Senior Bid Manager in London

This role is the primary day-to-day lead for Bid Management, heading a small team of specialists, setting standards, and supporting fee-earners in converting qualified leads. The Senior Bid Manager will bring significant experience in leading bids, shaping win strategies, and producing high-quality, client-focused proposals aligned with best-practice processes and strategic plans. A background in construction or real estate is ideal, but a strong track record in delivering complex, high-quality bids is essential.

Beyond managing the end-to-end bids and proposals process across all offices, services, and sectors, this is also a strategic role. The successful candidate will help drive initiatives to improve win rates and build capability across the business, working closely with the Director/Head of Bids. This includes contributing to projects focused on content quality and management, bid-related AI implementation, and streamlining cross-department processes and governance.

This hands-on role leads and supports the coordination, development and production of high-quality, compliant and compelling bids and proposals, driving a consistent, joined-up approach to winning work and improving win rates.

• Lead and resource the bid programme across the business.
• Partner with senior leaders to shape pipeline strategy, prioritise pursuits and mobilise virtual teams.
• Provide strategic bid advice, challenge assumptions and support decision-making using governance processes.
• Manage and produce quality-focused bids across all offices, services and CMP levels using established tools and best practice.
• Personally lead complex, high-value and strategic pursuits, shaping win strategies throughout the bid lifecycle.
• Provide clear leadership to multi-disciplinary bid teams, ensuring role clarity, timelines, deliverables and strong presentations.
• Drive continuous improvement of bid materials, processes and governance, including lessons learned and KPI tracking.
• Identify and resolve bid risks/opportunities (e.g., policy gaps, contractual positions, pricing inputs).
• Ensure brand, QA, legal and confidentiality compliance.
• Line-manage and develop junior team members.
• Support strategic projects, particularly AI platform implementation, quality controls and responsible-use guidelines.
• Champion AI to improve drafting, content optimisation, knowledge search and win rates.

• Strong commercial awareness of services, sectors, clients and competitors.
• Proven expertise across all bidding stages: qualification, project management, writing, content development, design, QA and presentations/negotiation.
• Ability to analyse and report on bid and team performance and present insights at programme level.
• Skilled at identifying risks/opportunities and recommending actions.
• Proactive in improving processes, tools and team capability.
• Applies bid strategy, process and governance consistently and promotes adherence across stakeholders.
• Contributes to strategic direction alongside the Head of Bids.
• Strong leadership and ability to develop junior resources.

• Extensive experience in bids/proposal management, including 2–3 years at Bid Manager level.
• Background in property, real estate or construction professional services.
• APMP qualification (or working towards) advantageous.
• Experience with Adobe Creative Cloud desirable.
• Experience with AI in bidding, plus OpenAsset and Monday.com, advantageous.
• Excellent written and verbal communication; able to engage internal and external stakeholders effectively.
• Ability to write and edit technical content clearly and concisely.
• High attention to detail, with strong proofreading and layout/design awareness.
• Able to influence senior management.
• Highly organised, reliable, self-motivated.
• Positive, proactive, able to work independently and collaboratively.
• Strong initiative and commitment to continuous professional development.

Our preference is to recruit directly wherever possible. Should this role be approved for support from external recruitment partners, we will contact our PSL agencies accordingly. Please note that we do not accept unsolicited CVs from agencies. Effective introduction of a candidate will only be accepted if it has been requested to submit CVs in relation to a specific vacancy. Any speculative submissions will not incur a fee. For any queries, kindly reach out to the appropriate Talent Acquisition team member.

The Company Hollis is a leading independent real estate consultancy. We work with owners, occupiers, developers and funders, across both private and public sectors, to help them get more out of their real estate, at every stage of the property life cycle. We’re a multi-skilled team of surveyors, engineers, ESG consultants, project managers and technical specialists operating across the UK, Ireland, Germany, Spain and The Netherlands. We have a unique way of working and believe that people do things better by doing them together. We aim to do the right thing, be clear, transparent and find some fun along the way.

We are hardworking, progressive, successful and fun. We’re independently-owned and independently-minded, not afraid to give honest advice or to be ourselves. We aim to achieve the right balance for you, delivering excellent client service whilst supporting you in fulfilling your potential and achieving your goals.

We offer a highly attractive salary and a generous benefits package including:

• Life assurance and private medical insurance
• Season ticket loan
• 5% Employer pension contribution
• 25 days of holiday and an extra day off on your birthday
• Cycle to work scheme, retail vouchers, gym discounts and more
• EV car scheme
• Longevity awards

Hollis operates a hybrid-working policy giving employees the opportunity to work between their home and our offices, where their job allows it. In addition, employees are encouraged to request flexible working hours when needed and we work hard to accommodate where we can.

We are a sociable bunch and host pay day drinks, quarterly lunches, quiz nights and cultural and sporting activities to socialise and have fun with your colleagues. We also give back and take part in numerous charity events all over the country throughout the year.

Together we welcome, we embrace, and we celebrate our differences. Our aim is to provide a diverse and inclusive workplace which supports and cares for all our employees, including those from underrepresented or non-dominant groups. We’re focused on a culture of inclusion; where all barriers including prejudice are removed from our working environment; and where all our people are empowered to be the best they can be.

If you would like the opportunity to join Hollis but your past experience is not an exact match, we encourage you to apply anyway as you could be the right candidate for this role or another role within the company.

If you require alternative formats of our documents or need to apply offline, please get in touch with the talent acquisition team.