Director of Estimating

Hays Electrical Services | Reports to: CEO
Location: Houston, TX
Work arrangement: On-site
Classification: Full-time, Executive Leadership

About Hays Electrical Services

For more than 19 years, Hays Electrical Services has delivered electrical construction for customers in the hospitality, commercial, and solar industries, completing hundreds of million-dollar projects along the way. We approach every project with a cooperative mindset, working alongside owners, general contractors, and subcontractors toward one shared goal: successful project delivery. As we continue to grow, we are adding a senior leader to own the function that determines which work we pursue, how we price it, and how profitably we build it.

The Opportunity

The Director of Estimating is an executive-level leader responsible for the full estimating function and for the commercial decisions that shape the company's backlog, margins, and growth. This is not a role for a lead estimator or a department manager. You will sit at the leadership table, help set pursuit and pricing strategy, and be accountable for the quality of every dollar that leaves the building in a bid.

You will build and lead a high-performing estimating team, establish the systems and standards that make our bids consistently accurate and competitive, and partner with executive leadership, operations, and project management so that what we sell is what we can profitably deliver. Your work will directly influence revenue, win rate, gross margin, and the company's market position across hospitality, commercial, and solar.

What You Will Own

Strategy and Executive Leadership

• Serve as a core member of the senior leadership team, contributing to annual planning, revenue targets, backlog forecasting, and long-range growth strategy.
• Define and execute bid strategy: which projects, clients, and markets to pursue, which to decline, and how to position the company on each.
• 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 in partnership with executive leadership, and advise on how market conditions, labor availability, and supply chain volatility should influence bidding.
• Present estimating performance, pipeline, and risk exposure to the executive team and ownership on a regular cadence.

Team Leadership and Development

• Lead, hire, develop, and retain the estimating department, including senior estimators, estimators, and takeoff and support staff.
• Build a succession-ready bench through mentoring, structured training, clear career paths, and performance management.
• Set expectations for quality, throughput, and professional conduct, and hold the team to them with consistency and respect.
• Allocate resources and manage workload across concurrent bids to protect accuracy during peak bidding periods.

Estimating Excellence and Risk Management

• Own the accuracy, completeness, and competitiveness of every estimate submitted by the company.
• Establish and continuously improve standardized estimating procedures, templates, labor units, assemblies, and review checkpoints.
• Lead final estimate reviews, including scope, labor productivity, material pricing, equipment, subcontractor quotes, general conditions, escalation, and contingency.
• Identify scope gaps, contract risks, ambiguous specifications, and cost exposures early, and drive clarifications, exclusions, and qualifications that protect the company.
• Review contract terms and bid conditions with legal and executive leadership where they affect risk or pricing.

Cross-Functional Alignment

• Partner with operations and project management to validate means and methods, labor plans, schedules, and production assumptions before bids are released.
• Own a disciplined handoff process from estimating to execution, including budget transfer, scope narrative, risk register, and assumptions, so project teams start with a clear plan.
• Close the loop on every awarded project by comparing estimated versus actual costs and feeding lessons learned back into the estimating database and standards.
• Work with procurement, accounting, and finance to align pricing with purchasing strategy, cash flow, and job costing.

Business Development and Relationships

• 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, and negotiations, including value engineering and preconstruction discussions.
• Support business development by evaluating new opportunities, markets, and client segments, and by shaping proposals that differentiate Hays Electrical Services.
• Strengthen preferred vendor and subcontractor networks to improve pricing leverage, reliability, and capacity.

Data, Tools, and Continuous Improvement

• Track and analyze bid volume, hit rate, win rate, margin, and variance to actual, and use that data to sharpen 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 every submission is complete, compliant, and on time.

What Success Looks Like

Within the first 12 months, the Director of Estimating will have:

• Assessed the department's people, process, and tools, and put a clear improvement plan in place.
• Established a consistent estimate review and go/no-go framework adopted across the company.
• Improved bid accuracy and strengthened the connection between estimated and actual project performance.
• Increased qualified pipeline and win rate on targeted pursuits without sacrificing margin.
• Built a confident, accountable estimating team with defined roles, development plans, and strong morale.
• Earned the trust of executive leadership, operations, and key external partners.

What You Bring

Required

• [10+] years of electrical construction estimating experience, including [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, with a track record of raising 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 with precision.
• 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.

Preferred

• 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 our 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 

Leadership Competencies

• Strategic thinking: connects pricing and pursuit decisions to long-term company goals.
• Accountability: owns outcomes, including the hard ones, and builds a culture of ownership.
• Sound judgment under pressure: makes clear, defensible decisions with incomplete information and tight deadlines.
• Influence and collaboration: earns alignment across operations, finance, and executive leadership without relying on title.
• Talent development: raises the capability of everyone around them.
• Integrity: holds a high standard for honesty, transparency, and professionalism with clients, partners, and the team.

Why Hays Electrical Services

You will join an established, growing contractor with nearly two decades of proven results and a culture built on collaboration and excellence. This role offers real influence: the opportunity to shape how the company pursues and prices work, build a team from the ground up, and play a defining part in the next stage of our growth.

If you are a strategic estimating leader ready to take on an executive-level role, we encourage you to apply. Please submit your resume and a brief summary of your most significant estimating and leadership accomplishments to [email / application link].