This is an opportunity to join a top ENR national footprint electrical constructor as the first estimator for a division.

As we have grown over the past half century plus we have added specialized branches and unique business units to address the needs of local markets, specialty markets and to design systems responsive to the project dimensions we tackle in those markets.  You will lead estimating in branch of a very large electrical construction firm that has relied on a centralized location for estimating requirements nation wide. It has worked to the extent that the local operation you will lead has steadily grown for the past ten years and made money, but the responsiveness, flexibility, precision and the opportunity to build key relationships is not there when estimating is not local. That is why we are now talking to you.

You would be stepping into a quality company that has exceptional management staff and complete project controls (computer systems for project management which helps your work run profitably in the field) as our first estimator in this division location. In this division location you are the chief. The estimating department and the systems will be initiated and grow under your direction. Being the first in a stand alone division has large responsibilities and large rewards. Beyond visibility you will be able to define the structures of the department and ultimately the staffing for the estimating department as we grow.

You will manage estimating requirements of a business in the 20 – 30 million dollar range in this location, but it would be reasonable to say that you will preside directly over 15 million dollars of the average 25 million dollar pie. If a huge requirement hits, you have help from the centralized estimating department.

To do the job you need to have been estimating for five years as a baseline qualification. It will be a matter of fit and passion after that. We can and will find a way to meet your salary requirements if we think you will fit well into the organization.  It is possible that you are a committed estimator with a positive attitude and good skills for bidding specifications. We could make that work. If you have value engineering and design skills, that is another discussion. If you add to those elements conceptual estimating skills, we may be able to put together a sufficiently palatable deal. Finally, if you have contract law experience, experience with negotiations, business development skills, risk assessment and capture skills, we have an interest and the ability to hire a rung or two higher than the plan originally called for.

The market in which you will operate is small-metro which has the standard commercial elements, institutional elements (like universities, military bases and hospitals), and a reasonable amount of industrial business. We are likely to send the one or two extra-large projects we bid in any given year to our central corporate estimating group. The typical projects you will estimate may range from fifty thousand to three million dollars. We bid specifications, do design assist and will do genuine design/build work. We have an engineering team as direct employees that include stand-out electrical engineers and mechanical engineers (necessary for critical facilities electrical work) and our engineers are licensed professional engineers, so we can originate electrical and mechanical systems designs and stamp our own drawings.

We have a strong history of using high technology tools in our business which includes computer estimating tools, job tracking tools, enterprise resource and financial management tools. Our local estimating department founder (you) has to believe in the use of information technology systems and the setting up of good standards for the estimating department. You are a computer savvy person and a capable administrator. What that specifically means is that you are an organized person that can set up job control and filing systems. Your job file folders are clean and can be read and understood by others. You set up standards you stick with for project notes and project documents that are uniform. There are not “Post-It” notes, illegible scribbles or meatball stains (hey, we have seen that) all over the prints in your files. You are willing to build the assemblies and templates for the database that make the system increasingly efficient and do whatever basic systems network maintenance that is required. You are a good business person in general and bring a certain business discipline with you.

WHY WORK HERE?

What makes our company a compelling home is significant. We are a big national company that can leverage national agreements so we can buy out a job at the rock bottom prices. We pay all our bills and have for more than fifty years, so there is no vendor who would not love to talk to you. We have a strong corporate estimating department with approachable leaders available to help you when the needs arise.

We are a life-long employer for many of the people who join the firm. There is no reason to leave because we have the work and are in an area that is growing and will continue to grow (even now), we employ some inspirational people, so you will have an impressive peer group, we are large enough so that there is always a way for strong contributors to advance, and we share profits. Interesting and stable work flow, great peers, good pay, buying power, respect in the community and a rock solid company is really the case. The closer you are willing to look, the better we look.

Finally, we have serious professional management with exceptional business development and contract negotiation skills as our leader.  THIS IS HUGE. We have a Division GM who chases the work, calls on the community, and a person with the polish, raw intellect, advanced degrees, training and drive to find the opportunities and build relationships for the company. We are not sitting and waiting; we are pushing. The Division GM is also and entirely rational and reasonable person and an ally you will be thrilled to have.

DOING THE JOB

Whether you are a diligent mid-career electrical estimating person looking to move up or you are a brilliant conceptual person and crack electrical designer that estimates, there are some job responsibility basics.

• You will have to take-off the job.
• You will identify omissions.
• You will have to apply labor with consideration for the real field construction challenges.
• You will have to build an accurate bill of materials.
• You will have to identify significant errors and omissions.
• You will use a computer system to enter the data. Accubid, McCormick, TRF, Estimation…one or more of these systems is in your past and we are gravitating to standardize Accubid.
• You will become familiar with all of the system possibilities and USE the computer for all it can do from repeating templates to storing unique assemblies and helping to build standardized job files.
• You will develop a quality file system and set up the standards for the operation of the local department.
• You will work with project managers and superintends in the operational review of your work.
• You may support change order efforts if they are large.
• You may help direct project managers and superintendents’ efforts doing things like breaking down a job into phases to set standards for hours to help measure productivity.

THE REST OF THE JOB

Great estimators do far more. We may help you become one, and if you are, we will look forward to seeing if we can be your career destination.

• You will identify errors and code issues.
• You will design alternatives and review work for value engineering potential and provide cost reduction suggestions.
• You may get involved in conceptual work and provide clients with feasibility input and budgetary studies and numbers.
• You will direct the team identifying risk and strategy for bidding and procedural strategy for moving work forward and getting VE ideas favorable to the company sold once the job is landed.
• You help solidify business development efforts by building relationships and helping to negotiate business deals.
• You develop capture strategies and bid strategies.
• You learn the competitive market and understand the strengths and weaknesses of the competitors, their past strategies, work loads and anything that can be used to best position the company.

THE ULTIMATE ESTIMATOR

• Find it, estimate it, position the company, and win the job.

You will not find a better team in the region. You can come in, talk to us, assess a position with us and YOU get to decide whether or not it makes sense to move forward. We made arrangements with a third party to answer basic questions so that you can determine if the next steps make sense for you with complete privacy. After your survey if you find the position does not work for your situation we have agreed that NONE of your information at all will be forwarded to the company.

OTHER NOTES:

We are in a nice with cost of living below the national average. There are good local school systems. A house in a good school district and nice suburban neighborhood of all new or newer single family home on half acre + in the range of $225K is easy to find. Nicer old homes are available at bargain prices.

PAY AND BENEFITS:

Base salary range is $80 – 90,000.00 You will be part of a profit bonus pool. You will be reviewed for merit. If you are that rare “rainmaking” estimator we are a sophisticated enough organization to deliver performance based money. We have big corporate benefits which are excellent, and we have a 401K with a match. For a great fit, we will consider moving you.

APPLY

Email: construction@entermail.net

Subject line: FIRSTESTIMATOR