BASIC REQUIREMENTS

Education

Bachelor's degree in mechanical, Chemical, or Industrial Engineering (Quantity Surveying or Cost Engineering qualification is a plus), or equivalent

Experience

Total years:

15 years of total experience.

Relevant:

10 years of experience in cost estimation/cost engineering for refinery, petrochemical, or oil & gas turnaround and shutdown projects

Managerial:

7 years of experience leading a cost estimation or project controls team

Certificates

AACE International CEP/CCP, or equivalent cost estimating/cost engineering certification (preferred, not mandatory)

Licenses

N/A

Special Requirements

Fluent in Arabic and English; strong working knowledge of the Saudi Arabia refining/petrochemical market, local contractors, vendors, and prevailing labour and equipment rates

Type of work

Primarily office/HQ-based work leading the estimation team, with periodic site visits for walkdowns, scope verification, and client/contractor coordination during turnaround and shutdown planning.

COMPETENCIES AND SKILLS

Core Competency

Strategic Planning:

Develop a short-term task plan for own team to complete in time
Take ownership in completing work of own team and has positive impact on own department

Analytical Skill:

Collect and analyse information from own work area, and utilize identified information for completion of own work
Support department managers to collect and analyse information

Interpersonal Skill:

Communicate effectively and work collaboratively members in own and other teams.
Effectively use connections to improve performance of own team.

Broad Perspective: Communicate current and potential issues of own team with other teams based on accurate understanding of current situation.

Leadership:

Review both routine and non-routine work for members in own team and point out issues considering their capability.
Share issues of young members with Dept. manager for further development.

People Development:

Review both routine and non-routine work for members in own team and point out issues considering their capability.
Share issues of young members with Dept. manager for further development.

Vision:

Understand goals and directions of own department given by Branch Manager.
Translate them into own work spontaneously.

Technical Skill:

Utilize advanced technical skills and knowledge to perform routine and non-routine work which has a positive impact on performance of own Project.
Have a basic understanding of structure, drivers and stakeholders of business in own Project, and impact of own work on them.

Level Competency

Negotiation Skill: The ability to reach mutually beneficial agreements through effective communication and conflict resolution.

Drives Results: Consistently achieves results, even under tough circumstances.

Responsibility: The obligation to take ownership of actions, being accountable and reliable in fulfilling duties.

Technical Skills and Knowledge

Strong knowledge of cost estimation methodologies (conceptual, factored, detailed/bottom-up) for turnaround and shutdown scopes
Expertise in developing and applying Time Unit Rates (TUR) and Work Unit Rates (WUR) for labor and craft productivity estimating
In-depth knowledge of the Saudi Arabia refinery and petrochemical market, including local labor, material, and equipment rates
Proficiency in estimating tools and databases (e.g. cost benchmarking libraries, historical TA/SD cost databases, estimating software)
Understanding of turnaround/shutdown planning and scheduling, contracting strategies, and risk/contingency analysis
Advanced proficiency in Excel/cost modelling; working knowledge of estimating and cost-control software
Strong negotiation skills for benchmarking vendor/subcontractor quotations
High attention to detail with strong analytical and problem-solving skills
Strong leadership skills to build, mentor, and manage a multidisciplinary estimating team

JOB ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Lead the cost estimation team in preparing accurate, competitive cost estimates for turnaround (TA) and shutdown (SD) works across refinery and petrochemical facilities.
Develop, review, and continuously improve estimating methodologies, cost databases, and benchmarking tools.
Analyse scopes of work, drawings, and site walkdown data to derive accurate quantities, labor productivity, and equipment requirements for TA/SD estimates.
Develop, maintain, and periodically update the Time Unit Rate (TUR) and Work Unit Rate (WUR) databases used as the basis for labor and craft estimates.
Maintain up-to-date knowledge of the Saudi Arabia market, including prevailing labor rates, material and equipment costs, and local contractor/vendor pricing
Manage, coach, and develop the cost estimation team, allocating workload across concurrent TA/SD bids and studies.
Review and challenge team estimates for accuracy, completeness, and consistency before submission.
Identify cost-saving opportunities and value-engineering options during the estimating stage.
Present and defend estimates to upper management, clients, and stakeholders, communicating assumptions, risks, and basis of estimate clearly.
Maintain oversight of estimate quality, benchmarking against actual project costs to continuously improve estimating accuracy.
Perform additional tasks as required by management.

MANAGERIAL / SUPERVISIORY RESPONSIBILITIES

Lead the day-to-day operations of the cost estimation team
Evaluate and develop estimating staff, including training on methodologies and KSA market data
Manage team resources and estimate delivery schedules across multiple concurrent bids
Monitor estimate quality and compliance with internal estimating procedures
Lead rapid turnaround estimates for urgent/emergency shutdown scope changes
Ensure adherence to estimate submission timelines and accuracy KPIs
Coordinate with planning, engineering, procurement, and operations teams to align estimate inputs

COMMON / GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES

Job responsibilities include similar or commonly known tasks within same or similar jobs, as well as those assigned by the line manager or senior management.

As SANKYU operates on a project-based business model, certain jobs may require additional tasks or responsibilities aligned with the project scope and requirements. These tasks, even if not explicitly outlined in this document, shall be considered part of the Job roles and responsibilities.

Cost Estimation Head STS