Senior Preconstruction Lead, Commercial Estimating & Strategy

ACTalent; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 80,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Gold PPO Health Insurance

401k Plan

Unlimited Flex PTO

Commuter Benefits

Paid Family Leave

Professional Development

Volunteer Time Off

Job summary

Actalent is seeking a Preconstruction Manager in Chicago to lead multi-project pursuits from concept to turnover. You will prepare budgets, perform value engineering, and manage bid processes with trade partners, while partnering with PMs and operations to align strategies and mitigate risks.

You will mentor junior staff, refine processes, and maintain client relationships, using Bluebeam, Procore, and NetSuite to deliver high-quality estimates and bids.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in preconstruction, estimating, or construction management.
• Experience leading full-cycle estimates from conceptual pricing through GMP/final pricing.
• Budgeting, cost studies, value engineering expertise.
• Ability to manage multiple pursuits with competing deadlines.
• Experience on corporate interiors, hospitality, life sciences, education, healthcare, or similar projects.
• Strong knowledge of construction documents, scopes of work, and bid packages.
• Experience managing trade partner bidding, including solicitation and pricing validation.
• Familiarity with constructability reviews and their impact on cost/schedule.
• Ability to align preconstruction plans with field execution strategies.
• Proficiency with Bluebeam, Outbuild, Procore, NetSuite.
• Excellent verbal and written communication; strong leadership.

Responsibilities

• Lead multiple preconstruction pursuits from conceptual design through turnover.
• Prepare accurate estimates, budgets, and cost studies for commercial projects.
• Perform value engineering analyses to optimize cost, schedule, and constructability.
• Conduct constructability reviews to identify and mitigate risks.
• Manage bid solicitation, identify qualified trade partners, and track responses.
• Oversee subcontractor relationships and maintain communication with trade partners.
• Lead RFI processes to clarify design intent and scope gaps.
• Evaluate trade partner proposals, level bids, align scopes, and validate pricing.
• Collaborate with PMs, Superintendents, and Ops to align preconstruction with field execution.
• Develop and execute pursuit strategies with BD and leadership.
• Identify risks and mitigation strategies; present budgets and recommendations to clients.
• Monitor market pricing, labor trends, and material lead times.
• Utilize estimating tools to prepare, track, and report on estimates and bids.
• Support client-facing meetings and project pursuits as a subject matter expert.
• Mentor junior estimators and preconstruction staff.
• Refine and improve preconstruction processes and templates.
• Maintain strong client and partner relationships through clear communication.

Skills

Estimating

Preconstruction leadership

Pursuit management

Trade partner management

Value engineering

RFI management

Bid evaluation

Coordination

Estimating tools

Client communication

Leadership

Tools

Bluebeam

Outbuild

Procore

NetSuite

Job description

Actalent is seeking a Preconstruction Manager in Chicago to lead multi-project pursuits from concept to turnover. You will prepare budgets, perform value engineering, and manage bid processes with trade partners, while partnering with PMs and operations to align strategies and mitigate risks.

You will mentor junior staff, refine processes, and maintain client relationships, using Bluebeam, Procore, and NetSuite to deliver high-quality estimates and bids.