Bid Manager in Manchester

Morson Edge are working with a leading architectural practice to recruit an experienced Bid Manager to join their Manchester team. This is a key work-winning role, taking ownership of bids from initial opportunity through to final submission. The practice currently has a strong pipeline of framework, private sector and international opportunities, making this an excellent opportunity for an experienced Bid Manager to have a genuine impact on the growth of the business.

The Opportunity

You’ll lead and develop bid plans from start to finish, working closely with Directors, Architects, design teams, technical staff and external partners to produce high-quality, compelling and visually engaging submissions. The role combines bid strategy, writing, coordination and graphic presentation. You’ll need to be confident developing persuasive written responses while also having the design skills to bring submissions together using InDesign and Adobe Creative Suite. A particularly exciting part of the role will be helping the practice develop its use of AI within bid writing. You’ll be expected to interrogate and use the practice’s own closed AI system, helping develop effective processes and systems for generating and improving bid responses.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the full bid lifecycle, from EOI and PQQ through to ITT and final submission.
• Develop bid programmes, strategies, win themes and submission approaches.
• Review tender documentation and identify key requirements, opportunities and evaluation criteria.
• Coordinate input from Directors, Architects, design teams, technical staff and external partners.
• Write, edit and refine high-quality bid responses.
• Tailor submissions to individual clients and opportunities.
• Develop and maintain case studies, CVs and wider practice information.
• Lead the production and graphic presentation of bid documents.
• Use Adobe InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator to produce polished submissions and presentations.
• Prepare teams for client interviews and presentations, including rehearsals and feedback.
• Contribute to bid/no-bid decisions and wider pipeline development.
• