Technical Estimating Manager – Structures & Pavements in Leicester

Department: Structures & Pavements

Reports To: Head of Structures & Pavements or Director of Sales

Salary and bonus: £45000 to £50000 and up to 3% on new business onboarded

Role Purpose

The Technical Estimating Manager – Structures & Pavements is responsible for the technical, operational, and safety-led assessment of works at tender and quotation stage. The role ensures that all estimates fully define the extent of works, methodologies, access requirements, resources, risks, and constraints, enabling project teams to deliver works exactly as estimated, safely, compliantly, and within commercial expectations. The position acts as a technical and risk gatekeeper, working closely with Project Managers to ensure a seamless transition from estimate to delivery, with no loss of scope clarity or control.

Key Responsibilities

• Technical Estimating & Scope Definition: Prepare detailed technical estimates for structures and pavements works. Define the full extent of works, including assumptions, constraints, inclusions, and exclusions. Translate client requirements into clear, deliverable scopes aligned to company capability. Ensure estimates reflect realistic programmes, access constraints, and site conditions. Prevent ambiguity that could lead to delivery risk, rework, or unpriced scope.
• Access, Equipment & Methodology Planning: Define and price all required access and enabling works, including MEWPs, specialist access equipment, rope access methodologies, traffic management, and access constraints. Assess the suitability of access solutions for site conditions and operational constraints. Identify plant, calibration, logistics, and mobilisation requirements at estimate stage.
• Competency & Resource Assessment: Identify the competencies required for each scope, including confined space-trained personnel, rope access-qualified operatives, working at height competence, and project-specific certifications or approvals. Ensure manpower assumptions are safe, compliant, and deliverable. Highlight any capability gaps prior to acceptance of works.
• Risk Assessment at Quotation Stage: Carry out early-stage risk assessments as part of all estimates. Identify hazards, abnormal risks, and constraints associated with proposed activities. Assess complexity and risk relating to confined spaces, working at height, live environments such as highways, rail, and public areas, and non-standard access methods or methodologies. Escalate high-risk or non-standard scopes to the Head of Structures & Pavements for approval. Ensure identified risks are eliminated, controlled, or appropriately priced.
• Liaison with Project Managers & Delivery Interface: Work closely with Structures & Pavements Project Managers to ensure estimated works are fully understood prior to mobilisation and delivered in accordance with the quoted scope, methodology, and assumptions. Provide a clear technical and commercial handover of awarded works, including scope definitions and boundaries, access and equipment assumptions, and competency and resource requirements. Act as a point of clarification during delivery where queries arise against the original estimate. Support Project Managers in identifying deviations from estimated scope and escalating where required. Assist in preventing scope creep, unsafe working practices, or uncontrolled changes during delivery.
• Quality, Compliance & Deliverability Assurance: Ensure estimated methodologies align with company Quality Management System requirements and accreditation standards. Confirm compatibility with BS EN and ASTM standards where applicable. Prevent commitment to works that cannot be delivered safely or compliantly. Challenge poor-quality information or unrealistic client expectations during the bid stage.
• Commercial & Bid Support: Provide technical input to tenders, bids, and framework submissions. Support pricing strategy through the clear identification of risks, constraints, and allowances. Participate in technical clarification meetings where required.
• Interfaces & Authority: Operate under the technical and operational governance of the Head of Structures & Pavements. Hold authority to define scope, methodology, access requirements, and risk assumptions at the estimating stage. Escalate significant risks, non-standard activities, or delivery concerns as required. Work collaboratively with Project Managers while not assuming delivery accountability.

Person Specification – Essential

Demonstrate a strong technical background in structures, pavements, or materials testing, together with proven experience producing technical estimates for civil engineering works. Possess demonstrable experience assessing MEWPs, scaffolding, rope access solutions, confined space operations, and operational health and safety risks.

Person Specification – Desirable

Experience within a UKAS-accredited environment is desirable, along with knowledge of BS EN and ASTM standards. Previous field delivery or Project Management experience would be advantageous.

Key Skills & Competencies

Demonstrate strong technical judgement, a high level of risk awareness, and the confidence to challenge assumptions where necessary. Communicate clearly across estimating and delivery functions while maintaining a structured, detail-focused, and disciplined approach.

Performance Measures

Performance will be measured through alignment between estimated and delivered scope, reduction in variations caused by poor initial definition, quality of estimate-to-project handover, and the safety and compliance performance of delivered works.