Chief Estimator – General Contractor
Location: Woodstock, ON
Industry: Commercial / Industrial / Institutional Construction
Employment Type: Full-time
Salary: 180K - 220K
About the Opportunity
Our client is a well-established General Contractor with a strong portfolio of complex construction projects. They are looking for an experienced Chief Estimator to lead their estimating function and play a key role in preconstruction, business development, and overall company strategy.
This is a senior leadership position for an estimator who is comfortable not only managing complex estimates, but also leading a team, influencing bid strategy, managing risk, and partnering with senior leadership to drive profitable growth.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead and provide strategic direction to the estimating department, including Senior, Intermediate, and Junior Estimators.
- Establish estimating standards, processes, and best practices to ensure consistent and accurate bids.
- Manage departmental workload and resources across multiple concurrent tenders.
- Lead go/no-go bid decisions, assessing project fit, risk, capacity, and profitability.
- Oversee conceptual budgets, preliminary estimates, detailed tenders, and procurement strategies.
- Review and approve final estimates and ensure alignment with profitability and risk objectives.
- Lead major tender closings and ensure submissions are accurate, competitive, and compliant.
- Identify and manage estimating risks, assumptions, exclusions, and opportunities.
- Work closely with Operations and Business Development throughout the preconstruction process.
- Lead the transition from successful tender to Operations, ensuring a thorough handover of pricing, assumptions, risks, and subcontractor commitments.
- Participate in client and consultant meetings, presentations, interviews, and proposal discussions.
- Provide strategic input on bid strategy, value engineering, constructability, and alternative delivery models.
- Develop and maintain strong relationships with subcontractors, suppliers, clients, developers, and consultants.
- Monitor market conditions, labour and material pricing, and subcontractor trends to improve cost forecasting.
- Support contract negotiations through cost analysis, scope clarification, and risk assessment.
- Lead the implementation and improvement of estimating technology, digital tools, cost databases, and benchmarking systems.
- Track estimating KPIs, including bid-to-win ratios, estimate accuracy, and proposal performance.
- Lead lessons-learned initiatives and continuously improve estimating processes.
- Participate as a member of the company's leadership team and contribute to strategic and resource planning.
Qualifications & Experience
- Diploma or degree in Construction Management, Civil Engineering, Architectural Technology, or a related discipline.
- 12+ years of progressive estimating experience within commercial, industrial, institutional, or similar construction environments.
- Previous experience leading and mentoring an estimating team.
- Strong understanding of construction methods, contracts, and delivery models, including Lump Sum, Construction Management, and Design-Build.
- Demonstrated ability to lead complex, multi-million-dollar tenders from preconstruction through closing.
- Strong financial, analytical, and cost-control capabilities.
- Ability to manage multiple bids simultaneously while working under tight deadlines.
- Excellent communication, negotiation, and presentation skills.
- Strong understanding of subcontractor and supplier markets.
- Established relationships within the construction industry are considered an asset.
