Chief Estimator

Chief Estimator – General Contractor

Location: Woodstock, ON

Industry: Commercial / Industrial / Institutional Construction

Employment Type: Full-time

Salary: $180K – $220K

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.

Fuze HR Solutions is committed to building a diverse, accessible, and equitable workforce. Our approach is twofold. Both internal, where we focus on creating a diverse and inclusive environment for our employees, and external, where we source and recruit from the most diverse candidate pools. Our teams are educated on current best practices at attracting, retaining, and working with the most talented and diverse candidates.

As an equal opportunity employer, we are committed to accommodating every candidate and encourage those who identify as a member of a visible minority group, or a person with a disability and requiring specific accommodations, to apply.

For all questions, comments and feedback on our diversity and inclusion programs and policies or to request information relating to accommodation measures, please contact your local Fuze HR Solutions branch.

We thank all applicants for their interest. However, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

At Fuze HR, we may use AI-powered tools to assist with some of the behind-the-scenes tasks in recruitment. These tools help us work more efficiently and stay organized, but all final hiring decisions are made by our team of real people.

This posting is for an existing vacancy.

Contract Info / Information sur le contrat

• Job ID / No. du Poste: 59172341
• Open Positions / Postes Ouverts: 1