Tender Finance and Commercial Manager

Arriva is a leading European passenger transport partner, operating in 11 countries across the UK and Europe. We employ around 35,000 people and deliver more than 1.5 billion passenger journeys each year, connecting people and communities safely, reliably, and sustainably. With strong roots dating back to 1938, Arriva has an ambitious growth and sustainability agenda. In 2024, the business was acquired by I Squared Capital, a global infrastructure investment fund manager, supporting Arriva’s next phase of development and long-term growth across our European markets.

As part of this continued growth, we are seeking a Tender Finance and Commercial Manager to provide senior financial and commercial leadership across the Group’s tender portfolio. This role plays a key part in ensuring bids are financially robust, commercially competitive and underpinned by strong governance, enabling confident decision making at senior and Executive levels.

Leading the financial workstream for major tenders, you will challenge assumptions, shape commercial structures, evaluate investment cases, and identify key risks and opportunities. The role brings together expertise from local bid teams alongside Group Finance, Commercial, Legal, Tax and Treasury to deliver high-quality, decision-ready tender submissions.

Success in this role requires exceptional financial and analytical capability, strong commercial judgement, and the ability to translate complex financial insights into clear, strategic recommendations. Operating across multiple markets, you will also help strengthen capability, drive continuous improvement, and enhance financial governance across the tendering process.

This role can be based from either our London, Netherlands or Mainland Europe operating country offices, offering the opportunity to work within a highly collaborative and international environment.

• Financial Analysis & Assurance
  • Provide strategic financial leadership across all tenders, ensuring financial governance and risk appetite are consistently applied across the Group.
  • Lead the critical review of financial models, commercial structures and investment evaluations, ensuring bids are robust, viable and aligned to Group strategy.
  • Set expectations for high‑quality, evidence‑based financial assumptions, ensuring they are market‑tested and aligned to operational, commercial and legal inputs.
  • Lead comprehensive risk and opportunity assessments, ensuring positions are transparent, quantified and clearly articulated for senior decision makers.
  • Distil complex financial data into clear, concise and actionable insights, enabling confident Executive‑level decision‑making.
  • Ensure the accuracy, completeness and clarity of all financial elements of tender documentation, ensuring consistency across all contributors.
• Financial Tender Management
  • Coordinate contributions from local finance, commercial, legal, tax, treasury and operational teams.
  • Set and uphold Group standards for financial modelling, investment appraisal and approval documentation.
  • Support local teams by providing assurance and challenging where required on strategic or high‑value bids, ensuring governance milestones and sign‑offs are met.
  • Escalate and resolve complex financial issues, removing blockers and ensuring bid teams remain aligned and on track.
• Reporting & Governance
  • Own the integrity and quality of financial reporting within the Group tender pipeline, ensuring data is timely, accurate and insight‑rich.
  • Strengthen governance frameworks, tools and templates, driving continuous improvement in financial tender processes and approval standards.
  • Ensure full compliance with Group policies and approval protocols, setting high expectations for governance excellence.
  • Act as a key contributor to Group‑wide decision‑making, ensuring financial perspectives are embedded in strategic choices and risk positions.
• Leadership & Capability Development
  • Provide clear leadership and direction to analysts and financial contributors, ensuring quality, clarity and a strong culture of accountability.
  • Develop financial and commercial capability across the tender community through coaching, knowledge‑sharing and expert guidance.
  • Role‑model proactive, collaborative and solutions‑focused working across Group and local teams.
  • Champion a culture of continuous improvement, seeking opportunities to enhance modelling quality, governance rigour and the effectiveness of financial insight.
• Strategic Influence & Stakeholder Management
  • Act as a trusted financial and commercial adviser to senior stakeholders across the Group, influencing strategy, risk appetite and investment decisions.
  • Strengthen alignment between commercial, operational, financial and legal perspectives to ensure tenders reflect a coherent, competitive and well‑governed strategy.
  • Represent financial and commercial viewpoints in internal and external discussions, supporting alignment with long‑term Group priorities and market expectations.

We welcome applications from commercially minded finance professionals who are passionate about shaping successful bids and driving strong financial governance across complex tender environments. You will enjoy working collaboratively with stakeholders across multiple markets, applying rigorous financial analysis, and translating complex insights into clear recommendations that support strategic decision-making.

• Hold a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Finance, Economics, Accounting or a related discipline.
• Hold, or be working towards, a professional financial qualification such as ACCA, CIMA, CFA or equivalent.
• Demonstrate strong financial modelling and analytical capability, ideally gained through large-scale, complex projects or tender activity.
• Have a solid understanding of investment evaluation techniques, including IRR, NPV and scenario or sensitivity analysis.
• Be able to interpret complex financial data and convert analysis into clear, strategic recommendations for senior stakeholders.
• Demonstrate strong commercial awareness with the ability to balance attention to detail with a broader strategic perspective.
• Possess excellent communication and influencing skills, with the confidence to engage senior leaders across multiple functions and markets.
• Be comfortable managing multiple priorities in fast-paced, deadline-driven tender environments.
• Show a proactive, structured and solutions-focused approach to problem solving.
• Have experience leading, mentoring or coaching analysts or small teams.

• Have experience working within the public transport sector or other contract-based industries.
• Have experience supporting major bids, tenders, or investment cases within large or complex organisations.

Finally, we’re looking for candidates who align with Arriva’s values and are passionate about developing people, supporting growth and helping to build the future leadership pipeline across the organisation.

The closing date for applications is Tuesday 31 March 2026. Arriva Group reserves the right to close this vacancy early.