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For Companies At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead the bid process, crafting compelling narratives and managing submissions.
- Company: Join apetito, the UK's leading food supplier in health and social care.
- Benefits: Enjoy competitive salary, 25 days holiday, and a discretionary bonus scheme.
- Why this job: Make a real impact by shaping our approach to winning business.
- Qualifications: Proven experience in bid writing with strong storytelling and project management skills.
- Other info: Be part of a family-owned business dedicated to sustainability and inclusion.
The predicted salary is between 36000 - 60000 £ per year.
Overview
As Senior Bid Writer you will own and manage the end-to-end bid process, ensuring submissions are compelling, accurate, and aligned with our strategic objectives. This role combines strategic storytelling and copywriting, with top-tier stakeholder engagement, commercial awareness, and robust project management.
Working closely with colleagues across Healthcare, Education, and Care Homes, you will extract insights, shape clear value propositions, and develop persuasive narratives that bring our story to life. You’ll also be responsible for overseeing the Tender Co-Ordinator, ensuring that administrative support, data management, and process coordination run seamlessly.
This role is central to evolving our bid capability — both in maintaining our strong success rates and in building the knowledge base, systems, and bid library needed to scale. You will be responsible for strengthening our Bid Library, including case studies and boilerplate content, ensuring we are better prepared for future tenders.
In addition, you will support the review and drafting of contracts for new customers and renewals, working alongside finance to ensure compliance and accuracy. By providing clear guidance and expertise, you will also help equip the sales team with tools to streamline onboarding and strengthen the overall customer journey.
This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced bid professional looking to step up into a manager-level role with visibility across multiple sectors and a chance to shape our approach to winning business.
apetito is the UK’s leading food supplier to the health and social care sectors serving more than 1,300 care homes, health care and education settings. Our meals are expertly crafted by our dieticians and chefs, and then frozen to lock in the goodness. Wiltshire Farm Foods, our sister company, is the UK’s largest ready meal supplier cooking and delivering over 330 different delicious frozen ready meals across the UK.
Responsibilities
- Lead the end-to-end bid process, from opportunity identification through to submission and feedback.
- Craft clear, persuasive, and engaging narratives that highlight our unique value, using storytelling and evidence to resonate with evaluators.
- Manage and support the Tender Co-Ordinator, ensuring effective coordination, database development, and submission compliance.
- Build and maintain a comprehensive bid library of case studies, boilerplate content, win themes, and lessons learned.
- Engage with senior stakeholders across the business to capture insights, differentiators, and commercial positioning.
- Review and interpret commercial information provided by internal teams, presenting pricing and value clearly and competitively.
- Support the writing and review of customer contracts and renewals, ensuring compliance in collaboration with finance and providing expertise to the sales team to streamline onboarding.
- Oversee research and intelligence gathering, including market trends, procurement frameworks, and competitor insights.
- Apply strong project and time management skills to coordinate multiple submissions to tight deadlines.
- Conduct post-bid reviews to embed lessons learned and drive continuous improvement.
- Ensure tender processes remain productive during quieter seasons by focusing on database building, content development, and knowledge sharing.
Essential Experience
- Proven experience as a Bid Writer or Proposal Manager, ideally within healthcare, education, care homes, or regulated B2B sectors.
- Exceptional storytelling and copywriting ability, with the skill to turn complex information into clear, persuasive content.
- Strong stakeholder engagement skills, with confidence in interviewing and collaborating across all levels of the organisation.
- Excellent project and time management, able to juggle multiple deadlines without compromising quality.
- High levels of attention to detail and accuracy under pressure.
- Experience in information management, research, and maintaining content databases.
- Commercial literacy to understand and present pricing models and value propositions.
- Ability to manage and develop team members (e.g. Tenders Administrator).
- Familiarity with contract drafting and review, particularly in relation to customer agreements and renewals.
Desirable Experience
- Experience with NHS or local authority procurement processes.
- Experience with Department for Education Public Procurement.
