Lead Project Cost Estimator

Duties

• Leads and supervises a team of Estimators, including designating daily assignments.
• Plans and participates in the preparation of construction cost estimates of buildings or other structures from drawings, outlines, and specifications.
• Prepares and reviews cost estimates and forms and other materials submitted to secure State and/or federal grants and loans from school aid programs and represents the district on matters pertinent to securing such funds.
• Checks construction cost estimates submitted by commissioned architects and engineers for accuracy and completeness and compares them with District estimates.
• Confers with commissioned architects and engineers to resolve differences in their cost estimates and District estimates for each project and negotiates agreements on preliminary estimates of construction costs.
• Conducts studies and prepares reports when contractors' bids vary widely from the agreed construction cost estimate.
• Checks segregations of contract costs as estimated by building contractors and recommends acceptance or rejection as a basis for progress payments.
• Analyzes change orders on construction work under contract and approves or rejects extras or credits submitted.
• Prepares or reviews cost estimates for projects.
• Establishes and maintains procedures for approval of plans and specifications for building projects and submission of approved projects to public bidding.
• Develops methods for maintaining data used in records, charts, and graphs reflecting estimated construction costs compared with actual costs.
• Conducts and participates in seminars and workshops with staff and minority contractors relative to school construction bidding procedures, contracts, and cost estimating.
• Estimates costs of damages to District property caused by fire, natural disaster, and major acts of vandalism.
• Establishes budgets for school building projects.
• Assists other branches with related functions.
• Prepares preliminary and final independent cost estimates of projects for comparison with designer or contractor for PM/CM to establish negotiating position.
• Prepares change order estimates for Owner Authorized Representatives to establish negotiating position.
• Provides support in price negotiations.
• Prepares claim analysis and estimates.
• Review of contractor’s claims and proposals for merit and accountability.
• Performs related duties as assigned.

• A)
  • Fourteen (14) years full-time paid professional experience in the preparation of complete cost estimates for major/complex type I, II, or III, and V building construction as defined by the State building codes.
  • Graduation from a recognized college or university with a bachelor’s degree in architecture, engineering or construction management.
  • Three (3) years of full-time paid experience in supervising estimators.
  • Must have worked for a construction cost consulting firm for at least five (5) years.
• ORA)
  • Twenty (20) or more years solid full-time paid professional experience in the preparation of complete cost estimates for major/complex type I, II, or III, and V building construction as defined by the State building codes.
  • Degree not required.
  • Five (5) years of full-time paid experience in supervising estimators.
  • Must have worked for a construction cost consulting firm for at least five (5) years.

• Excellent communication skills, both oral and written.
• Extensive knowledge and experience in developing conceptual and pre-construction cost estimates for complex school building projects.
• Ability to prepare cost estimates quickly in a fast‑paced working environment.
• Knowledge of current local construction labor and material costs.
• Extensive experience in developing and estimating the scope of work for change orders.
• Ability to compare the independent cost estimate with contractor proposal to quickly identify differences.
• Ability to develop scope of work based on RFI/RFC answers and estimate the detailed costs of those scopes of work independently of the contractor proposal.