Bid Team Lead

We’re Terminalfour – Nice to meet you. Terminalfour is the leading digital engagement and web content management platform for universities and colleges. We work with over 250 higher education institutions helping them to drive student recruitment, retention, alumni fundraising, and research promotion by maximizing the impact of their digital and content strategies.

We are a fully remote company, providing all the tools you need to work seamlessly from home, including a laptop, monitors, and a desk. Prefer to use your own equipment? Our Bring Your Own Device policy gives you that flexibility.

At Terminalfour, your wellbeing matters. We offer 30 days of annual leave, flexible working hours, and access to our Employee Assistance Programme and Wellbeing Platform which supports health, wellbeing, and short-term counselling for employees and their families. We are also committed to your growth; access continuous learning via the Terminalfour and DCM Learning Hub, technical training platforms, and AWS certification support—all paid by us.

The Role

We are seeking an experienced Tender & Bid Team Lead to lead, develop, and continuously improve a high performing bid function. This role is responsible for ensuring that every tender and RFP submission is accurate, compliant, and delivered on time, but critically, that each submission is compelling, customer specific, and clearly articulates Terminalfour’s value in the context of the institution’s challenges and priorities.

You will lead a team of bid writers, coordinating multiple concurrent submissions across geographies, while acting as the editorial and quality authority for all bid responses. The role combines team leadership, narrative and messaging ownership, stakeholder coordination, and rigorous quality assurance, with hands‑on involvement where required to support priority bids. This is not a purely administrative or volume‑driven bid role. Success is measured by the consistency, clarity, and persuasiveness of our submissions, and by the ability of the team to tailor messaging to each customer rather than relying on generic responses.

For clarity, the term “bid” can relate to proposals, RFIs, RFPs, RFTs and framework agreement proposals.

Bid Leadership, Messaging and Quality

• Take overall ownership of the end‑to‑end bid lifecycle, from opportunity qualification through submission and post‑bid review.
• Act as the central coordinator for all bid activity, planning resources and priorities across multiple concurrent tenders.
• Own the narrative, win themes, and messaging approach for bids, ensuring responses are clearly aligned to each customer’s context, challenges, and evaluation criteria.
• Ensure all submissions are compliant, accurate, well‑structured, and delivered to demanding deadlines, with zero tolerance for errors.
• Serve as the final editorial and quality gate for all tender documents prior to submission.
• Contribute occasionally to bid writing, particularly for high‑value or complex opportunities.

Team Leadership and Development

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of bid writers, providing clear direction, feedback, and support.
• Review drafts and provide constructive, high‑quality editorial feedback to raise the overall standard of writing, structure, and persuasion across the team.
• Allocate work effectively across the team to balance workload, maintain momentum, and meet deadlines.
• Establish clear standards, templates, and best practices so quality and consistency do not depend on individual heroics.
• Foster a collaborative, quality‑focused culture that values insight, clarity, and customer relevance.

Content, Tools and Continuous Improvement

• Own and maintain the RFP/Tender Library, ensuring content is current, well‑structured, and genuinely reusable.
• Continuously refine core content, messaging, and value propositions based on bid outcomes, customer feedback, and market changes.
• Use bid management platforms, CRM data, and AI assisted tools to improve efficiency, consistency, and quality without diluting customer‑specific messaging.
• Conduct post‑bid reviews and feedback sessions to capture lessons learned and drive measurable improvements in win rates and submission quality.
• Track and report on bid activity, performance trends, and key metrics for senior stakeholders.

Stakeholder and Sales Collaboration

• Work closely with Sales, Product, and Subject Matter Experts to shape accurate, persuasive, and well‑evidenced responses.
• Coordinate all communications with organisations issuing tenders or RFPs via portals, email, or clarification processes.

Skills and Experience Required

• Proven experience leading or managing a Tender, Bid, or Proposal team in a deadline‑driven environment.
• Strong background in SaaS/software or Higher Education solution focused bid and procurement processes.
• Significant experience overseeing large, complex RFPs and tenders, with responsibility for quality and messaging as well as delivery.
• Exceptional written communication skills, with the ability to shape clear, persuasive narratives for different audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to coach and improve the output of other writers, not just produce strong content personally.
• Outstanding attention to detail and quality assurance capability.
• Strong organisational and project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously.
• Experience with bid portals, CRM systems, and structured bid tracking processes.
• Practical experience using AI tools to support drafting, review, summarisation, or quality assurance in professional contexts.

Qualifications

• A third‑level degree in a relevant discipline or equivalent professional experience.

Personal Attributes

• Highly organised, resilient, and calm under pressure.
• Strong editorial judgement, with the confidence to challenge generic or poorly positioned content, even when it is technically correct.
• Customer centric mindset, with an instinct for framing solutions around institutional challenges, risks, and opportunities.
• Collaborative leadership style with a proactive, solution‑focused mindset.
• Commercially minded, understanding how messaging, positioning, and bid quality directly influence revenue and long‑term customer value.
• High personal standards and professional pride in representing Terminalfour consistently and credibly in the market.

At Terminalfour, we look for people who are passionate, curious, and driven to make an impact. If you enjoy solving problems, innovating, and working in a supportive environment, you’ll feel at home here.

Our recruitment process is clear and straightforward, with an application form and some questions, technical test (for technical roles), and Zoom interviews with HR and the Hiring Team. If this role excites you, we’d love to meet you!