Director of Preconstruction

Job Description

Job Summary

The Industrial, Commercial, Utilities (ICU) Preconstruction Manager leads the estimating and business development team through every phase of preconstruction, from initial project qualification and bid strategy through final pricing and handoff to the operations team. This role owns the accuracy, consistency, and competitiveness of the company's estimates, manages the workload and development of the estimating staff, and serves as the primary point of coordination between estimating, operations, business development, and clients during the pursuit and pricing of new work.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the estimating team's day-to-day workload, assigning projects and balancing capacity across active bids and proposals.
• Own the go/no-go and bid strategy process, working with business development and executive leadership to prioritize pursuits.
• Review and approve final estimates, bid packages, and proposals before submission, ensuring accuracy, completeness, and competitive pricing.
• Establish and maintain standardized estimating procedures, templates, and quality-control checkpoints across the team.
• Lead qualification and scope review of bid documents, drawings, specifications, and addenda to identify risk, ambiguity, or missing scope.
• Manage subcontractor and supplier bid solicitation, leveling, and negotiation for competitively bid work.
• Coordinate hand-off meetings between the estimating and operations/project management teams to ensure a smooth transition from pursuit to execution.
• Track win rates, estimating accuracy, and market pricing trends; report on team and pipeline performance to leadership.
• Build and maintain relationships with clients, architects, engineers, and subcontractors to support the company's competitive position.
• Recruit, train, mentor, and evaluate estimating staff; support career development within the estimating career ladder.
• Maintain and improve estimating software, cost databases, and historical cost data to increase accuracy and efficiency over time.
• Ensure all bids and proposals comply with company standards, client requirements, and applicable regulations.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Construction Management, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent industry experience.
• 7+ years of progressive estimating experience, including experience leading or mentoring other estimators.
• Strong working knowledge of estimating software (e.g., HCSS HeavyBid, Sage, Accubid, etc. ) and Microsoft Office/Excel.
• Demonstrated ability to read and interpret complex plans, specifications, and contract documents.
• Strong understanding of construction methods, cost structures, scheduling, and risk assessment.
• Excellent leadership, organizational, and communication skills, with the ability to manage multiple concurrent bids under deadline pressure.
• Experience managing subcontractor/vendor relationships and bid solicitation processes.

Physical & Work Environment

• Primarily an office environment with occasional site visits, bid walks, client meetings, and conferences.
• Travel as needed