Principal Lead Estimator & Cost Controls Sme

Position: PRINCIPAL LEAD ESTIMATOR & COST CONTROLS SME
** Job Description*
* + Serve as the senior cost estimating, commercial analysis, and project controls subject matter expert for assigned projects, programs, and strategic initiatives.

+ Support investment decisions, budget development, cost governance, forecasting, and execution visibility across the delivery portfolio.

+ Translate project scope, design maturity, market conditions, contractor pricing, and field execution realities into accurate cost models, estimates, forecasts, risk assessments, and executive decision support.

+ Act as Oracle's internal cost authority and owner representative for estimating, cost management, commercial validation, and third-party Quantity Surveying (QS) governance.

Primary Responsibilities:

+ Develop and validate conceptual, budgetary, and detailed estimates across electrical, low voltage, mechanical, civil, structural, architectural, controls, security, network, and site infrastructure scopes.

+ Build and maintain cost models, parametric estimating tools, quantity-based estimates, labor productivity models, benchmarks, and should-cost analyses.

+ Lead cost forecasting, trend analysis, variance analysis, escalation analysis, contingency analysis, and cost risk identification.

+ Perform bid leveling, proposal normalization, commercial evaluations, contractor pricing reviews, vendor pricing validation, and scope gap analysis.

+ Prepare Basis of Estimate packages, executive cost reporting, cost dashboards, estimate governance standards, and portfolio cost intelligence reports.

+ Support change order evaluations, cost negotiation, cost-related decision support, project controls integration, and cost/schedule analytics.

+ Provide portfolio cost visibility by connecting estimating, forecasting, commercial risk, project controls, and field execution data.

+ Standardize estimating methodologies, cost reporting practices, and cost management procedures across assigned projects and programs.  Third-Party Quantity Surveying (QS) Governance

+ Manage external QS partners and cost consultants as integrated extensions of the delivery organization.

+ Define QS scopes of work, service standards, reporting requirements, performance metrics, and accountability measures.

+ Review, challenge, validate, and accept QS estimates, forecasts, cost reports, methodologies, assumptions, and recommendations.

+ Coordinate multiple QS firms across projects and regions while improving quality, responsiveness, accuracy, and consistency.

+ Integrate QS outputs into portfolio reporting, executive decision-making, cost governance, and continuous improvement efforts.

Required

Skills and Experience:

+ Senior-level cost estimating, cost controls, commercial analysis, project controls, or capital project delivery experience.

+ Expertise in conceptual, budgetary, detailed, parametric, and quantity-based estimating methods.

+ Strong understanding of multi-discipline construction scopes, contractor pricing, productivity assumptions, quantities, and field execution realities.

+

Experience with cost forecasting, budget management, cost variance analysis, change order evaluation, contingency planning, and cost risk management.

+ Ability to perform bid leveling, proposal validation, scope reconciliation, should-cost modeling, benchmark development, and commercial challenge.

+ Demonstrated ability to manage third-party QS firms, cost consultants, or external estimating partners.

+ Strong executive reporting, dashboarding, cost governance, documentation, and data-driven decision support skills.

+ Ability to partner with project teams, procurement, construction, contractors, estimators, commercial stakeholders, and executive leadership.

+ Strong communication, cross-functional collaboration, consultant oversight, and stakeholder management skills.

Leadership Expectations:

+ Serve as the organization's subject matter expert for estimating methodologies, cost governance, commercial validation, and owner-side cost leadership.

+ Lead through cost expertise, commercial challenge, consultant oversight, data-driven decision support, and cross-functional collaboration.

+ Build trusted relationships with executive leadership, project teams, procurement, construction, contractors, QS partners, and commercial stakeholders.

+ Drive continuous improvement in estimate accuracy, forecast reliability, commercial rigor, reporting quality, and cost governance consistency.

Success Measures:

+ Estimates are accurate, defensible, trusted, and supported by documented assumptions.

+ Budget development, cost forecasts, and executive cost reporting improve predictability and decision-making.

+ Cost risks, scope gaps, commercial issues, and budget impacts are identified early and mitigated proactively.

+ Contractor pricing transparency increases, cost overruns are surfaced earlier, and change order exposure is reduced.

+ Benchmarks, cost databases, estimating standards, and reporting practices improve portfolio performance over time.

+ QS partners deliver consistent, high-quality work…