Construction Estimator

University Hospitals Pain Management; Cleveland (OH); Hybrid; USD 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

University Hospitals seeks a Construction Estimator to provide expert cost estimating, budgeting, and financial analysis for its capital construction program. You will validate budgets, assess external estimates, and advise leadership on cost risks and procurement strategies across planning, design, procurement, construction, and closeout.

The role collaborates with project managers, facilities leadership, finance, and legal teams to deliver transparent, defensible cost information and robust

Responsibilities

• Prepare conceptual, schematic, design-development, and detailed estimates for healthcare projects using drawings, narratives, and site data.
• Develop and validate project budgets covering construction, design fees, equipment, permits, escalation, and contingencies.
• Independently assess estimates from architects, engineers, contractors, and consultants for accuracy and completeness.
• Lead estimate reconciliation with stakeholders to resolve cost differences and uncertainties.
• Review bids, proposals, and GMP submissions to advise on reasonableness and value.
• Analyze change-order proposals for entitlement, scope, quantities, labor, and material pricing.
• Identify cost drivers and recommend value-management options without compromising clinical and safety requirements.
• Maintain a centralized database of historical costs, market conditions, and pricing trends.
• Support capital planning with cost ranges, assumptions, and financial exposure.

Job description

A Brief Overview

The Construction Estimator provides independent cost estimating, cost planning, and financial analysis for University Hospitals' capital construction program. Serving as the owner's cost expert, this position develops and validates project budgets, evaluates estimates prepared by architects, engineers, contractors, and construction managers, and advises project leadership on cost risks, market conditions, procurement strategies, and value-management opportunities.The Construction Estimator supports projects from initial planning through design, procurement, construction, and closeout. This role establishes consistent estimating standards, improves the accuracy and reliability of capital forecasts, and provides University Hospitals with an independent basis for evaluating project costs, contractor proposals, change orders, allowances, contingencies, and escalation.The position works closely with project managers, facilities leadership, finance, supply chain, legal, design professionals, contractors, and other internal stakeholders to ensure capital decisions are supported by complete, transparent, and defensible cost information.

What You Will Do

• Prepare conceptual, schematic, design-development, and detailed construction estimates for healthcare renovation, infrastructure, equipment, and new-construction projects using available drawings, narratives, program information, historical data, and site conditions.
• Develop and validate comprehensive project budgets that account for construction costs, design and consulting fees, equipment, technology, permits, testing, temporary conditions, escalation, contingency, owner costs, and other project-specific requirements.
• Independently evaluate estimates submitted by architects, engineers, construction managers, general contractors, and specialty consultants for accuracy, completeness, quantity assumptions, unit pricing, labor rates, general conditions, markups, allowances, escalation, contingency, and scope coverage.
• Lead estimate reconciliation efforts between University Hospitals, design teams, contractors, and consultants. Identify material cost differences, scope gaps, duplicate costs, unsupported assumptions, and unresolved risks, and document the final reconciled position.
• Support contractor and vendor procurement by reviewing bids, proposals, guaranteed maximum price submissions, bid leveling documents, alternates, qualifications, exclusions, allowances, and unit prices. Provide recommendations regarding cost reasonableness and overall value.
• Analyze contractor change-order proposals for entitlement, scope, quantities, labor productivity, material pricing, equipment costs, subcontractor markups, general conditions, schedule impacts, and compliance with contractual requirements. Develop independent estimates when needed to support negotiations.
• Identify cost drivers, evaluate design alternatives, and recommend value-management strategies that maintain clinical, operational, quality, safety, and regulatory requirements while improving project affordability and lifecycle value.
• Develop and maintain a centralized database of historical project costs, unit prices, escalation factors, regional market conditions, contractor pricing, change-order trends, and healthcare construction benchmarks. Use this information to improve future estimates and capital planning.
• Provide estimating support for annual and multiyear capital planning, project prioritization, funding requests, business cases, feasibility studies, and executive approvals. Communicate estimate ranges, assumptions, confidence levels, contingencies, and potential financial exposure.
• Create and maintain University Hospitals’ estimating procedures, templates, cost-code structures, estimate classifications, documentation requirements, benchmarking standards, and quality-control processes. Promote consistent estimating practices across the capital program.

Additional Responsibilities

• Participate in project planning, design reviews, constructibility reviews, contractor interviews, procurement activities, and project risk assessments.
• Monitor construction-market conditions, including labor availability, material pricing, supply-chain constraints, escalation, and regional bidding activity.
• Assist project managers with cash-flow projections, contingency analysis, cost-to-complete assessments, and financial reporting.
• Support audits, executive reviews, contract negotiations, and claims analysis by providing cost documentation and independent evaluations.
• Conduct site visits to understand existing conditions, construction constraints, phasing requirements, logistics, infection‑control requirements, and impacts to occupied healthcare environments.
• Collaborate with project teams to improve scope definition before budgets are established or procurement activities begin.
• Perform other duties related to capital cost management and project delivery as assigned.
• Performs other duties as assigned.
• Complies with all policies and standards.
• For specific duties and responsibilities, refer to documentation provided by the department during orientation.
• Must abide by all requirements to safely and securely maintain Protected Health Information (PHI) for our patients. Annual training, the UH Code of Conduct and UH policies and procedures are in place to address appropriate use of PHI in the workplace.