Senior Estimator – Civil / Road Infrastructure

ABOUT THE COMPANY

Our client is an Australian business supplying road safety barriers - for roadsides, car parks, schools and other sites - to councils, contractors and construction clients across Australia. The business is led by its General Manager and Operations Manager, who this role reports to directly.

PRIMARY PURPOSE

To independently run the day-to-day estimating and quoting workflow - checking plans against the schedule, taking off quantities, sourcing supplier pricing and working out margins - and to build the kind of trust with management, through accurate work, honest communication and a focus on keeping the client happy, that lets the role take on more of the client-facing side over time.

ABOUT THE ROLE

• A senior, full-time Estimator role at the centre of the quoting process - reviewing customer enquiries, checking supplied plans against the job schedule, and turning that into an accurate, priced quote using the company's own templates and rates.

• Internally, one person currently runs estimating end to end, from enquiry through to submitting the quote to the client. Remotely, this role owns the estimating and quoting engine room - checking plans, sourcing supplier pricing, working out margins and building the quote - while management keeps final client sign-off and quote submission in-house at the start.

• As trust builds over the first few months, there is scope for this role to take on more direct client contact. This is not a sales role, and no commercial decision is made without management's sign-off.

• Trusted to work independently on the estimating and quoting workflow and exercise judgement on scope and pricing questions within agreed rates - but genuinely understanding an instruction, plan or piece of feedback, and asking a clarifying question rather than guessing or agreeing by default, matters more in this role than in most.

• Keeping the client happy sits behind every part of this role - even while quote submission stays with management at the start, the accuracy, turnaround and professionalism of the work behind the scenes is what keeps the client relationship strong.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Enquiries & Plan Review

• Review new customer enquiries and the plans or drawings supplied for the job

• Check the supplied plans against the job schedule to confirm they match, and flag any differences before quoting rather than assuming

• Request missing photos, information or clarification from management rather than guessing

• Takeoffs & Quote Preparation

• Perform takeoffs from civil/road design drawings using Adobe for markup and measurement

• Record and tally quantities in Excel, and build the quote using the company's templates, pricing structure and rates

• Own quote accuracy and turnaround time on the estimating side, with minimal supervision

• Pricing & Supplier Coordination

• Source and compare pricing from a couple of different suppliers for each job

• Chase, confirm and follow up outstanding supplier pricing

• Work out margins and the final cost to the business before the quote goes to management

• Client Communication (Phased)

• In the early months, prepare the quote for management to review and issue to the client directly - client-facing communication and quote submission stay in-house at the start

• Communicate with suppliers directly as required, using the company's official email

• Flag anything a client mentions that could be a new opportunity back to management, even though this is not a sales role

• Over time, and only as agreed with management, take on more direct client contact - by email first, and potentially by phone later

• Communication & Judgement

• Ask a clarifying question rather than guessing or agreeing to an instruction, plan or piece of feedback that isn't fully understood - the single most important trait for this role

• Communicate clearly and accurately in written and spoken English with management and suppliers

• Escalate only genuine exceptions once confident with the day-to-day workflow

• Working Hours

• Full-time, aligned to Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) business hours, working the same calendar as the Australian-based leadership team

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

• Plans are checked against the job schedule and any discrepancies are caught before quoting, not after

• Quotes are accurate, complete and out the door within agreed turnaround times, with minimal rework

• Instructions and feedback are genuinely understood - questions are asked early rather than assumptions being made and found out later

• Supplier pricing is current and chased proactively, with clear margins worked out before management sees the quote

• Management is brought genuine exceptions, not routine questions they shouldn't need to see

• The client stays happy - quotes are accurate and on time, and nothing management has to fix or apologise for after the fact

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

MUST-HAVE (ESSENTIAL)

• Very good communication - clear written and spoken English, and asks a clarifying question rather than guessing or agreeing by default

• Engineering background - ideally civil engineering, or hands-on experience with civil/road “horizontal works” (roads, pathways, council infrastructure)

• 5+ years' experience as an Estimator, at a senior level - not a junior hire, and not needing heavy day-to-day supervision

• Hands-on daily experience using Adobe (takeoff/markup of drawings) and Excel (recording quantities, building quotes)

• A genuine focus on keeping the client happy - reliable, professional and responsive, even while working behind the scenes

• Confident, independent reading of civil/road design drawings and schedules

• Own computer/laptop (16GB RAM or more recommended) and a private home office suitable for full-time remote work

• Available full-time on hours aligned to Australian business hours (AEST)

NICE-TO-HAVE (DESIRABLE)

• Sales aptitude or commercial awareness - nice to have, not required; this is not a sales role

• Prior estimating experience with road safety barriers or similar civil/road infrastructure products

• Experience working with Australian clients, councils, builders or construction companies

• Familiarity with estimating or takeoff software beyond Adobe and Excel

Required Experience

• An engineering background - ideally civil engineering, or an architectural/design background with hands-on experience on “horizontal works” (roads, pathways, or council/civil infrastructure projects)

• 5+ years' experience as an Estimator - this is a senior hire, not a junior one, and should not need heavy day-to-day supervision

• Confident, independent reading of civil/road design drawings and schedules

• Hands-on daily experience using Adobe (for takeoff and markup of drawings) and Excel (for recording quantities and building quotes)

• Able to work full time on hours aligned to Australian business hours (AEST)

Required Skills

• Very good communication - clear, accurate written and spoken English, and the confidence to ask a clarifying question rather than agreeing by default when something isn't fully understood

• A genuine focus on keeping the client happy - professional, reliable and responsive in how work and communication are handled, even while working behind the scenes at the start

• Accurate, methodical takeoff and quantity calculation

• High attention to detail - an error in a quote translates directly into lost margin or a lost job

• Able to work independently on the estimating and quoting workflow while keeping client-facing communication with management in the early months

• Own computer/laptop capable of running Adobe and large drawing files smoothly (16GB RAM or more recommended), and a private home office setup suitable for full-time remote work

Highly Desirable

• Sales aptitude or commercial awareness - comfortable spotting and flagging an opportunity in something a client mentions (nice to have, not a requirement - this is not a sales role)

• Prior estimating experience with road safety barriers or similar civil/road infrastructure products

• Experience working with Australian clients, councils, builders or construction companies - a bonus, not a substitute for the engineering background above

• Familiarity with estimating or takeoff software beyond Adobe and Excel