Construction Estimator – Australian Projects | WFH | AU Day Shift

Scale-X Solutions; Philippines; On-site; PHP 743,000 - 991,000; Full time

Job summary

Scale-X Solutions is seeking an estimator to work full time from the Philippines, supporting our Sydney estimating function during Australian Eastern business hours. You will read drawings, perform take-offs and build up rates for labour, plant, materials and subcontractors to produce quotations and tenders for Australian clients.

The role requires practical estimating experience in construction, with training by Sydney estimators and ongoing oversight for the initial period before independent

Qualifications

• 2-6 years of estimating experience in construction.
• Experience reading drawings and scopes for take-offs.
• Proven ability to price labour, plant, materials and subcontractors.

Responsibilities

• Take-offs from drawings and specifications to prepare estimates.
• Develop quotes and tender submissions for Australian clients.
• Coordinate with Sydney estimators during training and review.
• Maintain rate schedules, templates and estimating files.

Skills

Attention to detail

Organizational skills

English proficiency

Communication

Problem solving

Pricing strategy

Team collaboration

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Bluebeam

CostX

Buildsoft

Cubit

Procore

Job description

Full Time | Monday – Friday | AU business hours

$12 AUD per hour (Negotiable)

Our client is a privately owned construction services in Australia. The business started in 2010 and now employs more than 150 people across New South Wales and Queensland. It holds ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 certification and is Great Place to Work certified.

The group runs four divisions:

• DIV 1 - Heavy structural demolition, civil excavation, hazardous material and asbestos removal, decommissioning and early works. NSW and QLD, mostly Tier 1 clients.
• DIV 2 - Precision concrete cutting, core drilling, grinding and polishing, surface preparation, GPR concrete scanning, sealing and patch repairs. Member of the Concrete Sawing and Drilling Association of Australia.
• DIV 3 - Concrete and steel remediation, concrete cancer treatment, carbon fibre strengthening, waterproofing, protective coatings, strip out and refurbishment.
• DIV 4 - Light demolition, strip outs and rubbish removal across Sydney and the Northern Rivers. Clients include Tier 1 principal contractors, along with government agencies, local councils, rail and infrastructure operators, strata managers and commercial property owners. Projects run across commercial, residential, civil, infrastructure, rail and public asset work.

We are hiring one Estimator to work full time from the Philippines during Australian Eastern business hours, supporting our Sydney estimating function.

The person we appoint will be placed with one of the divisions above. We have not locked in which one. We are looking at the candidate first and matching the division to their background, so your shortlist can include people from demolition, civil, concrete, remediation or general building estimating.

The work is subcontract estimating. Reading drawings and scopes, measuring quantities, building up rates for labour, plant, materials and consumables, and putting together quotations and tender submissions for Australian clients.

This is not a general administration job. We need someone who has actually done take-offs and priced work inside a construction business. It is also not a role where the person is left on their own from day one. Our Sydney estimators will train the successful candidate on our systems, rates and standards and will review their work for the first two to three months. After that we expect them to run their own quotes with normal oversight.

WHAT YOU WILL DO:

Take-offs and estimating

• Review incoming requests for quote, drawings, specifications, bills of quantities and scope documents
• Measure and calculate quantities from architectural, structural and civil drawings
• Build cost estimates covering labour, plant, equipment, materials, consumables and subcontractor rates
• Keep rate schedules, pricing templates and estimating files current and in order

Quotes and tenders

• Prepare and issue professional client quotations, often on a short turnaround
• Put together formal tender responses for commercial, government and infrastructure clients
• Write scope statements, inclusions, exclusions and qualifications
• Track tender deadlines and submission requirements so nothing is missed

Suppliers and subcontractors

• Request and assess quotes from suppliers and subcontractors and work them into the estimate
• Maintain a register of preferred suppliers and current material rates

Communication and coordination

• Work with the Sydney estimating and operations teams every day by email, video call and Slack
• Clarify scope, pricing and technical questions before a quote goes out
• Follow up outstanding quotations and tenders
• Handle client enquiries by email and phone once trained on our scopes, which is a daily requirement in some divisions

Variations, handovers and reporting

• Identify scope changes during the estimating process and price variations
• Prepare handover documentation for the operations team when a job is awardedKeep a live register of active quotes and tenders
• Track win and loss rates and report estimating activity to management

EXPERIENCE LEVEL:

• 2 - 6 years of estimating or estimating support experience in construction. Our preference sits at the upper end of that range, because a more experienced estimator can be placed in any of the divisions. We will still look seriously at someone with less time behind them if they have real take-off and pricing exposure and communicate well. Practical estimating experience counts for more with us than formal qualifications.
• Construction background - Has worked inside a construction, civil or specialist subcontracting business. Understands how projects are structured, priced and delivered.
• Quantity take-offs - Can measure and calculate quantities from drawings, scopes, bills of quantities and specifications without being walked through it.
• Cost estimating - Has built up rates covering labour, plant, materials, consumables and subcontractor costs.
• Quotes and tender - Has personally prepared quotations or tender submissions, not just formatted documents that someone else priced.
• Reading drawings - Reads and interprets architectural, structural and civil drawings confidently. An engineering degree is not required.
• Microsoft Excel - Strong Excel. Builds and works with pricing schedules, take-off sheets and cost trackers.
• Estimating software - Exposure to Bluebeam, CostX, Buildsoft, Cubit, Procore or similar is valued. A strong Excel base matters more.
• English - Clear, professional written and spoken business English. Daily contact with the Sydney team, and client contact in some divisions.

USEFUL BUT NOT ESSENTIAL SKILLS:

• Direct estimating experience in demolition, concrete cutting and coring, grinding, remediation, civil or other specialist subcontract work
• Experience working with or for an Australian construction business
• Familiarity with Australian procurement processes and Tier 1 builder requirements
• Exposure to Procore, Aconex or similar project management and document control platforms
• Familiarity with government tender portals such as buy.nsw or QTenders
• Understanding of Australian standard contracts such as AS 4000 and AS 4902
• Awareness of SafeWork NSW or Queensland work health and safety requirements as they affect estimating submissions

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES:

• Accurate and careful. Pricing errors cost us money, so detail matters more than speed.
• Organised enough to run several live quotes and tenders at once without losing track
• Responsive. Clients expect quick turnaround and so do we.
• Open to learning our way of working, even where it differs from what they are used to
• Asks questions when something is unclear rather than guessing
• Commercially aware. Understands margin, risk and what makes a quote winnable.
• Proactive. Raises problems early instead of waiting to be told.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT:

• Clear written and spoken English is a requirement and we do not compromise on it. The person will write emails and quotations that go to Australian builders, project managers, engineers and government procurement teams, and will speak with our Sydney team by phone and video every day.
• Please assess English carefully at screening and include a proficiency rating in each candidate summary. A short-written exercise, and a sample quotation or take-off task at interview stage, would help us. Someone who cannot hold a confident conversation in English will not suit the role regardless of technical skill.

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