At Baker Electric we are energized by truly living our values - Team Builders, Relentless Follow Through, All-In, and Care for Others. When our team members work together with these things in mind, we do great things both individually and as an organization. Being an employee-owned company shows our drive for sustainable, long-term growth while enhancing the lives of our team members.
SUMMARY: The Chief Estimator position is responsible for overseeing all activities related to cost estimating for the
Special Projects / Service & MCES group(s) and other departments as business needs dictate. The Chief Estimator is responsible for managing and overseeing day-to-day cost-estimating activities as needed to procure new work and improve upon current processes. A major focus is to always to ensure that the estimating group output and quality are executed as efficiently as possible. The Chief Estimator leads and manages the estimating group with best of class processes that maximize performance.
This position is part of the Leadership Team for Baker Electric and as such will be participating in the execution of strategic corporate objectives. The Chief Estimator will also carry significant revenue and gross margin responsibility support to the organization. This is an exempt position and may lead and directly manage employees.
Essential Duties And Responsibilities
- Assumes job duties and responsibilities of the Estimating Manager
Business Strategy & Leadership
- Create and maintain a positive team culture for the Estimating team always keeping company values and vision top of mind.
- Participate in internal Baker Electric budget and revenue forecasting process.
- Coordinate estimating efforts with other preconstruction groups as needed to avoid multiple estimates and provide any support needed for multi-department Baker estimated projects.
- Lead team to capture accurate metrics for quarterly presentations. This data includes estimating outputs, capture rates, value of proposals submitted, accurate secured and pending project information through Salesforce.
- Actively involved with the Executive Vice President, SVP of Estimating, Business Development, Sr Directors and Ops Managers to pursue new work as well as develop new client relationships while nurturing existing ones.
- Assist in identifying new leads and taking a role in building and maintaining customer relationships.
- Responsible for continuous verification of proposal quality along with pricing generated by Pre-Construction group through the use of experience, historical cost information and pricing metrics i.e., square foot densities and costs.
- Gathering & uploading project close out data into Salesforce & project data sheets for future use in estimate planning/RFP’s and a resource for similar projects in the future.
- Maintain up to date estimate forecast data to meet the department(s) revenue goals through awards and backlog.
Estimating Management & Operations
- Manage estimating resources, i.e. assign projects to estimators, champion the use of various Pre-Construction tools such as Salesforce and Building Connected within the group, evaluate potential bid opportunities, oversee Accubid estimates, review and approve proposal letters and submissions, execute appropriate role in managing & coordinating with vendors and subcontractors to ensure competitive pricing.
- Understand existing standard operating procedures and effectively implement agreed upon changes to enhance effectiveness & productivity.
- Review all RFP packages and complete information and provide technical write ups as required by the RFP for best review and scoring purposes.
- Review all bids, champion the use of the estimating feedback data, oversee and ensure Accubid database management is up to date and correctly implemented.
- Ensure estimating team is always determining true costs using accurate direct and indirect project cost protocols based on company historical data.
- Review contractual documents and modifications between estimating and BIM and estimating and preconstruction to define and execute complete scopes of work and scope changes.
- Responsible for accurately capturing estimating department & other overhead costs that coincide with budgeted costs. This includes appropriate cost coding of staff and resource.
- Review of all projects during monthly WIP meetings to understand cost trends and operational challenges in executing to estimated costs. Lead a ‘lessons learned’ process to identify and correct root causes of estimating gaps.
- Responsible for updating, manage and improve all Estimating SOPs.
- Lead successful ‘handoffs’ when projects are secured and turned over to operations.
- Formulate and present an up-to-date training plan for entry level estimating staff including a training matrix with key milestones.
- Perform Manager yearly evaluation of training progress for each employee utilizing the training matrix, performance evaluations, and estimator metrics.
- Directly estimate specific projects to support the group’s revenue goals.
- Perform other special projects as needed, i.e. future conversion of controls estimating tool into Accubid Pro.
Experience, Education
- A minimum of 15 years’ experience in commercial electrical construction, engineering firm or similar.
- A minimum of 7 years of proven success in a people management role.
- Subject Matter Expert in electrical estimating with complete control of Accubid and associated programs such as Bluebeam, Live Count, Salesforce, Excel, Word, Outlook.
- Successful history of being able to make well-thought out decisions under tight deadlines, occasionally in the face of incomplete information.
- Has successfully demonstrated leadership skills with ability and willingness to face challenges, delegate and provide direction to others, and effectively address conflict.
- Naturally builds constructive and effective relationships, put others at ease and establishes rapport; relate to all kinds of people at all levels inside and outside the organization.
- Acts in a manner of integrity that shows support for the company, its values, and the employees while maintaining a constant focus on meeting/exceeding internal and external customer requirements and expectations
Benefits
At Baker, we are proud to be an employee-owned company. When you join, you will have the opportunity for a great career and the financial benefits of being an owner. Through our ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan), you can become a part owner of the company. Instead of just receiving a paycheck, you will be given shares of the company's stock over time. As the company prospers, the value of these shares can increase, providing you with a potential wealth-building opportunity in addition to a competitive compensation package. The ESOP will enable you to share the company's success and growth.
For more information regarding employee ownership at Baker Electric and its significant potential, click here:
Employee Stock Ownership Program | Baker Electric (baker-electric.com)
Pay Transparency
The starting salary for this opportunity range is listed. Other rewards may include annual bonus eligibility based on company and individual performance, short- and long-term incentives, and program-specific awards.
Baker provides a variety of benefits to employees, including health insurance coverage, an employee wellness program, life and disability insurance, a retirement savings plan, an Employee-Owned Program (ESOP), paid holidays, and paid time off (PTO). A candidate’s salary history will not be used in compensation
decisions. Please note that the compensation information is a good-faith estimate for this position. It assumes a rate based on location and experience.
Acknowledgements
Baker Electric is an Equal Opportunity-Affirmative Action Employer / Disability / Veteran.
We thank all applicants in advance for their interest in this position; however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted. If you are selected for an interview, a Baker Recruiter will contact you directly from our organization with a @baker-electric.com email.
