Furniture & Estimating Coordinator in Manchester

Furniture & Estimating Coordinator

A dual varied, trainee-level role covering both furniture coordination and estimating support, no industry experience is required. We're looking for the right attitude and we'll provide full training in both sides of the role.

Works with: Design, pre-construction and delivery teams

Based at: Insight House, Pacific Road, Altrincham

Indicative split: Roughly 30% furniture / 70% estimating

Level: Trainee level - no prior industry experience required

Salary: Up to £30k

Skills and Attributes:

• Organised and comfortable chasing people, much of the value in this role is in the follow-up.
• Confident with spreadsheets; able to read and measure from drawings.
• Commercially curious, able to spot where a specification change saves money without losing the design intent.
• Presentable and credible in front of clients at showrooms and site visits.
• Eager, switched on, shows initiative, wants to be developed, and is willing to pick up the phone.
• Part design-minded, comfortable spending time on fabrics and showrooms, and part commercially minded, without needing to operate at QS level.
• Patient, with a preparedness to re-quote the same job repeatedly as things change.
• Ideally this candidate would have a full driver’s license and access to a car for visits

Part One | Furniture Coordination (approx. 30%):

Covers FF&E, furniture, fixtures, acoustics and feature lighting, from first specification through to installation and sign-off, including quoting, re-quoting, finish selection, order placement and lead time management.

Suppliers, specification & quoting

• Meet suppliers and reps regularly; keep costing sheets, discount structures and the sample library (fabric books, swatches, catalogues) current and tidy.
• Track lead times and price rises, flagging early anything affecting a live scheme or quotation.
• Support designers on furniture that fits the brief, budget and building; maintain the FF&E schedule (spec, quantity, finish, cost) and prepare imagery/product sheets for client documents.
• Create, adjust and reissue quotations as designs develop.
• Bring alternative ranges to the designer ahead of client meetings so we're not reliant on one supplier and present value-engineered options with the saving clearly stated.

Procurement, installation & clients

• Obtain quotations, place purchase orders, and check acknowledgements (sizes, finishes, quantities, dates) before production.
• Negotiate at order stage and look to sell fabric upgrades and extra pods where appropriate.
• Coordinate delivery/installation with the Project Manager, suppliers and site, allowing for access, lifts and out-of-hours working.
• Support snagging at handover, chase remedials, register warranties, and reconcile supplier invoices against POs.
• Build up towards accompanying clients at showrooms; write up every visit; attend and minute client meetings.

Part Two | Estimating Coordination (70%)

Covers quantities, measuring, counting and pricing support, the measurable, chaseable and record-keeping work that supports the pre Construction team.

Quantities and measurements

• Assist with quantities and measurements from drawings; attend site surveys and record access constraints (loading, lifts, parking, out-of-hours, building rules); re-measure against each drawing revision.
• Approach suppliers/subcontractors for rates; issue tender packs with clear return dates; maintain a returns tracker and chase to deadline; level returns onto a comparison sheet, flagging exclusions and gaps.

Cost data, bids & compliance

• Maintain the project costing sheet and preliminaries schedules; version-control cost plans against drawing issues; benchmark final accounts against original estimates (£/m² by scheme type).
• Complete vetting from a reusable answer library; assemble and proof tender submissions to brand and client requirements; prepare good/better/best option costings where needed.
• Onboard new subcontractors/suppliers; collect and diarise compliance documents, chasing renewals; maintain the approved supplier list with performance feedback.
• Produce the handover pack for delivery (cost plan, procurement schedule, basis and exclusions) and attend the internal handover meeting.

What Good Looks Like

● Costing sheets and rates library never more than a quarter out of date.

● No client quotation issued against an outdated drawing.

● Subcontractor returns in on time, levelled and ready for the estimator.

● Furniture delivered to programme, snags closed within an agreed window.