Senior Bid Manager in Luton

Your Impact

Do you want to join a team that is at the forefront of a once-in-a-lifetime programme, are you looking to take the next step in your career, or is it time for a new challenge in business winning? If so, we have an exciting opportunity within our Future Combat Air business for a Senior Bid Manager.

The Future Combat Air (FCA) bid team is responsible for leading cross-functional teams in the generation and submission of complex multi-million-pound commercial offers that meet time, cost and quality requirements. You will be responsible for the formulation of bid strategies, building and leading bid teams to develop solutions for our customers that are deliverable, as well as ensuring that the offer meets programmatic and business needs.

As the Senior Bid Manager, you have accountability for the overall quality of bid submissions and will guide the team through the internal governance and approval gates, ensuring that relevant business winning information is presented to the FCA leadership team. This will require excellent planning and stakeholder management skills. As a Senior Bid Manager, you will coordinate inputs from multiple teams and work with Sector Vice Presidents, the FCA Head of Bids, Integrated Project Team Leads, Engineering, and Commercial Managers to define the bid strategy and then ensure its execution.

This role is based at our Luton site with occasional UK travel to other Leonardo and customer sites, as well as potential international travel. We operate a custom working hybrid model and offer flexible working to support your wellbeing and work-life balance. We expect you to work from our Luton office two to three times per week on average, but this can vary depending on business needs and your schedule.

What you’ll do as a Senior Bid Manager:

• Leadership of bids through to successful conclusion, ranging from tactical follow-on business through to multi-million-pound strategic initiatives
• Coordinate and manage bids with a range of complexities throughout the capture and bid phases of the lifecycle
• Work in collaboration with customers and internal stakeholders, applying best practice, to formulate bid strategies, and drive bid teams to find winning solutions
• Schedule and drive bid activities including Win Strategy, Bid Kick-off, Answer Planning, Bid Progress Reviews, Proposal production, Proposal content collation, Proposal reviews (e.g. colour reviews) and Tender Approvals
• Plan, lead, and challenge cost build-up and pricing activities from business functions
• Lead bid teams to identify and analyse risks and opportunities, developing mitigation/realisation plans for action post-contract award
• Forecast functional resource and budget requirements on bids you lead, proactively managing approved bid budgets
• Support the capture team during the contract negotiation phase, managing and implementing changes required to our bid submission to secure contract award
• Manage and contribute to the writing of proposal material, drawing on the skills and experience of capture team members and subject matter experts

What you’ll bring:

• Experience managing complex bids and proposals
• Proven track record in winning business (preferably experience of leading bids with values of £20m+), with strong commercial, project, and risk management skills
• Experience managing multi-functional teams (preferably in a Bid Management or Business Winning discipline)
• Excellent planning, organisation, and time management skills (to achieve bid milestones)
• Degree-level qualification or equivalent, with demonstrable bid management knowledge (APMP Foundation Certification or above is desirable)
• Ability to lead and collaborate with cross-functional teams that may be geographically dispersed
• Ability to assess complex requirements and communicate effectively with stakeholders at all levels
• Leadership experience, including coaching, mentoring, team management, and team building skills
• Interpersonal skills to develop close business relationships with internal and external stakeholders, senior management, and government/military customers
• The ability to communicate effectively at all levels within the wider business and with external consortia
• Have a working understanding of best practice bid processes and tools (e.g. for bid planning, Black Hat, Red Team, Price to Win, etc.)

This is not an exhaustive list, and we are keen to hear from you even if you might not have experience in all the above. The most important skill is a good attitude and willingness to learn.

Security Clearance

This role is subject to pre-employment screening in line with the UK Government’s Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS). An additional range of Personnel Security Controls referred to as National Security Vetting (NSV) may apply, this could include meeting the eligibility requirements for the Security Check (SC) or Developed Vetting (DV).

Life at Leonardo

At Leonardo, our people are at the heart of everything we do. We offer a comprehensive, company-funded benefits package that supports your wellbeing, career development, and work–life balance. Whether you're looking to grow professionally, care for your health, or plan for the future, we’re here to help you thrive.

• Time to Recharge: Enjoy generous leave with the opportunity to accrue up to 12 additional flexi-days each year.
• Secure your Future: Benefit from our award-winning pension scheme with up to 15% employer contribution.
• Your Wellbeing Matters: Free access to mental health support, financial advice, and employee-led networks championing inclusion and diversity.
• Rewarding Performance: All employees at management level and below are eligible for our bonus scheme.
• Never Stop Learning: Free access to 4,000+ online courses via Coursera and LinkedIn Learning.
• Refer a friend: Receive a financial reward through our referral programme.
• Tailored Perks: Spend up to £500 annually on flexible benefits including private healthcare, dental, family cover, tech & lifestyle discounts, gym memberships and more.
• Flexible working: Flexible hours with hybrid working options. For part time opportunities, please talk to us about what might be possible for this role.

For a full list of our company benefits please visit our website. Leonardo is a global leader in Aerospace, Defence, and Security. Headquartered in Italy, we employ over 53,000 people worldwide including 8,500 across 9 sites in the UK. Our employees are not just part of a team—they are key contributors to shaping innovation, advancing technology, and enhancing global safety.

At Leonardo we are committed to building an inclusive, accessible, and welcoming workplace. We believe that a diverse workforce sparks creativity, drives innovation, and leads to better outcomes for our people and our customers. If you have any accessibility requirements to support you during the recruitment process, just let us know.

Be part of something bigger - apply now!

Primary Location: GB - Luton - Cap. Green 300

Contract Type: Permanent

Hybrid Working: Hybrid