Estimator at Boardroom Appointments

Position overview

• An opportunity is available for an experienced Estimator to manage tender requests, prepare accurate and profitable quotations, and ensure submissions meet customer requirements and deadlines. The successful candidate will have strong multimodal freight knowledge across air, sea, road and cross-trade shipments, including specialised cargo and African trade routes.

Key responsibilities

• Prepare estimates and pricing for import, export and cross-trade shipments across air, sea and road freight.
• Price specialised cargo, including breakbulk, bulk, RoRo, heavy-lift and out-of-gauge shipments.
• Prepare local delivery quotations for loads of varying sizes.
• Obtain and evaluate customer requirements, respond to enquiries and maintain accurate records of quotations and customer interactions.
• Ensure all quotations are accurate, commercially viable and submitted within the required deadlines.
• Process quotations and submit tenders to the tender desk for completion.
• Negotiate rates with approved third-party service providers when requested by clients or the network.
• Manage customer logistics requirements and negotiate quotations based on service quality and cost.
• Coordinate with internal departments, hand over shipments to operations and complete handovers for new business.
• Liaise daily with the relevant network and communicate with customers to ensure an efficient service experience.
• Prepare status reports when requested and handle general administrative duties.
• Follow company procedures, quality, health and safety requirements, and applicable legislation.
• Report hazards, incidents and injuries, and participate in initiatives to improve workplace systems.

Minimum requirements

• Matric.
• 5–10 years' experience in sea, air and road freight imports and exports.
• Experience in load planning and assessing cargo weights.
• Strong worldwide geographical knowledge.
• Sound knowledge of truck and vessel types, loading equipment and container types.
• Dangerous goods (DG) knowledge.
• Understanding of shipping and transport requirements, particularly for destinations across the African continent.
• Computer literacy, including proficiency in Microsoft Office and Excel.
• Strong planning, organisational and communication skills.
• Proactive, tenacious and customer-focused approach.

Ideal candidate

• The ideal candidate will be commercially minded, detail-oriented and experienced in multimodal freight estimation. They must be able to assess complex cargo requirements, negotiate competitive rates and deliver accurate, profitable quotations within tight deadlines while maintaining strong customer and internal relationships.