AV/IT estimator
LOCATION: Lisburn (Crescent Business Park) or London (Pimlico, SW1V) — office-based
CONTRACT: 12-month fixed-term, full-time
RATE: £350 per day
ABOUT OKTO:
OKTO is a critical building systems integrator, founded over three decades ago, with offices in Lisburn and London. We design, deliver and operate the systems that keep complex buildings running — hospitals, hotels, and high-profile estates — spanning AV, IT and networking, and smart building systems, with our own operating platform, CIDE-OS, deployed live in a major Belfast hospital.
Our pipeline is growing fast, fed by an automated lead generation engine and a strengthening presence in healthcare and high-end construction. Every enquiry it produces needs to be priced accurately, quickly, and defensibly. That's this role.
THE ROLE:
You turn enquiries into winnable, deliverable bids: accurate take-offs, sharp supplier pricing, honest labour estimates, and tender submissions that stand up to scrutiny — commercially and technically.
This is a hands-on estimating role across our full scope: AV and unified communications, IT and structured networking, and smart building systems (BMS interfaces, lighting control, access, ELV generally). You'll own each estimate from enquiry to submission — and when we win, you'll hand the delivery team a cost model they can actually build to. The work ranges from high-end hospitality fit-out to live healthcare estates, so precision and realism matter.
WHAT YOU'LL DO:
— Own estimates end to end: review enquiry documents, drawings and specifications (typically RIBA Stage 2–4), identify scope, gaps and risk, and build the full cost model
— Produce accurate quantity take-offs from M&E and architectural drawings for AV, containment, structured cabling, networking hardware and smart building systems
— Run supplier and subcontractor RFQs: get real quotes, on time, from the right vendors — and hold a current view of market pricing across the major manufacturers
— Price labour honestly: installation, commissioning, programming and project management, using recognised norms and our delivery team's input
— Assemble tender submissions with clear qualifications, exclusions and assumptions — nothing priced by hope, nothing hidden in the small print
— Support value engineering: present real alternatives with their cost and consequence, so the client and the contractor can make an informed choice
— Price variations and change during live projects when the commercial team needs support
— Attend site surveys and mid-bid meetings where the job demands it, and present your numbers with confidence when asked to stand over them
— Hand over won bids cleanly: a structured cost model, supplier basis, and assumptions register the delivery team can work from on day one
WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR:
— Proven estimating experience (typically 5+ years) in AV integration & ICT/structured cabling.
— Fluent reading M&E specifications and drawings, and confident producing take-offs from them without supervision
— A working knowledge of the manufacturer landscape — control, audio, video, networking, lighting control — and the supplier relationships to get real pricing fast
— Construction-sector literacy: main contractor tender processes, prelims, JCT/NEC4 basics, and what a contractor's QS will do to a loose submission
— Strong Excel as a minimum; experience with estimating software and AI worklows.
— Accurate under deadline.
— Straight in your numbers: you flag a risk than bury it — our bids win on credibility, not on the lowest fantasy price
— Comfortable using AI tools to work faster on document review, take-off checking and bid drafting — we invest in these and expect them used
Healthcare or hospitality project experience is an advantage, not a requirement.
WHAT YOU'LL GET:
— A 12-month contract at £350/day with a genuine pipeline behind it — you'll be pricing real, live opportunities from week one.
— Direct access to the Director and Sales team — short lines, fast decisions, no bid committee purgatory
— Varied, high-quality scope: hospitals, luxury hospitality, and one of the most advanced smart building platforms in the market to price around
— For the right person, this role grows with the company
Pay: £350.00 per day
Work Location: In person
