
Senior Cost Manager, Cost Estimating
Pasadena, CAJobSeen todaySeen in employer's feed today
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At a glance
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Job overview
The Senior Cost Manager, Cost Estimating plans and oversees professional estimating, cost engineering, and project control work for complex construction projects. The role develops conceptual construction cost and budget estimates, advises Facilities Design and Construction teams on project cost and feasibility, and maintains estimating standards and methods. It also supports project delivery, vendor relationships, compliance, knowledge management, and the use of data and metrics.
Skills & qualifications
Skills
Qualifications
Full job description
Job Summary:
In addition to the responsibilities listed below, this position is responsible for planning for the effective development and implementation of a full range of professional estimating/cost engineering and project control duties of diverse and complex scope; exercising independent judgment and discretion to develop and prepare conceptual construction cost and budget estimates for all phases of construction; providing expert professional guidance and support to Facilities Design and Construction project team members to determine the preliminary cost and feasibility of maintenance and renovation projects; developing, implementing, and updating standard estimating means and methods through the Desktop Estimating Procedures, Estimating Template, CSI units listing and definitions; leverages advanced knowledge to develop conceptual construction cost and budget estimates for all phases of construction (i.e., development and analysis of unit hour/pricing data, estimating material cost, man-hours and revisions to existing buildings mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems); and planning for the performance of pricing structure development and application to takeoffs, derived quantities, quantity assumption, and cost allowances within a discipline or other specialty.
Essential Responsibilities:
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Promotes learning in others by communicating information and providing advice to drive projects forward; builds relationships with cross-functional stakeholders. Listens, responds to, seeks, and addresses performance feedback; provides actionable feedback to others, including upward feedback to leadership and mentors junior team members. Practices self-leadership; creates and executes plans to capitalize on strengths and improve opportunity areas; influences team members within assigned team or unit. Adapts to competing demands and new responsibilities; adapts to and learns from change, challenges, and feedback. Models team collaboration within and across teams.
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Conducts or oversees business-specific projects by applying deep expertise in subject area; promotes adherence to all procedures and policies. Partners internally and externally to make effective business decisions; determines and carries out processes and methodologies; solves complex problems; escalates high-priority issues or risks, as appropriate; monitors progress and results. Develops work plans to meet business priorities and deadlines; coordinates and delegates resources to accomplish organizational goals. Recognizes and capitalizes on improvement opportunities; evaluates recommendations made; influences the completion of project tasks by others.
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Supports with construction operations by: driving the application of strategies and concepts to provide technical guidance, coordination, and consultation with the support team; using judgment and discretion to define issues and develop solutions to resolve complex problems; and coordinating the communication network between the project team and other internal personnel across the organization and external contacts.
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Supports with construction deliverables by: executes multiple large-scale, complex projects with responsibility and accountability for project outcomes from initiation to close-out; developing, analyzing, and executing project plans which include scope identification and delivery, schedule, inter-dependencies, and resource forecast; executing and monitoring the project financials; monitoring project performance against plan, ensuring measurement of business benefits and outcomes, and makes adjustments as needed; leading project activities related to organizational change management (e.g., development and execution of user adoption, implementation, and training plans) as defined by the project; and driving allocation of resources, establishes schedules, and task assignments to ensure established project management practices are in place.
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Contributes to vendor relationship management by: overseeing vendor assessment and analytics processes (e.g., identifying process improvement opportunities, developing content for department podcasts) and independently managing vendor relationships; obtaining advanced research knowledge on market trends and materials escalations from vendor and reporting to team leadership; and identifying incremental process improvements that increase efficiency and effectiveness of vendor qualification/requalification process.
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Provides KP compliance consultation by: coordinating other internal teams across organizational lines to ensure technical systems and processes are used and maintained in a manner that ensures compliance with all relevant regulations and standards; and consulting with operational leaders, risk managers, and facility directors across the organization to ensure compliance with relevant government, accreditation, and industry standards and initiatives at the service area, regional, and enterprise levels.
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Contributes to the management of knowledge and documents by: ensuring the documentation of professional and/or technical expertise for use by team members; driving the evolution of template documents for continuous improvement; and designing and conducting training and knowledge management practices to increase knowledge (e.g., Business Process Package, Community of Practice).
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Supports the use of data and metrics throughout construction management process by: driving data gathering practices, and collaborating with functional leadership to plan and scope future efforts (e.g., building the business case, timeline, resources required); and utilizing advanced knowledge of metrics to monitor and improve upon their own performance, and guiding team members to do the same.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: (Core)
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Ambiguity/Uncertainty Management
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Attention to Detail
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Business Knowledge
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Communication
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Critical Thinking
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Cross-Group Collaboration
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Decision Making
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Dependability
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Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Support
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Drives Results
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Facilitation Skills
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Health Care Industry
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Influencing Others
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Integrity
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Learning Agility
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Organizational Savvy
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Problem Solving
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Short- and Long-term Learning & Recall
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Teamwork
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Topic-Specific Communication
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: (Functional)
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Construction Finance
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Cost Estimation
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Architectural Engineering
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Computer Literacy
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Construction Industry
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Emergency Preparedness
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Employee Training
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Employee/Labor Relations
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Financial Plan Budgeting
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Hazard Mitigation
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Interpersonal Skills
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Mentoring and Coaching
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Safety and Environmental Health Management
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Safety and Security Laws
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Strategic Planning -Design Diligence
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Technical Documentation
Minimum Qualifications:
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Minimum four (4) years of experience with contractors.
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Minimum eleven (11) years of experience in cost estimating or a directly related field.
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Minimum three (3) years of experience in a leadership role with or without direct reports.
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Bachelors degree in Engineering, Architecture Construction Management, Finance, Law, or related field AND minimum six (6) years of experience in construction management, field construction, design, construction/project management software, procurement, contract administration, a directly related field OR Minimum nine (9) years of experience in planning, architectural, design, engineering, CADD, hospital/medical facility, health and safety administration/management, construction estimating, or a directly related field.
Preferred Qualifications:
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Cost Certification (e.g., CCP, CEP, CPE, or Earned Value Professional Certification).
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Three (3) years of experience in quality management/improvement.
COMPANY: KAISER
TITLE: Senior Cost Manager, Cost Estimating
LOCATION: Pasadena, California
REQNUMBER: 1452326
External hires must pass a background check/drug screen. Qualified applicants with arrest and/or conviction records will be considered for employment in a manner consistent with Federal, state and local laws, including but not limited to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, protected veteran, or disability status.
How this job compares
Set against the 3,112 open Construction Management jobs on Olive Jobs, counted October 31, 2026.
- Pay
- This postingNot listed
- California median$125–180K/yr155 salary ranges
- US median$24–30/hr222 hourly ranges
- Openings
- Olive Jobs lists 204 open Construction Management jobs in California and 3,112 across the US. Under 1% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
- Experience
- This posting asks for at least 11 years of experience — more than three in four Construction Management postings that state a minimum ask for (median 8 years, across 2,450 postings).
- Education
- 863 of the 3,112 open Construction Management jobs (28%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.
Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on October 31, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.
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