Estimating / Proposal Specialist

About the role

Assists Estimating Department with daily activities as required for the bidding and project turnover processes including but not limited to information gathering and distribution, file management (electronic) and human interaction with clients and vendors.

Responsibilities

• Manage and oversee the intake, organization, and evaluation of all bid opportunities by collecting and maintaining critical project information, including project scope, location, bid dates, construction schedules, vertical market, bidding general contractors, competing mechanical contractors, and bid requirements.
• Prepare standardized Bid/No-Bid evaluation documentation that enables leadership to make informed, strategic decisions regarding project pursuit.
• Continuously monitor and improve the bid qualification process to ensure consistency, efficiency, and alignment with company growth objectives.
• Set up Bid Tracer files with all pertinent project information that will be used to estimate a project.
• Serve as the CSUSA SW liaison for communicating bid decisions following internal team approval.
• Manage customer communications through appropriate electronic and personal channels as required, ensuring timely, professional, and consistent messaging while fostering strong client relationships and supporting the company's reputation for responsiveness and service excellence.
• Manage communications with General Contractors, vendors, architects, engineers, and other project stakeholders as required to obtain and verify all information necessary to support accurate and competitive bids.
• Cook up bid-related documentation, ensuring all bid-related documentation is accurately organized, maintained, and uploaded to the appropriate estimating directories, while overseeing the timely distribution of bid documents to internal estimating teams to support efficient proposal development.
• Upon project award - Set up project management files, gather and assemble the information required to turn over projects from the estimating department to the operations team (turn over information) and information that could be used for future marketing requirements.
• Manage and prepare all necessary information and participate in weekly estimating meetings for project pursuits.
• Manage and prepare backlog information and compile reports showing potential projects and their percentage of probability of award.
• Acquire bid bonds if required, fill out request for proposal information, pre-bid requirements/forms, bid forms, and pre-qualification statements as needed.
• Manage and coordinate the development of Request for Proposal (RFP) and Request for Quotation (RFQ) responses by collaborating with the estimating team to gather required information, organize supporting documentation, ensure compliance with customer requirements, and facilitate the timely submission of complete, accurate, and competitive proposals.
• Proposal Management - Coordinate the full proposal lifecycle from kickoff to submission.
• Track all RFQ / RFP opportunities, lead proposal kickoff meetings, follow up on missing content and approvals, version control management, acting as the "hub" between departments during pursuits, ensuring submissions are compliant with company / customer requirements, designing and creating interview materials, managing graphics / org charts / schedules and visual aids, managing and maintaining organized project folders, drawing sets, and supporting documentation, ensuring estimators are following procedures regarding folder organization, working with Human Resources and on-boarding teams to create and maintain up-to-date employee resumes for future project pursuits, upon award of a project, working with estimating and operations to create a "project profile" using information received from the GC, estimating, and operations teams, assisting estimating with gathering technical information as required from project managers and leadership teams, supporting brand consistency across all marketing and proposal materials, supporting customer outreach efforts, including introduction and collaboration presentations, to strengthen and maintain client relationships, maintaining the marketing database & assisting others in the maintenance of the estimating databases including type of projects bid, project costs, project locations, customers per project type, photos etc. as required in order to compile a historical database for future use, maintaining office supply inventories and placing orders when inventory gets below allowable thresholds, scheduling pick up and deliveries as required for the bidding process.

Qualifications

• Associate degree (A. A.) or equivalent from a two-year college or technical school; or 3 to 5 years related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
• Candidate will be required to attend and participate in the scheduled Sales and Estimating training programs.
• The incumbent shall work well under pressure; meet multiple and sometimes competing deadlines.
• The incumbent shall at all times demonstrate cooperative behavior with colleagues and supervisors.