Estimator/Senior Estimator

Location/s: Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Glasgow, Derby UK

Relocation supported: Not supported, but internal applications are welcome

Hiring manager contact: Patrick Clyne

Mott MacDonald is a global engineering, management, and development consultancy with over 20,000 employees across more than 50 countries and 140+ offices. We work across incredible global industries, delivering exciting work that is defining our future and making an important societal impact in the communities we serve. Our people power our performance – we succeed when they do. With countless opportunities to collaborate, learn, and grow, the possibilities for excellence are as varied as every individual. Whether you want to grow as a subject matter expert or broaden your experience with roles across our international community, you’re surrounded by global specialists who want to combine their expertise and champion you to be your best. As a proudly employee-owned business, we benefit our clients, our communities, and each other, investing in creating the right space for everyone to feel empowered, included, and valued. Whatever your ambition, Mott MacDonald is where people come to be brilliant.

About The Business Unit

Mott MacDonald’s Advisory and Programme Delivery(APD) unit delivers both project, programme & commercial management (PPCM) services and advisory solutions across the built environment, defence, energy, water, environmental, transportation, health and care sectors. We deliver tailored solutions that directly address our clients’ key challenges, combining our world-leading project expertise with unrivalled programme delivery capabilities and advisory services. APD delivers services to projects ranging in scale and complexity up to £20bn, through the technical disciplines of programme management, project management, project controls, scheduling, cost management, estimating, infrastructure finance, management consulting, digital consulting and education, health and care management.

Overview Of The Role

As an Estimator/Senior Estimator, you will be responsible for producing high-quality cost estimates throughout the project and programme lifecycle. The role involves working closely with stakeholders to define scope, develop cost plans using a range of estimating techniques, and ensure estimates fully reflect project requirements, risks, opportunities, and uncertainties. You will apply industry standard methodologies, maintain strong governance and assurance practices, and provide clear, well-documented estimating outputs that support effective project planning, financial management, sustainability considerations, and successful delivery.

• Hold responsibility for cost estimate development through all stages of project and programme lifecycles, from concept stage through to delivery and handover
• Undertake estimates using various techniques including first principal bottom-up, and parametric top-down methods
• Collaborate with stakeholders to identify, capture, and record the scope of the estimating activities
• Establish Work Breakdown and Cost Breakdown Structures ensuring all scope elements captured and recorded using industry standard methods of measurement such as CESMM4, NRM, RMM, HWMM
• Ensure all elements of the ‘cost stack’ including, escalation, land and property, administration, direct costs, indirect costs, and temporary works are considered in the estimate
• Support the identification of risk and opportunities and produce estimates for pre-mitigation and post-mitigation cost impacts
• Develop and support the calculation of contingency, as a holistic view of risk, opportunity and estimating uncertainty within a project team environment
• Challenge sustainability and consider embodied and operational carbon within the proposed solution
• Produce basis of estimate reports to effectively communicate all estimating assumptions, dependencies, and exclusions to stakeholders and end users
• Implement estimating best practice to ensure quality and governance is maintained and deliver estimating outputs to an exceptional level of technical competence within agreed timescales
• Ensure that leadership review, assurance and sign-off is completed for all estimates
• Have a clear understanding of project finances and provide support to the project team in developing project financial models

Candidate specification

Essential:

• HNC / HND or degree qualified in an Engineering, Construction Management, or Quantity Surveying discipline or relevant industry experience
• Professional accreditation with AcostE / RICS / CIOB or working towards
• Experience working in process heavy sectors such as Water, Energy, Oil and Gas
• Familiarity with the application of estimating packages such as CANDY, CONQUEST, CAUSEWAY, COST OS, COST X etc
• Working knowledge and demonstrable experience in the use and application of the Microsoft Office Suite including Word, Excel, PowerPoint etc
• Extensive experience of working in infrastructure projects, with the ability to establish and maintain good working relationships with clients and colleagues
• Knowledge of the HMT Five Case Business Model, and experience in producing estimates from Strategic Outline Case through to Full Business Case for project and programme appraisals
• Working knowledge of carbon estimating including embodied, operational, and whole life carbon
• Understanding of how TOTEX (Total Expenditure) is calculated, using Development Expenditure, Capital Expenditure, Operational Expenditure, End of Life / Decommissioning Expenditure, to provide Whole Life Cost solutions to our clients

