Project Manager / Estimator

The Project Manager/Estimator owns commercial custodial and facility-support project work end to end, from opportunity development and site walks through pricing, award, delivery, and closeout. This role independently develops scopes, labor models, cost builds, and proposals; leads customer-facing site walks; manages opportunities to close; and owns gross-margin performance on the work it sells and delivers. The role also directs internal crews, subcontractors, and vendors through execution, conducts job-cost and estimate-to-actual reviews, and contributes to account-growth planning, renewals, and recurring-business expansion. This is a senior individual-contributor role with pricing authority and commercial accountability.

Primary Job Functions

• Lead customer-facing site walks and scope development for custodial, floor care, post-construction, specialty cleaning, and supplemental labor projects.
• Independently build estimates using production rates, labor models, wage and burden assumptions, material and equipment costs, subcontractor pricing, overhead, and markup.
• Develop, price, and present proposals; negotiate terms; and manage opportunities from qualification through close.
• Own gross-margin performance on projects sold and delivered, including pricing decisions within approved authority levels.
• Manage awarded projects end to end: mobilization, scheduling, staffing, subcontractor and vendor coordination, quality verification, and closeout.
• Direct internal site leadership and respective crews, floor technicians, subcontractors, and vendors through execution without direct reporting authority. Leveraging site leadership to ensure projects are completed to scope and service level expectations.
• Negotiate and administer subcontractor and vendor agreements, quotes, and scopes of work (as needed).
• Author and negotiate change orders; work with leadership and possibly initiate discussions to secure customer authorization before work proceeds.
• Conduct job-cost and estimate-to-actual reviews on labor, materials, equipment, and subcontractor spending; analyze variance and apply findings to future pricing.
• Validate completion documentation and billing accuracy, and drive completed-but-unbilled work to zero.
• Maintain the project pipeline, backlog, and margin forecast, and report performance to operations and sales leadership.
• Support account-growth planning, renewals, and recurring-business expansion with account managers and sales leadership.
• Develop and maintain estimating standards, cost databases, production-rate libraries, proposal templates, and closeout procedures.

Education, Experience and Certification

Working Conditions

• Work is performed in an office and at customer and prospect sites, with frequent local travel required for site walks, takeoffs, kickoffs, progress reviews, and closeout verification.
• Site visits may involve extended walking and standing, measuring and takeoff activity, lifting to 50 pounds, and exposure to cleaning chemicals, dust, noise, wet floors, weather, active construction areas, and occupied healthcare, industrial, or educational environments.
• Occasional early-morning, evening, or weekend work may be required.
  
  

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Ability to independently develop and defend labor models, cost estimates, and competitive pricing.
• Knowledge of production rates, labor burden, materials, equipment, subcontractor costs, overhead, markup, and gross margin.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including cost worksheets, scenario modeling, lookup functions, and pivot-based job-cost analysis
• Ability to interpret floor plans and specifications and perform accurate takeoffs.
• Strong commercial and project-management skills, including pipeline management, negotiation, scheduling, resource planning, risk management, and change-order control.
• Ability to lead internal crews, subcontractors, and vendors without direct reporting authority.
• Strong communication, proposal writing, and customer-presentation skills.
• Knowledge of commercial custodial services, specialty cleaning methods, safety, PPE, and site-access requirements.
• Sound judgment when handling confidential information.
• Bilingual English/Spanish skills preferred.