Project Estimator | Land Production

Project Estimator | Land Production

The Project Estimator is responsible for developing accurate and comprehensive pricing and scopes of work for live entertainment and Destination Design proposals across the Land Production portfolio. This includes reviewing incoming client briefs, translating preliminary concepts into clear scopes of work, and building detailed budget estimates that reflect operational, technical, design and creative requirements. This role requires a highly analytical and detail-oriented professional who can interpret creative intent, identify resource needs, and quantify labor, equipment, vendor, and production costs to support informed decision-making.

The Project Estimator will collaborate closely with producers, project managers, creative teams, talent casting, technical specialists, and business development leads to ensure proposals are realistic, competitive, and aligned with both creative vision and financial targets. The Project Estimator will also communicate directly with internal stakeholders and support client discussions to clarify scope assumptions, pricing strategy, and cost drivers.

Key Responsibilities

• Provides world-class customer service, prioritizing client satisfaction at all times.
• Provides responsive internal and external support, ensuring business development teams, producers, and clients receive clear, accurate, and timely pricing information.
• Review preliminary briefs and translate concepts into structured scopes of work, defining deliverables, assumptions, exclusions, and operational requirements necessary for pricing.
• Establish pricing frameworks, timelines, and estimating workflows to support proposal deadlines and submission schedules.
• Determine required labor (designers, talent, production management etc.), equipment, materials, vendor services, and logistics inputs to build complete and realistic cost structures for each proposal.
• Build and maintain detailed project estimates, tracking cost drivers, applying rate standards, contingencies, escalation factors, and ensuring financial accuracy.
• Gather and validate vendor, contractor, and supplier pricing, supporting bid comparisons and ensuring estimates reflect current market conditions.
• Develop staffing assumptions and labor models aligned with operational, creative and technical requirements, and scheduling parameters.
• Collaborate with production and creative teams to quantify system needs including staging, scenic, lighting, audio, video, SFX, and specialty installations.
• Review estimates for completeness and consistency, validating calculations and ensuring proposals align with RWS Global standards and client expectations.
• Identify scope gaps, cost uncertainties, and operational risks, applying appropriate contingencies and communicating assumptions.
• Maintain organized estimating records, proposal revisions, rate cards, and supporting backup documentation for transparency and future reference.
• Support proposal cycles across global time zones, including extended hours during active bid periods and coordination with international project teams as needed.

Qualifications & Skills

• Degree in Business, Finance, Production, Technical Theatre, Engineering, Construction Management, or a related field; equivalent professional experience considered.
• 4+ years of experience in estimating, budgeting, or financial planning within live entertainment, themed experiences, construction, or event production industries.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to clearly explain scope assumptions and cost drivers to both internal and external stakeholders.
• Strong understanding of live entertainment and destination experience production processes, design/build methodologies, labor/talent structures, technical systems, logistics, and vendor workflows.
• Proficiency in spreadsheet modeling and budgeting tools, including advanced Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets platforms; familiarity with project management platforms such as Wrike, Asana, Smartsheet, or equivalent preferred.
• Demonstrated analytical skills with attention to detail and the ability to interpret creative and business briefs into quantifiable scopes and cost models.
• Familiarity with contractual structures, bid comparisons, and pricing methodologies including contingencies, escalation, and margin application.
• Ability to manage multiple proposals simultaneously under tight deadlines while maintaining accuracy and organization.
• Flexibility to support proposal cycles across varying time zones, including occasional extended hours during critical bid periods.

Character Attributes

• Leadership:
  Enables project team members to achieve collective results through planning, collaboration, and confident decision making.
• Strong Communicator:
  Able to provide clear direction to team members, crew, talent, vendors, and stakeholders, ensuring clear understanding and alignment across all project activities.
• Highly Organized:
  Exceptional at planning and managing complex schedules and…