it for you?

• Competitive salary up to £60,000 per annum, depending on experience.
• Annual Leave - 26 days holiday per year, increasing to 30 with the length of service. (plus bank holidays)
• Performance-related pay plan directly linked to company performance measures and targets.
• Generous Pension Scheme through AON.
• Access to lots of benefits to help you take care of you and your family’s health and wellbeing, and your finances – from annual health MOTs and access to physiotherapy and counselling, to Cycle to Work schemes, shopping vouchers and life assurance.

Find out more about our benefits and perks (Please note different T&Cs apply if on secondment)

Who are we?

We’re the UK’s largest water and wastewater company, with more than 16 million customers relying on us every day to supply water for their taps and toilets. We want to build a better future for all, helping our customers, communities, people, and the planet to thrive. It’s a big job, and we’ve got a long way to go, so we need help from passionate and skilled people, committed to making a difference and getting us to where we want to be in the years and decades to come.

Thames Water is a unique, rewarding, and diverse place to work, where every day you can make a difference, yet no day is the same. As part of our family, you’ll enjoy meaningful career opportunities, flexible working arrangements and excellent benefits.

If you’re looking for a sustainable and successful career where you can make a daily difference to millions of people’s lives while helping to protect the world of water for future generations, we’ll be here to support you every step of the way. Together, we can build a better future for our customers, our region, and our planet.

Real purpose, real support, real opportunities. Come and join the Thames Water family. Why choose us? Learn more.

We’re committed to being a great, diverse, and inclusive place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and want to ensure you feel supported throughout the recruitment process . If you need any adjustments, whether that’s extra time, accessible formats, or anything else, just let us know. We’re here to help and support .

When a crisis happens, we all rally around to support our customers. As part of Team Thames, you’ll have the opportunity to sign up to support our customers on the frontline as an ambassador. Full training will be given for what is undoubtedly an incredibly rewarding experience. It’s also a great opportunity to learn more about our business and meet colleagues.

Disclaimer: Due to the high volume of applications we receive, we may close the advert earlier than the advertised date, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.