- Knowledge of CQC regulations or compliance frameworks relevant to healthcare and care.
- Familiarity with bid management software.
- Professional accreditation such as APMP.
- Competitive salary – accredited Living Wage employer
- 25 days holiday per year, plus bank holidays
- Option to purchase up to 5 additional days holiday per year
- Discretionary annual bonus scheme
- Pension scheme – employer matched contributions up to 4%
- Life assurance scheme worth at least 1x annual salary
- Subsidised canteen
- Free parking
- Free turkey or voucher at Christmas
- apetito perks scheme including salary sacrifice options and retail discounts
Company and Values
As a family-owned business, we take great pride in being a company that makes a real difference and is dedicated to creating outstanding meals to be proud of. We develop a range of products designed to enhance health and well-being for all our customers. We are driven by a passion for service and dedicated to feeding some of the UK’s most vulnerable people. We proudly support British food and farming, focusing on using the best ethical and sustainable produce in alignment with our goal to reach Net Zero by 2040. Our ethical standards are recognised by the ETI and we are an accredited Living Wage employer. Learn more about apetito’s commitment to a more sustainable future. We embrace inclusion, empowering individuals from diverse backgrounds. Our commitment to making a real difference extends to customers, communities, and staff and we\”re on a mission to build an inclusive workplace where everyone reaches their full potential.
Seniority level
- Mid-Senior level
Employment type
- Contract
Job function
- Marketing, Public Relations, and Writing/Editing
- Industries
- Food and Beverage Manufacturing
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Senior Bid Writer employer: apetito UK
Contact Detail:
apetito UK Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Senior Bid Writer
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to your connections in the healthcare and education sectors. Attend industry events or webinars, and don’t be shy about introducing yourself. You never know who might have the inside scoop on job openings!
✨Tip Number 2
Showcase your storytelling skills! When you get the chance to chat with potential employers, share examples of your past successes in bid writing. Use compelling narratives to illustrate how you’ve made a difference in previous roles.
✨Tip Number 3
Prepare for interviews by researching the company’s recent bids and projects. This will help you tailor your responses and demonstrate your understanding of their strategic objectives. Plus, it shows you’re genuinely interested in what they do!
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets noticed. Plus, we love seeing candidates who are proactive about their job search. Let’s make your next career move a great one!
We think you need these skills to ace Senior Bid Writer
Some tips for your application 🫡
Craft Your Story: As a Senior Bid Writer, storytelling is key! Make sure your application showcases your ability to weave compelling narratives. Highlight your experience in turning complex information into clear, persuasive content that resonates with evaluators.
Showcase Your Stakeholder Skills: Engagement with stakeholders is crucial in this role. Use your application to demonstrate how you've successfully collaborated across different levels of an organisation. Share specific examples of how you’ve captured insights and shaped value propositions.
Attention to Detail Matters: In bid writing, accuracy is everything. Ensure your application is free from errors and clearly structured. This not only reflects your attention to detail but also your ability to manage multiple submissions without compromising quality.
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply directly through our website. It’s the best way for us to receive your application and ensures you’re considered for this exciting opportunity. Don’t miss out on the chance to join our team!
How to prepare for a job interview at apetito UK
✨Know Your Bid Process
Familiarise yourself with the end-to-end bid process. Be ready to discuss how you’ve managed bids in the past, highlighting your strategic storytelling and project management skills. This will show that you understand the role's core responsibilities.
✨Craft Compelling Narratives
Prepare examples of how you've created persuasive narratives in previous roles. Think about how you can turn complex information into clear, engaging content that resonates with evaluators. Bring a few samples if possible!
✨Engage Stakeholders Effectively
Showcase your stakeholder engagement skills by preparing to discuss how you've collaborated with various teams. Be ready to share specific instances where you’ve captured insights and differentiated your proposals.
✨Demonstrate Attention to Detail
Highlight your ability to manage multiple deadlines without compromising quality. Prepare to discuss how you ensure accuracy in your submissions and any systems you use for maintaining content databases and compliance.
