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 prepare 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
• Develop 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 contractors claims and proposals for merit and accountability
• Performs related duties as assigned

Combined Qualifications:

Candidates who meet one of the two sets of combined qualifications below will be considered for this position.

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

AND

Graduation from a recognized college or university with a bachelors degree in architecture engineering or construction management AND

Three (3) years of full-time paid experience in supervising estimators AND

Must have worked for a construction cost consulting firm for at least five (5) years

OR

A) 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 AND

Degree not required AND

Five (5) years of full-time paid experience in supervising estimators AND

Must have worked for a construction cost consulting firm for at least five (5) years

Knowledge/Skills:

• 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 estimates the detailed costs of those scopes of work independent of the contractor proposal