Senior Estimator

Seipp Construction Ltd; Auckland; Remote; NZD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Seipp Construction Ltd in Auckland is seeking a Senior Estimator to lead civil infrastructure tenders from review to handover. You will own tender strategy, pricing, and risk management, working closely with project, engineering and operations teams to test constructability and value.

This role requires strong commercial judgment, about 10 years of industry experience, and the ability to mentor junior estimators while ensuring tenders are competitive and deliverable.

Qualifications

• Substantial construction experience in civil infrastructure.
• Experience leading complex or high-value civil tenders.
• Commercially sharp and detail‑oriented; able to run across estimating, ops, engineering and project delivery.
• Approximately 10 years of industry experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead tender strategy, methodology, programme and pricing
• Develop robust first-principles estimates across labour, plant, materials, subcontractors, temporary works and preliminaries
• Work closely with our project, engineering and operational teams to develop practical and buildable solutions
• Identify commercial, contractual, programme and delivery risks early
• Challenge assumptions, test productivity and look for smarter ways to deliver
• Obtain and evaluate supplier and subcontractor pricing
• Coordinate the technical, operational and commercial inputs needed to keep tenders moving
• Lead tenders through our internal review process
• Manage post-tender clarifications and negotiations
• Ensure successful tenders are properly handed over to the people delivering the work
• Support and mentor Estimators and Junior Estimators and contribute to strengthening estimating capability across Seipp.

Skills

Tender strategy

Cost estimation

Risk management

Cross-functional collaboration

Tools

Pronamics Expert Estimation

Job description

Lead complex tenders. Shape how we deliver.

At Seipp, our estimating team works closely with the people who will actually deliver the work.

That means our tenders are grounded in practical construction knowledge, strong methodology and a clear understanding of programme, risk and cost.

We’re looking for an experienced Senior Estimator to join our Auckland team and take the lead on civil infrastructure tenders from initial review and strategy through to submission, negotiation and handover.

This is a senior role with genuine ownership. You’ll have experienced people around you, but we’ll be looking to you to bring the commercial judgement, construction knowledge and attention to detail that turns an opportunity into a tender we can stand behind.

The opportunity

Seipp is an award-winning New Zealand infrastructure contractor. We deliver technically challenging infrastructure and have built our reputation by doing what we say we will do, solving problems and taking pride in the work we leave behind.

Our Auckland business is growing, and this role will have real influence over the work we pursue and how we approach it.

You’ll work across civil infrastructure including water and wastewater, pipelines, pump stations, structures, deep excavations, treatment infrastructure and complex civil and mechanical works.

We also self-perform much of what we build. That keeps estimating close to construction and gives you direct access to the project, engineering and operational experience needed to properly test methodology, productivity, programme and risk.

What you’ll be doing

You’ll take ownership of assigned tenders from the first review of the opportunity through to final submission and handover to the delivery team.

That will see you:

• Lead tender strategy, methodology, programme and pricing
• Develop robust first-principles estimates across labour, plant, materials, subcontractors, temporary works and preliminaries
• Work closely with our project, engineering and operational teams to develop practical and buildable solutions
• Identify commercial, contractual, programme and delivery risks early
• Challenge assumptions, test productivity and look for smarter ways to deliver
• Obtain and evaluate supplier and subcontractor pricing
• Coordinate the technical, operational and commercial inputs needed to keep tenders moving
• Lead tenders through our internal review process
• Manage post-tender clarifications and negotiations
• Ensure successful tenders are properly handed over to the people delivering the work
• Support and mentor Estimators and Junior Estimators and contribute to strengthening estimating capability across Seipp.

What we’re looking for

We’re looking for someone with substantial construction experience and a strong understanding of how civil infrastructure is actually delivered.

You may have come through estimating, quantity surveying, project management or engineering. What matters is that you can bring together methodology, programme, resources, productivity, risk and price to develop a tender that is both competitive and deliverable.

You’ll ideally bring around 10 years’ industry experience, including experience leading complex or high-value civil construction tenders.

You’ll be commercially sharp, comfortable getting into the detail and confident working with people across estimating, operations, engineering and project delivery.

Experience with Pronamics Expert Estimation would be useful, but it isn’t what will determine whether you’re right for the role.

More important is how you think and operate.

You take ownership. You question assumptions. You raise risks early. You follow things through. You understand the importance of protecting margin and you know that winning work at the wrong price isn’t winning. That sits closely with how we expect our people to work at Seipp: be brilliant at the basics, take no shortcuts, treat the money like it’s your own and negotiate well.

Why Seipp?

We’re on a deliberate growth journey, but growth for us isn’t simply about getting bigger.

We want to build a strong, capable business that sets a high standard for infrastructure delivery and makes a meaningful difference to our people, their families and the communities where we work.

Our values are Safety, Encouragement, Innovation, Professional and Purposeful, and they shape how we work as much as what we deliver.

You’ll also have access to benefits including private health insurance after 90 days, professional membership support, ongoing training and development, annual health checks and a range of staff recognition and wellbeing initiatives.

If you’re an experienced estimator who wants to be close to the work, have genuine ownership of the tenders you lead and play an important part in the continued growth of Seipp in Auckland, we’d like to hear from you.