UK Immigration

Mott MacDonald Ltd. are not currently offering sponsorship to candidates under the Skilled Worker visa route in the UK. This decision is as a consequence of the changes made to the Skilled Worker route by the UK Government in April 2024. We continue to welcome applications from candidates who are eligible for alternative immigration routes in the UK, that do not require sponsorship as a Skilled Worker now or in future.

Agile working

At Mott MacDonald, we believe it makes business sense for you and your manager to choose how you can work most effectively to meet your client, team, and personal commitments. We offer a hybrid working policy that embraces your well-being, flexibility, and trust.

Equality, diversity, and inclusion

We put equality, diversity, and inclusion at the heart of our business, seeking to promote fair employment procedures and practices to ensure equal opportunities for all. We encourage individual expression in our workplace and are committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone feels they can contribute.

Accessibility

We want you to perform your best at every stage in the recruitment process. If you are disabled or need any support to enable you to apply or attend an interview, please contact us at and we will talk to you about how we can support you.

We offer some fantastic benefits including:

Financial wellbeing

• We match employee pension contributions between 4.5% and 7%.
• Life assurance equal up to 4 x your basic salary, with an option to increase the level of cover to 6 x your salary.
• Our income protection scheme provides a financial benefit, as well as absence and return to work support due to long-term illness or injury.
• Flexible benefits, including increased life assurance cover, critical illness insurance, payroll saving and will writing.
• As an independently owned business we share the financial success of the business with all our colleagues in various ways including annual bonus schemes.

Employee Ownership

• Our employee ownership model means no external investors, just us, creating a culture of shared success.
• Our employees have a stake and a voice in our business, giving them a direct connection to our success through our personal and group performance bonuses.
• As your career grows, so does your stake, recognising your long-term impact and contribution.
• Your voice matters, with the opportunity to connect directly with senior leadership through formal channels to help shape our future.
• For our senior roles you will have a direct pathway towards ownership from day one.

Health and wellbeing

• Private medical insurance for all UK colleagues.
• Health cash plan to support you with every day health costs and treatments.
• Access to Peppy, providing free support from menopause experts for all UK colleagues.
• A variety of wellbeing support is available through our comprehensive wellbeing program, including access for you and your family.
• Ability to flex your salary to opt into a wide range of health benefits, many of which can be extended to your family too.

Lifestyle

• A minimum of 33-35 days holiday each year, inclusive of public holidays and dependent on level, with the ability to buy or sell leave through our flexible benefits programme.
• Holiday entitlement increased to a minimum of 35 days after 5 years’ service.
• Variety of employee saving schemes and discounts from high-street retailers.

Enhanced family and carers leave

• Enhanced family leave policies, including 26 weeks paid maternity and adoption leave, and two weeks paid paternity/partner leave.
• Our shared parental leave matches maternity leave meaning we pay up to 24 weeks at full pay.
• Up to five additional days leave are provided for those with significant caring responsibilities, two of which are paid.

Learning and development

• Primary annual professional institution subscription.
• A broad range of opportunities to enhance both technical and soft skills through mentoring, formal training, and self-development options.

Networks, communities, and social outcomes

• Join a wide range of groups including our Advanced Employee Networks which support our LGBTQ+, gender, race and ethnicity, disability, and parents/carers communities.
• Make a difference within our communities through our social outcomes.

Contract Type: Permanent

Work Pattern: Full Time

Market: Various

Discipline: Cost and quantity surveying

Job Ref: 17023

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