Director of Estimating

• Location 2972 Larkin Avenue,Clovis, CA, 93612,United States
• Base Pay $100,000.00 - $125,000.00 / Year

JOB TITLE: Director of Estimating

REPORTS TO: VP of Business Development

DIRECT REPORTS: None

TRAVEL: None

FLSA: Exempt

JOB TYPE: Full Time

GENERAL SUMMARY

The Director of Estimating leads Elite Team Offices’ estimating function across all branches and markets, building a high-performing team, standardizing processes, improving bid accuracy and productivity, and managing capacity. The role ensures Elite pursues the right projects, customers, and margins while owning the estimating process from opportunity qualification through bidding, award, and turnover to Operations. Working closely with Business Development, Branch, Operations, and Executive Leadership, the Director supports profitable growth, estimating discipline, and professional customer experience

CORE AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY

• 1.Estimating Leadership
• 2.Estimating Process Ownership
• 3.Bid Selection & Go/No-Go
• 4.Estimating Accuracy & Margin Protection
• 5.Estimating Capacity & Bid Protection
• 6.Pipeline & Backlog Support
• 7.Business Development Partnership
• 8.Estimating technology & Systems
• 9.Vendor & Subcontractor Pricing
• 10.Estimating-to-Operations Handoff

• 10+ years of construction estimating or preconstruction experience.
• 5+ years of estimating leadership or management experience.
• Landscape construction experience strongly preferred.
• Experience managing multiple estimators and/or multiple geographic markets.
• Strong knowledge of commercial construction bidding.
• Experience working with general contractors, public agencies, developers, and large commercial projects.

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

Production

• Bid volume
• Bid dollars submitted
• On-time bid completion %
• Estimating turnaround time
• Estimator productivity
• Estimating capacity/utilization

Sales & Conversion

• Overall bid hit rate
• Hit rate by customer
• Hit rate by estimator
• Hit rate by branch
• Hit rate by project type
• Finalist conversion rate
• Awarded contract value

Financial

• Estimated gross margin
• Awarded gross margin
• Estimated vs. actual gross margin
• Labor estimate vs. actual
• Material estimate vs. actual
• Major estimating variance trends

Strategic

• Average project size
• Percentage of estimating resources spent on qualified opportunities
• Repeat-customer win rate
• Strategic-account win rate
• Backlog generated from estimating activity
• Qualified pipeline supported

LEADERSHIP EXPECTATIONS

• Think beyond individual estimates and manage the overall estimating organization.
• Hold estimators accountable while developing their capabilities.
• Communicate problems early.
• Challenge assumptions when necessary.
• Protect company margins.
• Maintain strong relationships with Operations and Business Development.
• Use data rather than opinion to evaluate estimating performance.
• Continuously improve estimating processes.
• Build scalable systems that support company growth.

AUTHORITY & ACCOUNTABILITY

• Assign and prioritize estimating resources.
• Recommend Go/No-Go decisions.
• Require estimates to be corrected or reviewed before submission.
• Establish estimating standards and procedures
• Hold estimating personnel accountable for performance.
• Recommend hiring, promotion, training, and performance actions.
• Escalate project risks or margin concerns to executive leadership.
• Recommend changes to estimating technology, staffing, and processes.

SUCCESS IN THIS ROLE

• The company should know at any given time:
• What opportunities are being estimated.
• Why Elite is pursuing them.
• Who is responsible for each estimate.
• Whether bids will be completed on time.
• What margin is being targeted.
• Which customers and project types Elite wins most often.
• Where estimating capacity is constrained.
• Whether awarded projects are performing consistent with the original estimate.
• What changes need to be made to improve future win rates and profitability.