Construction Estimator

A Brief Overview

The Construction Estimator provides independent cost estimating, cost planning, and financial analysis for University Hospitals' capital construction program. Serving as the owner's cost expert, this position develops and validates project budgets, evaluates estimates prepared by architects, engineers, contractors, and construction managers, and advises project leadership on cost risks, market conditions, procurement strategies, and value-management opportunities.

The Construction Estimator supports projects from initial planning through design, procurement, construction, and closeout. This role establishes consistent estimating standards, improves the accuracy and reliability of capital forecasts, and provides University Hospitals with an independent basis for evaluating project costs, contractor proposals, change orders, allowances, contingencies, and escalation.

The position works closely with project managers, facilities leadership, finance, supply chain, legal, design professionals, contractors, and other internal stakeholders to ensure capital decisions are supported by complete, transparent, and defensible cost information.

• Prepare conceptual, schematic, design-development, and detailed construction estimates for healthcare renovation, infrastructure, equipment, and new-construction projects using available drawings, narratives, program information, historical data, and site conditions.
• Develop and validate comprehensive project budgets that account for construction costs, design and consulting fees, equipment, technology, permits, testing, temporary conditions, escalation, contingency, owner costs, and other project-specific requirements.
• Independently evaluate estimates submitted by architects, engineers, construction managers, general contractors, and specialty consultants for accuracy, completeness, quantity assumptions, unit pricing, labor rates, general conditions, markups, allowances, escalation, contingency, and scope coverage.
• Lead estimate reconciliation efforts between University Hospitals, design teams, contractors, and consultants. Identify material cost differences, scope gaps, duplicate costs, unsupported assumptions, and unresolved risks, and document the final reconciled position.
• Support contractor and vendor procurement by reviewing bids, proposals, guaranteed maximum price submissions, bid leveling documents, alternates, qualifications, exclusions, allowances, and unit prices. Provide recommendations regarding cost reasonableness and overall value.
• Analyze contractor change-order proposals for entitlement, scope, quantities, labor productivity, material pricing, equipment costs, subcontractor markups, general conditions, schedule impacts, and compliance with contractual requirements. Develop independent estimates when needed to support negotiations.
• Identify cost drivers, evaluate design alternatives, and recommend value-management strategies that maintain clinical, operational, quality, safety, and regulatory requirements while improving project affordability and lifecycle value.
• Develop and maintain a centralized database of historical project costs, unit prices, escalation factors, regional market conditions, contractor pricing, change-order trends, and healthcare construction benchmarks. Use this information to improve future estimates and capital planning.
• Provide estimating support for annual and multiyear capital planning, project prioritization, funding requests, business cases, feasibility studies, and executive approvals. Communicate estimate ranges, assumptions, confidence levels, contingencies, and potential financial exposure.
• Create and maintain University Hospitals’ estimating procedures, templates, cost-code structures, estimate classifications, documentation requirements, benchmarking standards, and quality-control processes. Promote consistent estimating practices across the capital program.

• Participate in project planning, design reviews, constructibility reviews, contractor interviews, procurement activities, and project risk assessments.
• Monitor construction-market conditions, including labor…