Bids Manager in Essex, Saffron Walden

LPA Group plc is an innovation-led engineering company that designs and manufactures electronic and electro-mechanical components and systems. Focused on transport (rail and aviation), defence, infrastructure and industrial markets and supplying into hostile and challenging environments, LPA is known for engineering solutions to improve product reliability, reducing maintenance and life cycle costs.

This is a newly created role within a business undergoing significant transformation with ambitious targets, offering a unique opportunity for an individual to shape and define their own position. The successful candidate will play a key role in supporting the company’s growth ambitions by driving innovation, establishing processes, and recommending improvements across the bid and project lifecycle.

Operating in a group-wide role across four UK sites delivering bid responses for a diverse range of products and solutions, this position requires a high level of ownership, initiative, and collaboration. The role will be central to aligning cross-functional teams and ensuring a consistent, efficient approach to bid management through to project transition.

Key Responsibilities:

• Manage incoming bids and coordinate responses across the business.
• Support the external sales team in developing and progressing opportunities.
• Oversee and manage costing activities to ensure accuracy and competitiveness.
• Coordinate bid-related inputs across Operations, Quality, Engineering, Commercial, and Purchasing teams.
• Lead the bid handover process into Project Management, ensuring smooth transition and clarity.
• Manage key stakeholders by reporting on updates to major tenders and providing updates to executive team.
• Identify risks and ensure the appropriate mitigation is captured together with the commercial team.
• Evaluate bid win probability.
• Work closely with the sales team to manage and maintain a healthy opportunity pipeline with prioritisation.
• Collaborate with Finance to support margin optimisation and commercial performance.
• Contribute to process definition, continuous improvement, and transformation initiatives.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives across bid and commercial processes.
• Develop and implement scalable solutions to support business growth and consistency across multiple sites.

Key Experience:

• Proven Bid and tender writing.
• Experience of public tenders.
• Project and bid management experience.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence at all levels.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to work effectively under pressure and meet tight deadlines.
• Team management or coordination experience.
• Strong organisational and filing/document control skills.
• Advanced Microsoft Office skills (Excel, Word, PowerPoint).
• Experience in visual project management and collaboration tool i.e. Trello (preferred).
• Experience with enterprise resource planning ERP System i.e. Epicor (preferred).
• Strong problem-solving mindset with a focus on practical solutions.
• Engineering or manufacturing environment experience.

Qualifications:

• Successful Bid and Proposal Training/Apprenticeship.
• APMP Qualifications are desirable.
• Shipley training is desirable.
• Value based pricing experience is desirable.

Key Stakeholders:

• Commercial Manager
• Sales and Marketing Team
• Engineering and Technical Team
• Operations Team

Additional Requirements:

• Travel will be required for Bid related stakeholder meetings.
• Potential for direct customer interaction as part of the role.