Lead Tender Estimator – Major Utilities & Civils

Network Plus group; Wales; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Network Plus, based in Worsley, seeks a Senior Estimator to lead pricing and bid strategy for large, complex capital schemes across water, gas, electricity and civils. You will own the tender process from enquiry to award and provide technical leadership to the estimating team.

The role requires strong commercial judgement, governance of cost plans, risk reviews, and effective collaboration with clients and delivery teams to ensure profitable tenders and smooth handover into construction.

Qualifications

• Proven track record of leading and winning large, complex tenders in a competitive environment.
• Substantial estimating experience within the Utilities, Engineering or Construction sectors.
• Experience leading tender adjudication and settlement, and presenting bids to senior stakeholders.
• First-principles estimating expertise – take-offs, bills of quantities and rate build-ups.
• Leadership, mentoring, relationship-building and influencing skills, with the ability to guide a team of estimators.

Responsibilities

• Lead and own the estimating lifecycle for large, complex capital schemes across water, gas, electricity and civils – from enquiry and first-principles build-up through to tender adjudication, award and handover
• Lead tender adjudication and settlement meetings, presenting cost, margin, risk and commercial strategy to Directors and senior management for sign-off
• Survey potential work sites across water, gas, electricity and civils schemes: establish ground and site conditions, confirm scope of work and specific design and specification requirements
• Produce detailed survey reports for pricing and future co-ordination of works
• Lead the analysis of plans, complete take-offs and produce detailed bills of quantities and first-principles cost estimates, assessing all project documentation to provide accurate, competitive and compliant tender submissions
• Lead supply chain engagement: issue enquiries, evaluate subcontractor and supplier proposals for technical compliance and commercial value, and shape procurement strategy to secure best prices
• Develop a comprehensive understanding of relevant construction methods and technologies across the water, gas, electricity and civils disciplines
• Lead value engineering to identify the best solution for our client’s requirements, offering a competitive price and best value whilst protecting margin and maximising our return on the project
• Where required liaise with the Proposals co-ordinator and other team members to produce detailed tender submissions
• Generate detailed quotes for our clients inclusive of all labour, plant & material costs supplemented by adjustments for overheads and profit
• Own tender risk: lead formal risk reviews and tender health checks, assess financial, technical, contractual and operational risks, and factor these into our pricing and contingency
• Prepare detailed Schedule of works/ Bill of Quantities for our Contracts Managers to work from
• Formulate detailed programmes in line with the project contract requirements
• Understand site specific risks and complete analysis of these for presentation in the tender risk register
• Prepare schematics, layouts and presentations to support proposals and quotations
• Promote and develop relationships with clients and suppliers
• Interpret contract forms (e.g. NEC and JCT) and framework requirements, factoring commercial and contractual risk into pricing
• Provide technical leadership, mentoring and quality assurance to the estimating team, reviewing colleagues’ estimates for accuracy and competitiveness and helping to allocate estimating resource across bid teams
• Capture actual cost data and benchmarks on completed schemes and feed these back to improve estimating accuracy and processes
• Stay up to date with the latest industry regulations and legislative requirements across the utilities sectors

Skills

Tender leadership

Estimating experience

First-principles estimating

Leadership & mentoring

Stakeholder engagement

Job description

Network Plus, based in Worsley, seeks a Senior Estimator to lead pricing and bid strategy for large, complex capital schemes across water, gas, electricity and civils. You will own the tender process from enquiry to award and provide technical leadership to the estimating team.

The role requires strong commercial judgement, governance of cost plans, risk reviews, and effective collaboration with clients and delivery teams to ensure profitable tenders and smooth handover into construction.