Senior Business Development Coordinator / Bidder in Edinburgh

Location: Any UK Arup Office

Contract: Permanent Full-Time

Our Company:

Arup is a multi–disciplinary firm of designers, planners, engineers, consultants and technical specialists, working across every aspect of today’s built environment. Together we help our clients tackle their most complex challenges, turning exciting ideas into tangible reality as we strive to find ways to shape a better world.

Our Business and Corporate Services functions provide a fundamental platform of steadfast support across all aspects of Arup’s business. This enables our firm to operate efficiently whilst working with our clients on projects that will set new industry standards.

About this career opportunity…

The purpose of this role is to support the winning of specific opportunities pursued by our Energy business within Arup’s UK, India, Middle East, and Africa (UKIMEA) region. The postholder will work closely with our Energy business leaders, bid directors and managers to improve the management of the bid process as well as the quality of our submissions.

This role has two primary areas of focus:

• Bid co-ordination and management
• Authoring, reviewing, editing and proofreading key elements of our work-winning proposals and submissions.

Relationships:

The postholder will work closely with our business leaders, bid directors, managers, and subject matter experts to improve the management of the bid process as well as the quality of our submissions. The postholder’s line manager will be the Work Winning Leader for Business Advisory. In addition, the role requires regular communication and collaboration with CBD colleagues across the UKIMEA region as well as the Global Business Marketer and colleagues within the Information Management and Legal teams. The post will sit within the Clients, Markets and Communications (CMC) team and be anchored to the Energy team. Mentoring will be provided by work winning colleagues within the team and, more widely, by members of the UKIMEA Client and Business Development (CBD) network.

Tasks will be agreed and prioritised for Energy, but the postholder will be part of and will support work winning efforts across the region, as required.

You will make an impact in this role by…

• Working closely and collaboratively with bid team leaders and subject matter experts to plan and deliver high quality work winning submissions, focusing on effective monitoring of our pipeline and in facilitating clear and rigorous assessment of opportunities through bid/no bid decision making.
• Playing a leading role in the coordination of priority and complex submissions, working as a central member of bid teams and with a particular focus on bid programme development and management.
• Drafting and editing text produced by others, working with bid team members to develop robust answer plans and to review draft responses.
• Writing, reviewing, editing and proof-reading specific elements of submissions, working both independently as well as collaboratively to achieve high-scoring responses to bid questions.
• Initiating and participating in in-progress bid reviews, taking on post-review actions to strengthen submissions prior to issue.
• Initiating and participating in post-submission bid reviews and lessons learnt sessions, ensuring that submission scoring and feedback received from our clients are understood and with lessons applied to future submissions.
• Promoting better bidding across our Energy business by acting as an advocate and trainer for Arup’s 12-Step Strategic Bidding Framework and existing SharePoint-based bid management and storage software.
• Introducing and managing CRM-based bid win rate analysis for the Energy business, working closely with our Energy business leader to identify trends and to agree actions to improve work winning performance over time.

To achieve in this role, you are likely to…

• Have experience of bid coordination and bid writing, possibly within the UK energy sector or a professional services context.
• Have experience of undertaking research to gather and summarise information relevant to opportunity assessment and the development of high-quality submissions.
• Possess experience and knowledge of - as well as, potentially, a degree-level qualification - relevant to the analysis of information and the writing and editing of high-scoring technical text.
• Have knowledge of UK procurement practice, standards and law pertaining to public sector organisations, publicly funded agencies and/or major projects.
• Have experience and knowledge in the UK energy sector – or, if not, experience and knowledge of a related sector and a strong interest in developing energy-specific expertise.
• Be able to identify and communicate work winning priorities and strategies.
• Have experience of playing a central role within bid teams and of working collaboratively with others under pressure.
• Exhibit a personable, collaborative, and resilient approach.
• Have the ability to draw out and communicate ideas effectively and creatively and a willingness to work collaboratively with visual communications colleagues to produce impactful, clear, and compliant submissions.
• Demonstrate competitive drive, dedication to achieving challenging deadlines and good time management skills.

In addition to having the chance to have a real impact on Arup’s continued success, the selected applicant will be joining a diverse bunch of incredibly talented individuals who are each on a unique career development journey. We believe an inclusive working environment is a great place to evolve, and this is core to Arup as a business.

Rewards and Benefits:

We offer a competitive salary at all levels, and one of the best benefits packages in our sector. Core benefits include cover under the UK Healthcare Plan (private medical insurance), Life Assurance, Accident Insurance, and Income Protection (long term disability) cover. Core benefits are funded by us and made available to all permanent staff in order to support and safeguard your financial, physical, and mental wellbeing. You will also have access to Choose Benefits to help with your work/life balance and financial security. In addition, all permanent employees are eligible for the Global Profit Share scheme. Subject to scheme rules employees can receive two Profit Share payments per year, which are dependent on the firm’s financial performance.

Different people, shared values.

At Arup, we believe when talented people collaborate, great things are possible. Arup hires people with proven skills and open minds. We are taking deliberate action to create an inclusive culture that is grounded in our purpose to shape a better world.

At Arup, we welcome candidates from all backgrounds, regardless of age, disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, and any other protected characteristic. Our internal employee networks - BAME, Culture, Disability, LGBTQ+ and Women - provide a space for you to express your views and to make a positive difference.

At Arup, we are committed to making all stages of our recruitment process accessible to candidates with disabilities. Please speak to our recruitment team and we will work with you to make reasonable adjustments to ensure you can perform at your best throughout your application.

At Arup, we appreciate that everyone’s circumstances are different and having the freedom to flex the way we work is essential to our wellbeing. If flexibility matters to you let us know when you apply, and we will discuss how this could work in your role.

What happens next?

If this could be the next step in your journey, please apply online. All applications will be considered, and we will try our very best to respond to you within 72 hours of receiving your application, this will be subject to delays owing to the festive period.

Stay safe online - Arup will never ask for payment or your bank details as part of our recruitment process.