Bid Manager in Newcastle upon Tyne

Ready for a new challenge? Are you looking for work that makes a difference? Do you want to work with people who learn and grow together? If so, Opencast could be the place for you. We’re a growing tech consultancy that creates user‑centred solutions with purpose for our clients in government and business.

The role We’re looking for a Bid Manager to join the Opencast Bid Team. The ideal candidate will have experience managing proposals across the procurement lifecycle, from EOI/RFI through to ITT. Opencast works with both public sector and private sector clients, so an understanding of Government frameworks and/or private sector procurement will be helpful. The role will involve planning and co‑ordinating the end‑to‑end delivery of proposal responses of varying size, complexity and value. This will involve working in collaboration with colleagues across the wider Opencast team and partner organisations to manage, prepare, format and submit winning proposals. The role will lead key bid activities throughout the proposal lifecycle, including kick‑off meetings, storyboarding sessions, content reviews, sign‑off processes and bid retrospectives. Working closely with a diverse range of stakeholders and subject‑matter experts, and leading activities across the bidding lifecycle. In addition to proposal management, you will also have an opportunity to get involved in presentations and continuous improvement activities, which will involve leading on and contributing to process improvements.

Essential experience

• Demonstrate experience in bid management, with strong time management, attention to detail and communication skills, and a good understanding of the procurement lifecycle.
• Worked within a busy bid team across public and/or private sectors.
• Led key sessions such as bid kick‑offs, storyboarding, quality gate reviews, and retros.
• Developed bid templates, trackers, and storyboards to support structured bid responses.
• Managed relationships within the bid team and across the organisation.
• Successfully organised and delivered bids within tight timescales.

As well as bid management experience, there are essential core skills you’ll need to excel in this role:

• Develop bid strategies based on client requirements.
• Review and analyse client documents to identify key requirements and deliverables.
• Gather and submit clarification questions, and keep the team updated.
• Review, provide feedback on, and format bid responses effectively.
• Coordinate multiple priorities in parallel, with excellent organisation and attention to detail.
• Coach bid teams on best practices and ensure quality.
• Demonstrate strong written and verbal communication skills, with a natural ability to lead and collaborate.

In the interview, we’ll ask you to describe how you approach bid management, deliver successful proposals, and engage stakeholders. If you’re successful in the first interview, we’ll invite you back to meet with colleagues that you will be working with outside of the bid team, which will give you an insight into the stakeholders that you would typically collaborate on bids with.

Desirable experience

• Experience with Public Sector Frameworks such as DOS, G‑Cloud and DSP.
• Responding to proposed commercial scenarios and preparing rate cards.

Salary £50,000‑£65,000

What we offer A competitive package including a 7% employer pension contribution, share options, and a discretionary bonus. You’ll also benefit from 25 days’ holiday and access to 3 annual life‑happens days to support unexpected situations. We provide wellbeing support, ongoing professional development, volunteering opportunities, and the chance to be part of a genuinely supportive team.

Where you’ll work Your working time at Opencast will be split between multiple locations, including from our HQ and hub locations, client site or home. Travel across the UK is part of life at Opencast. This varies in frequency, and takes into account requirements of your work, our clients and your team.

We include you We welcome candidates from all identities, attributes, ways of thinking and backgrounds to thrive in a career at Opencast. Our aim is for the diversity of our people to be reflected in the solutions we deliver, to help create a fairer society for all.