Role Definition A senior member of the Bids and Tendering department, working closely with all disciplines within the team and the wider business, to ensure the delivery of high-quality, winning bids and their effective mobilisation to the project delivery team. This role will be aligned with the CIS portfolio, working with internal and external partners to develop market-leading systems and proposals. The Bid Manager will lead on competitive and key bids for the client's CIS portfolio. This role will include ownership of the LOA/PM@client governance process through to project handover, management of bid and portfolio strategy, internal and external stakeholder management, and accountability for the success of bids within the business. The Bids and Tendering function is a centralised bidding team responsible for managing bids for the CIS business in the UK, ensuring appropriate levels of governance and accuracy are applied to deliver a winning strategy. Key Accountabilities
- Management of the creation of winning tenders through the full bid lifecycle, from Bid/No-Bid through to customer negotiation and Contract Award, for bids ranging from £100k up to £10m.
- Definition and implementation of winning bid strategies, ensuring a breakdown of tender requirements and coordination of all technical, commercial and financial aspects of the estimation and proposal creation process (including pricing structures, subcontract partnerships, etc.).
- Preparation, review and coordination of compelling tender documentation, ensuring high levels of consistency and quality, adequately capturing the offer, providing an accurate baseline for a future project, incorporating lessons learned and mitigating company risks.
- Preparation of all review meeting materials and coordination of the close-out of all actions where required for individual tenders.
- Ensuring all internal bid deliverables (risk register, requirements capture, etc.) are completed prior to bid approval.
- Provision of leadership to the tender team and allocated business resources, influencing and negotiating with people at all levels, including providing progress reports to management.
- Involvement in pre- and post-bid submission negotiations with the client, encompassing technical, financial and commercial considerations, acting as the client's single point of contact in relation to the bid.
- Production and delivery of presentations (internally and externally to the client), up to board level.
- Responsible for transferring knowledge from the tendering team to the Delivery team, verifying the tender, achieving scope stability and ensuring effective handover to Delivery.
- Accurate management of bid budgets and ensuring the client's company policies and procedures (including quality assurance) are suitably followed, striking the right balance between governance and cost efficiency.
- Implementation of improvements to company processes and standards in relation to bid management. Measures
- Individual win rate.
- Elapsed time from ITT arrival to submission.
- Cost of bidding against allocated budget.
- Quality of tender documentation.
- Customer and internal feedback. Specific Skills/Tasks Essential
- Able to manage the delivery of multiple bids through corporate governance procedures, including parallel approval workstreams (e.g. financial, technical, commercial, etc.).
- Significant bid management experience from an engineering project-based business in a regulated industry, with experience leading bids in excess of £5m and managing bid budgets in excess of £250,000. Experience of CIS systems is an advantage.
- Possess a good understanding of the way in which railway technology projects are managed and delivered in order to influence, monitor and challenge every aspect of the bid, including project management, finance, engineering, planning, delivery and commercial inputs.
- Commercially astute, with the ability to structure a bid to present the offer in the best light whilst minimising risk to the business.
- Possesses sufficient management experience (minimum 5 years) and stature to operate at the same level as senior project managers and senior business managers, providing appropriate leadership to tender teams.
- Strong customer focus, with the ability to manage complex negotiations with the client as appropriate.
- Matrix management experience in leading teams of more than 10 people, motivating and directing team members towards a shared goal.
- Ability to influence and negotiate with people at all levels within the client's organisation and customer organisations, whilst fostering strong working relationships (up to board level).
- Excellent oral and written communication skills.
- A proactive high achiever with high energy levels, accustomed to working under pressure and to tight or challenging deadlines.
- Degree qualified (or equivalent) in a business or technically related discipline.
- Proficient in the use of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams and SharePoint. Desirable
- IET or APMP qualification preferred.
- Previously or currently occupying the position of Bid Manager, Project Manager or Commercial Manager in an engineering project-based business.
