Director of Estimating

Hays Electrical Services•Houston, TX

3d•Onsite

About The Position

Hays Electrical Services is hiring an executive-level Director of Estimating to lead the company’s full estimating function and guide commercial decisions affecting its backlog, margins, and growth. The role is part of the senior leadership team and contributes to annual planning, revenue targets, backlog forecasting, and long-range strategy. The Director will define pursuit and pricing strategy, make go/no-go decisions on major projects, set pricing philosophy and margin targets, and report estimating performance, pipeline, and risk exposure to executive leadership and ownership. The Director will lead, hire, develop, and retain the estimating department; establish estimating standards and review processes; and own the accuracy, completeness, and competitiveness of submitted estimates. The role partners closely with executive leadership, operations, project management, procurement, accounting, finance, legal, and business development. It also represents the company in client and preconstruction discussions, strengthens external relationships, and uses bid and project performance data to improve estimating strategy and execution. The position is full-time and on-site in Houston, Texas, and reports to the CEO. Hays Electrical Services describes itself as an established, growing electrical contractor serving hospitality, commercial, and solar industries. The opportunity offers influence over pursuit and pricing decisions, the chance to build an estimating team, and a role in the company’s growth.

Requirements

At least 10 years of electrical construction estimating experience, including at least 5 years in a senior estimating, chief estimator, or estimating leadership role.
Demonstrated experience estimating and winning complex, multi-million-dollar commercial or large-scale electrical projects.
Deep technical knowledge of electrical systems, codes, specifications, labor productivity, and material and equipment pricing.
Proven ability to lead, develop, and retain estimating teams and raise quality and performance.
Strong financial and commercial judgment, including margin analysis, risk assessment, and contract and bid-condition review.
Ability to read and interpret drawings, specifications, addenda, and contract documents precisely.
Proficiency with modern estimating and takeoff software and Microsoft Office, particularly Excel.
Excellent executive-level communication, negotiation, and presentation skills.
Ability to manage multiple concurrent bids and competing deadlines in a fast-paced environment.

Nice To Haves

Experience in hospitality, commercial, or solar electrical construction.
Prior experience as a Director, VP, or equivalent leader of an estimating or preconstruction organization.
Experience building estimating standards, cost databases, and review processes from the ground up or at scale.
Established relationships with general contractors, developers, and suppliers in the company’s markets.
Bachelor's degree in construction management, engineering, business, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
Electrical license, certification, or professional credentials such as AACE or ASPE.

Responsibilities

Contribute to annual planning, revenue targets, backlog forecasting, and long-range growth strategy as a member of the senior leadership team.
Define and execute bid strategy, including which projects, clients, and markets to pursue and how to position the company.
Make and defend go/no-go decisions on major pursuits based on risk, capacity, margin, client relationship, and strategic fit.
Set pricing philosophy and margin targets with executive leadership and advise on the effect of market conditions, labor availability, and supply chain volatility.
Present estimating performance, pipeline, and risk exposure to executive leadership and ownership.
Lead, hire, develop, and retain estimating staff, including senior estimators, estimators, and takeoff and support staff.
Build a succession-ready team through mentoring, structured training, career paths, and performance management.
Set and enforce expectations for quality, throughput, and professional conduct, and allocate resources across concurrent bids.
Own the accuracy, completeness, and competitiveness of all company estimates.
Establish and improve estimating procedures, templates, labor units, assemblies, and review checkpoints.
Lead final estimate reviews covering scope, labor productivity, material pricing, equipment, subcontractor quotes, general conditions, escalation, and contingency.
Identify scope gaps, contract risks, ambiguous specifications, and cost exposures; drive clarifications, exclusions, and qualifications to protect the company.
Review contract terms and bid conditions with legal and executive leadership when they affect risk or pricing.
Partner with operations and project management to validate means and methods, labor plans, schedules, and production assumptions before bids are released.
Own the handoff from estimating to execution, including budget transfer, scope narrative, risk register, and assumptions.
Compare estimates with actual costs on awarded projects and feed lessons learned into estimating databases and standards.
Coordinate with procurement, accounting, and finance to align pricing with purchasing strategy, cash flow, and job costing.
Build and maintain senior-level relationships with general contractors, owners, developers, vendors, manufacturers, and subcontractors.
Represent the company in pre-bid meetings, client presentations, interviews, negotiations, value engineering, and preconstruction discussions.
Support business development by evaluating opportunities, markets, and client segments and shaping proposals that differentiate the company.
Strengthen vendor and subcontractor networks to improve pricing leverage, reliability, and capacity.
Track and analyze bid volume, hit rate, win rate, margin, and variance to actual, and use the data to improve strategy.
Select, implement, and optimize estimating software, takeoff tools, cost databases, and reporting systems.
Manage the estimating budget, including software, training, and staffing.
Maintain bid schedules and ensure each submission is complete, compliant, and on time.