Senior Bid Manager: Thales Manor Royal Business District Crawley, UK Business Development | Pro[...]

Location: Manor Royal Crawley, United Kingdom

Thales is a global technology leader with more than 83,000 employees on five continents. With over 7,500 people in the UK, operating across defence, space, aerospace, and digital security, we help build a future we can all trust. Thales supports the security and stability of our nation by providing extraordinary technology to our customers, as well as delivering social value to the UK with our products and services.

This is an exciting opportunity to lead the delivery of high‑value and strategically important bids within a complex and fast‑paced environment. As a Senior Bid Manager, you will be responsible for driving the successful development of competitive, high‑quality proposals across a range of UK and international opportunities. Working with cross‑functional teams and key stakeholders, you will bring structure, governance, and commercial insight to the bid process, playing a critical role in securing new business and supporting organisational growth.

What this role has to offer:

• The opportunity to lead and influence high‑profile bids with real impact on business growth
• Exposure to a wide range of stakeholders across technical, commercial, finance, and operational teams
• A strategic role driving structured, governance‑led bid management processes
• The chance to work on both UK and international business opportunities
• A dynamic environment where you can develop and showcase leadership, commercial, and stakeholder management expertise

Core Benefits:

• On offer is a competitive salary and benefits package, which includes:
• Performance‑related bonus
• Half day every Friday, usually finishing around 13:00pm
• 28 days annual leave (plus bank holidays) plus opportunity to buy up to 40 hours/year (pro rata)
• 24 hours volunteering paid for
• Private healthcare
• Pension scheme
• Life cover
• 24/7 Employee Assistance Program and access to mental wellbeing app
• Employee discount shopping schemes on major brands and retailers
• Gym membership discounts

Key responsibilities:

• Lead and manage the end‑to‑end bid process, ensuring delivery of high‑quality, compliant, and competitive proposals
• Provide structure, governance, and clarity to bid activities, ensuring adherence to established processes and controls
• Coordinate and lead multidisciplinary bid teams, driving collaboration and performance to achieve successful outcomes
• Develop and articulate win themes, aligning customer needs with the organisation’s value proposition
• Support commercial strategy through cost validation, pricing alignment, and participation in customer negotiations

About you:

• Proven experience in bid management, with a track record of delivering successful bids in complex environments
• Strong commercial, financial, and business acumen, including understanding of pricing and cost structures
• Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills across internal teams, customers, and partners
• Strong leadership capability, with experience managing multidisciplinary teams and driving results
• Excellent communication, organisational, and analytical skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities

Security Clearance statement:

Due to the nature of the work that we do at Thales, many of our roles are subject to security restrictions. This role requires Security Clearance (SC). It would be advantageous if currently held, however, if not currently held, it is a requirement that the successful applicant undergo, achieve, and maintain SC Clearance prior to commencing employment. To be eligible for full SC, you generally need to have resided in the UK for the last 5 years. In some circumstances, a minimum of 3 years’ residence in the UK over the last 5 years may be accepted, with additional overseas checks.

At Thales, we ensure equal opportunities, pay and working conditions for all. The benefits we offer include private medical insurance, buying or selling annual leave, cycle to work schemes, employee discounts, paid volunteering day, stocks and shares, annual bonus and much more depending on the role. We are committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels valued for who they are and the unique strengths they bring.