The Role

The Senior Estimating Lead will take ownership of cost estimating and pricing across the company's project pipeline, working closely with the Commercial Director, Tendering, Procurement and Project Delivery teams. This is a senior, hands-on role for someone who can both build robust estimates themselves and bring structure, consistency and rigour to how the business prices its work. You will be the technical authority on cost build-up for tenders and change, acting as the bridge between early-stage bid pricing and the commercial/contract positions that follow through delivery.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the end-to-end estimating process for solar EPC, BESS and ICP/BOP tenders, from first principles take-off through to final submission pricing.
• Build and maintain detailed cost models covering civils, mechanical & electrical (M&E) installation, HV/LV connections, BESS containers and balance of plant, using rates derived from live projects, supplier quotations and benchmarked historical data.
• Own and continue to develop Schedules of Rates (SOR) and tick-box estimating tools, calibrating them against completed and in-flight projects.
• Work directly with Procurement to secure and interrogate supplier and subcontractor quotations, ensuring like-for-like comparisons and identifying scope gaps before submission.
• Partner with the Tendering team to convert estimates into structured, client-ready pricing submissions (e.g. cost sheets, activity schedules, pricing schedules), and provide clear back-up and audit trail for every line.
• Sense-check and quality-assure pricing before submission, including a second-pair-of-eyes review on high-value or complex lines.
• Support cashflow and valuation modelling by ensuring estimates translate cleanly into milestone or monthly valuation structures for delivery teams.
• Feed lessons learned from live projects (variations, EOTs, termination accounts, out-turn cost) back into the estimating baseline, so pricing gets sharper project on project.
• Contribute to the ongoing Commercial Standardisation Programme.
• Mentor and, over time, help build out a wider estimating function as the business pipeline grows.

What We're Looking For

The business is just as interested in strong estimators from a construction, M&E, civils or infrastructure background who can apply their skills to renewables, as we are in candidates with direct solar/BESS experience.

Essential Skills

• Proven track record in estimating within construction, M&E, infrastructure, or renewable energy EPC, ideally at senior/lead level.
• Strong grasp of first-principles cost build-up: labour, plant, materials, subcontract packages and preliminaries.
• Confident working with civils and/or M&E scopes (cabling, HV/LV, switchgear, transformers, containerised plant), direct solar or BESS exposure is a strong plus but not a prerequisite.
• Advanced Excel skills; comfortable building and maintaining structured cost models and rate libraries.
• Strong commercial awareness; able to see how an estimate will play out through contract, valuation and risk allocation, not just at bid stage.
• Excellent attention to detail, with the discipline to self-check high-value pricing before it goes out the door.
• Clear communicator, comfortable presenting pricing and assumptions to Commercial, Procurement and senior stakeholders.

Desirable

• Direct experience estimating solar PV EPC and/or BESS projects.
• Familiarity with NEC, JCT or bespoke EPC contract forms and how estimating assumptions feed into contract risk.
• Experience with estimating software or CVR/cost reporting tools.
• Degree or professional qualification in Quantity Surveying, Construction Management, Engineering or a related discipline.

What this role offers      

• A senior, high-visibility role at the heart of a growing renewable energy contractor.
• Genuine influence over how the business prices and wins work, with direct line into the Commercial Director.
• Exposure to a varied pipeline; solar EPC, BESS and ICP, spanning projects from a few MW to 80MWp and beyond.
• A collaborative, close-knit Commercial team and the opportunity to help shape estimating practice as the function scales.
• Competitive salary and benefits, dependent on experience.