Senior Estimator – Civil / Road Infrastructure

ABOUT THE COMPANY Our client is an Australian business supplying road safety barriers — for roadsides, car parks, schools and other sites — to councils, contractors and construction clients across Australia. The business is led by its General Manager and Operations Manager, who this role reports to directly. PRIMARY PURPOSE To independently run the day-to-day estimating and quoting workflow — checking plans against the schedule, taking off quantities, sourcing supplier pricing and working out margins — and to build the kind of trust with management, through accurate work, honest communication and a focus on keeping the client happy, that lets the role take on more of the client-facing side over time. ABOUT THE ROLE A senior, full-time Estimator role at the centre of the quoting process — reviewing customer enquiries, checking supplied plans against the job schedule, and turning that into an accurate, priced quote using the company's own templates and rates. Internally, one person currently runs estimating end to end, from enquiry through to submitting the quote to the client. Remotely, this role owns the estimating and quoting engine room — checking plans, sourcing supplier pricing, working out margins and building the quote — while management keeps final client sign-off and quote submission in-house at the start. As trust builds over the first few months, there is scope for this role to take on more direct client contact. This is not a sales role, and no commercial decision is made without management's sign-off. Trusted to work independently on the estimating and quoting workflow and exercise judgement on scope and pricing questions within agreed rates — but genuinely understanding an instruction, plan or piece of feedback, and asking a clarifying question rather than guessing or agreeing by default, matters more in this role than in most. Keeping the client happy sits behind every part of this role — even while quote submission stays with management at the start, the accuracy, turnaround and professionalism of the work behind the scenes is what keeps the client relationship strong. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES ▸ Enquiries & Plan Review Review new customer enquiries and the plans or drawings supplied for the job Check the supplied plans against the job schedule to confirm they match, and flag any differences before quoting rather than assuming Request missing photos, information or clarification from management rather than guessing ▸ Takeoffs & Quote Preparation Perform takeoffs from civil/road design drawings using Adobe for markup and measurement Record and tally quantities in Excel, and build the quote using the company's templates, pricing structure and rates Own quote accuracy and turnaround time on the estimating side, with minimal supervision ▸ Pricing & Supplier Coordination Source and compare pricing from a couple of different suppliers for each job Chase, confirm and follow up outstanding supplier pricing Work out margins and the final cost to the business before the quote goes to management ▸ Client Communication (Phased) In the early months, prepare the quote for management to review and issue to the client directly — client-facing communication and quote submission stay in-house at the start Communicate with suppliers directly as required, using the company's official email Flag anything a client mentions that could be a new opportunity back to management, even though this is not a sales role Over time, and only as agreed with management, take on more direct client contact — by email first, and potentially by phone later ▸ Communication & Judgement Ask a clarifying question rather than guessing or agreeing to an instruction, plan or piece of feedback that isn't fully understood — the single most important trait for this role Communicate clearly and accurately in written and spoken English with management and suppliers Escalate only genuine exceptions once confident with the day-to-day workflow ▸ Working Hours Full-time, aligned to Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) business hours, working the same calendar as the Australian-based leadership team WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE Plans are checked against the job schedule and any discrepancies are caught before quoting, not after Quotes are accurate, complete and out the door within agreed turnaround times, with minimal rework Instructions and feedback are genuinely understood — questions are asked early rather than assumptions being made and found out later Supplier pricing is current and chased proactively, with clear margins worked out before management sees the quote Management is brought genuine exceptions, not routine questions they shouldn't need to see The client stays happy — quotes are accurate and on time, and nothing management has to fix or apologise for after the fact QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE MUST-HAVE (ESSENTIAL) Very good communication — clear written and spoken English, and asks a clarifying question rather than guessing or agreeing by default Engineering background — ideally civil engineering, or hands-on experience with civil/road “horizontal works” (roads, pathways, council infrastructure) 5+ years' experience as an Estimator, at a senior level — not a junior hire, and not needing heavy day-to-day supervision Hands-on daily experience using Adobe (takeoff/markup of drawings) and Excel (recording quantities, building quotes) A genuine focus on keeping the client happy — reliable, professional and responsive, even while working behind the scenes Confident, independent reading of civil/road design drawings and schedules Own computer/laptop (16GB RAM or more recommended) and a private home office suitable for full-time remote work Available full-time on hours aligned to Australian business hours (AEST) NICE-TO-HAVE (DESIRABLE) Sales aptitude or commercial awareness — nice to have, not required; this is not a sales role Prior estimating experience with road safety barriers or similar civil/road infrastructure products Experience working with Australian clients, councils, builders or construction companies Familiarity with estimating or takeoff software beyond Adobe and Excel Required Experience An engineering background — ideally civil engineering, or an architectural/design background with hands-on experience on “horizontal works” (roads, pathways, or council/civil infrastructure projects) 5+ years' experience as an Estimator — this is a senior hire, not a junior one, and should not need heavy day-to-day supervision Confident, independent reading of civil/road design drawings and schedules Hands-on daily experience using Adobe (for takeoff and markup of drawings) and Excel (for recording quantities and building quotes) Able to work full time on hours aligned to Australian business hours (AEST) Required Skills Very good communication — clear, accurate written and spoken English, and the confidence to ask a clarifying question rather than agreeing by default when something isn't fully understood A genuine focus on keeping the client happy — professional, reliable and responsive in how work and communication are handled, even while working behind the scenes at the start Accurate, methodical takeoff and quantity calculation High attention to detail — an error in a quote translates directly into lost margin or a lost job Able to work independently on the estimating and quoting workflow while keeping client-facing communication with management in the early months Own computer/laptop capable of running Adobe and large drawing files smoothly (16GB RAM or more recommended), and a private home office setup suitable for full-time remote work Highly Desirable Sales aptitude or commercial awareness — comfortable spotting and flagging an opportunity in something a client mentions (nice to have, not a requirement — this is not a sales role) Prior estimating experience with road safety barriers or similar civil/road infrastructure products Experience working with Australian clients, councils, builders or construction companies — a bonus, not a substitute for the engineering background above Familiarity with estimating or takeoff software beyond Adobe and Excel