Director of Estimating

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

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES
1.Landscape estimating
2.Plan/spec review
3.Labor & production estimating
4.Material & equipment pricing
5.Subcontractor management
6.Bid leveling
7.Scope development
8.Value engineering
9.Contract & risk review
10.Budgeting
11.Estimating software
12.CRM & pipeline management
13.Financial & margin analysis
14.Team leadership & development
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

•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.