Global Estimating Lead – Data Center Fit-Out

Lead the global estimating function for a large-scale, leased data center build program, responsible for end‑to‑end estimating governance, standardization, and execution. Own development of funding and stage-gate estimates, “should-cost” change-order assessments, and continuous benchmarking. Establish and maintain the global Cost Breakdown Structure (CBS) and a centralized cost database, integrating with program controls, procurement, finance, and regional delivery teams to ensure cost predictability, transparency, and compliance.

Key Responsibilities

• Estimating Leadership and Governance
• Define and enforce global estimating standards, procedures, and QA/QC aligned to AACE Class 5–Class 1 maturity and program stage gates.
• Build and lead a high-performing estimating team (regional leads, discipline estimators, data analysts) with clear roles, SLAs, and succession plans.
• Chair the Estimate Review Board; provide independent cost assurance for major funding decisions.
• Oversee development of funding estimates and business cases
• Produce CAPEX fit‑out estimates for funding requests at each gate, aligned to scope, design maturity, and risk profile.
• Structure estimates to distinguish co-lo shell vs. tenant fit‑out, TI allowances, and capitalizable vs. expensed items (GAAP/IFRS).
• Apply escalation, FX, location factors, productivity, market capacity, and procurement strategy assumptions with traceable basis-of-estimate.
• Change Management and “Should-Cost” Analytics
• Develop should‑cost models and unit‑rate libraries to evaluate vendor proposals and change orders for reasonableness.
• Support negotiations with LV and other contractors; provide claim analysis and cost entitlement assessments.
• Maintain a variance log with drivers (scope, rates, quantities, productivity, market) and recommended mitigations.
• Cost Breakdown Structure (CBS) and WBS Alignment
• Establish a standardized global CBS tailored to data center fit‑outs (e.g., civil, structural, architectural, mechanical, electrical, controls/BMS/SCADA, fire protection, racks/containment, network/telecom, security, commissioning, indirects, GC fee, contingency, owner costs, co-lointerfaces).
• Align CBS to program WBS, scheduling activities, procurement packages, and the financial chart of accounts for straight‑through cost control and reporting.
• Global Cost Database and Benchmarking
• Build and govern a centralized cost database with location factors, currency, FX history, escalation indices, and vendor rate cards.
• Implement data quality standards, coding, and metadata to enable parametric and benchmark estimating across regions and facility tiers.
• Publish quarterly market intelligence and cost indices; refresh benchmarks after each project closeout (lessons learned).
• Risk and Contingency Management
• Quantify risk and uncertainty; develop deterministic and probabilistic contingencies aligned to estimate classes.
• Integrate risk registers, schedule risk outputs, and supply-chain signals into cost forecasts and funding requests.
• Procurement and Market Interface
• Partner with Strategic Sourcing on bid strategies (lump sum, GMP, unit price), prequalification, and evaluation criteria.
• Support contracting strategies for long‑lead equipment (switchgear, generators, UPS, CRAH/CRAC, transformers) and multi‑region framework agreements.
• Prepare should‑costs for alternates and value engineering, ensuring TCO and reliability requirements are met.
• Reporting and Stakeholder Management
• Deliver executive-ready dashboards: funding deltas, cost drivers, location indexation, estimate accuracy, contingency burn.
• Provide clear basis-of-estimate narratives, assumptions, exclusions, and confidence ranges.
• Interface with Design, Delivery, Commissioning, Operations, Finance, and Landlord teams to maintain scope-cost alignment.
• Systems, Data, and Integration
• Implement enterprise tools for estimating, cost control, and reporting; integrate with ERP, commitments, and change control.