Bid Manager

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced and results-driven Bid Manager to lead and manage the end-to-end bid lifecycle, ensuring the delivery of compliant, competitive, technically sound, and commercially viable proposals aligned with customer requirements and business objectives.

The successful candidate will be responsible for coordinating cross-functional teams, developing winning bid strategies, managing proposal development, costing and pricing activities, and ensuring governance and contractual compliance throughout the bid process. This role plays a critical part in driving business growth by improving bid quality, consistency, competitiveness, and overall win rates.

Qualifications and experience: 

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, Business, Finance, Project Management, or a related discipline. 

• Minimum 5 years' experience in bid management, proposal development, commercial management, or contract coordination within a defence, engineering, technology, or high-reliability environment. 

• Proven experience managing complex bids involving technical, commercial, contractual, and financial components. 

• Demonstrated experience in cost estimation, pricing strategy, financial modelling, and commercial analysis. 

• Experience working with cross-functional teams including Engineering, Finance, Portfolio Management, Programmes, Legal, Operations, and Sales. 

Key technical skills: 

• Strong bid and proposal management capability, including recognised bid management methodologies and governance processes. 

• Technical understanding of complex engineering, defence, or technology-based solutions and the ability to communicate technical concepts clearly and persuasively. 

• Advanced proposal writing, editing, and content development skills. 

• Cost estimation, pricing strategy, financial modelling, cashflow forecasting, and commercial analysis. 

• Contractual and commercial awareness, including risk assessment and compliance requirements. 

• Strong planning, organisational, project management, and coordination skills. 

• Ability to develop Work Breakdown Structures (WBS), Statements of Work (SOW), compliance matrices, and bid schedules. 

• Risk identification, mitigation planning, and governance management. 

• Stakeholder engagement and facilitation skills across multiple disciplines and organisational levels. 

• Market analysis, competitor intelligence, and bid strategy development. 

• Strong attention to detail with a focus on quality, compliance, and governance. 

Key responsibilities: 

Bid Planning, Management and Submission 

Manage the end-to-end bid lifecycle from opportunity qualification through submission by coordinating bid activities, schedules, governance reviews, stakeholder inputs, and submission requirements to ensure compliant, competitive, and timely proposals that support business growth objectives.

Technical Solution and Proposal Development 

Lead the development, consolidation, and documentation of customer requirements, technical solutions, scope definitions, compliance responses, assumptions, and deliverables in collaboration with cross-functional stakeholders to ensure accurate, compelling, and fully traceable proposals that align with customer expectations and organisational capabilities. 

Costing, Commercial Management and Pricing Strategy

Develop and validate bid costing, pricing models, financial analyses, commercial assumptions, and standardised pricing frameworks in collaboration with Finance, Portfolio, Programmes, and relevant stakeholders to ensure commercially sound, competitive, profitable, and consistently priced proposals aligned with business objectives.  

Risk, Governance and Contractual Compliance 

Identify and manage technical, commercial, contractual, financial, and delivery risks throughout the bid process while ensuring governance reviews, compliance requirements, executive approvals, and contractual obligations are effectively addressed to protect the business and improve bid quality and win probability. 

Stakeholder Collaboration, Handover and Continuous Improvement 

Facilitate collaboration between Sales, Engineering, Finance, Portfolio, Programmes, Operations, Legal, and customers throughout the bid lifecycle and post-award transition to ensure aligned decision-making, effective knowledge transfer, continuous improvement, and enhanced competitiveness in future opportunities.