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- Tasks: Lead a global team to create high-quality proposals and optimise processes.
- Company: Join Evotec, a leader in the life sciences industry with a collaborative culture.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, remote work, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Other info: Dynamic role with a focus on innovation and continuous improvement.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in drug discovery while developing your leadership skills.
- Qualifications: Experience in sales processes and strong leadership skills required.
The predicted salary is between 80000 - 100000 £ per year.
Are you an experienced manager with outstanding communication skills and a passion for leading high-performing teams in a global environment? Are you looking to expand your commercial expertise while playing a key leadership role in driving the success of Evotec? This could be the opportunity for you. Evotec is seeking a Director, Head of Discovery Proposal to join the Proposal team within Commercial Operations. In this leadership role, you will report to the Vice President, Head of Proposal and be responsible for managing and mentoring a globally distributed team, while supporting the broader Commercial organization in a collaborative and high-impact environment.
Responsibilities:
- The Proposal team is a critical function within Evotec. The successful candidate will lead and develop the Discovery Proposal team, ensuring delivery of high-quality, competitive proposals through strong cross-functional collaboration with Sales, Operations, Finance, Legal, and other stakeholders.
- A core focus of this role is people leadership in a global, remote setting, ensuring team engagement, performance, and continuous development.
- This role actively contributes to shaping and improving proposal processes, with a strong focus on optimising workflows, accelerating proposal turnaround times, enhancing operational efficiency, and increasing overall proposal win rate through data-driven improvements.
- A key part of the role also includes ensuring proposals effectively address client needs, reflect strategic positioning, and support successful client engagement.
Mission:
- Serve as a senior leader and key point of contact for the internal sales process (including proposal strategy, template selection, pricing, and CRM tracking).
- Lead, manage, and develop a global, fully remote team, fostering a high-performance and accountable culture.
- Effectively allocate and prioritise workload across the team, ensuring efficiency and balance.
- Drive systematic process optimisation across the proposal lifecycle, identifying bottlenecks and implementing improvements that increase speed, consistency, and quality.
- Introduce scalable workflows, automation, and standardisation to reduce cycle time and increase throughput without compromising accuracy.
- Partner closely with Sales and Operations leadership, as well as cross-functional teams (Finance, Legal, Project Management), to drive alignment and improvements.
- Collaborate closely with client-facing teams and support Sales in client discussions to ensure proposals align with client expectations, including presenting bids, articulating proposal rationale, and contributing to client meetings as needed.
- Define, implement, and monitor KPIs, leveraging CRM tools to track efficiency metrics (turnaround time and win rates indicators) and continuously improve outcomes.
Key Competencies and Characteristics:
- Proven leadership and management experience, particularly with high-performing and remote teams.
- Demonstrated ability to lead, coach, and develop individuals in remote working dynamics, including acting as a tutor and subject matter guide.
- Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage complex, distributed workloads.
- Solid understanding of the sales and proposal process.
- Strong client orientation, with the ability to understand and translate client needs into compelling, customised proposal content.
- Demonstrated experience implementing process improvements with measurable impact on speed, efficiency, and proposal success.
- Strong interpersonal skills with a passion for people development and cross-functional collaboration.
Skills and Abilities:
- Great communication skills, written and oral.
- Excellent English.
- Demonstrated ability to lead in a remote, international environment.
- Customer oriented with an appetite for getting involved in the commercial side of science.
- Knowledge of the drug discovery processes.
- Experience in proposal and quote preparation (preferable).
- Experience engaging with clients, supporting bid presentations, or contributing to client facing discussions is a plus.
- Self-motivated, independent, enthusiastic, collaborative, reliable, able to multi-task with fine attention to details and a strong work ethic.
- Strong people leadership and coaching mindset.
- Willingness and desire to learn; open to change.
- Excellent organizational and time management skills.
- Excellent IT skills (to include Word, PowerPoint and Excel).
Qualifications:
- Minimum BSc, MSc in a Life Sciences discipline.
- Preference for >5 years experience in the sales process in the Life Science business.
Director, Head of Discovery Proposal in Abingdon employer: Evotec
Contact Detail:
Evotec Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Director, Head of Discovery Proposal in Abingdon
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to your connections in the industry and let them know you're on the lookout for opportunities. A personal recommendation can go a long way in landing that dream job.
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for interviews by researching the company and its culture. Understand their values and how you can contribute to their mission. This will help you stand out as a candidate who truly gets what they're about.
✨Tip Number 3
Practice your pitch! Be ready to articulate your experience and how it aligns with the role of Director, Head of Discovery Proposal. Highlight your leadership skills and ability to manage remote teams effectively.
✨Tip Number 4
Don't forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen by the right people. Plus, it shows you're serious about joining the team at Evotec.
We think you need these skills to ace Director, Head of Discovery Proposal in Abingdon
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your Application: Make sure to customise your CV and cover letter to highlight your experience in leading high-performing teams and managing complex workloads. We want to see how your skills align with the role of Director, Head of Discovery Proposal.
Showcase Your Communication Skills: Since this role requires outstanding communication skills, don’t shy away from demonstrating your ability to articulate ideas clearly. Use examples from your past experiences where you successfully communicated with clients or led a team.
Highlight Your Leadership Experience: We’re looking for someone with proven leadership experience, especially in remote settings. Share specific instances where you’ve mentored or developed team members, and how you fostered a high-performance culture.
Apply Through Our Website: To make sure your application gets the attention it deserves, apply directly through our website. It’s the best way for us to track your application and ensure it reaches the right people!
How to prepare for a job interview at Evotec
✨Know Your Stuff
Make sure you understand the ins and outs of the proposal process, especially in a global context. Brush up on your knowledge of drug discovery and how it ties into client needs. This will help you articulate your thoughts clearly during the interview.
✨Showcase Your Leadership Skills
Prepare examples that highlight your experience in leading remote teams. Think about specific challenges you've faced and how you overcame them. This will demonstrate your ability to manage and mentor effectively, which is crucial for this role.
✨Be Client-Centric
Emphasise your understanding of client needs and how to translate those into compelling proposals. Be ready to discuss how you've successfully engaged with clients in the past and how you can bring that experience to Evotec.
✨Process Improvement Mindset
Come prepared to talk about any process improvements you've implemented in previous roles. Highlight measurable impacts on efficiency and proposal success, as this aligns perfectly with the expectations for the Director, Head of Discovery Proposal position.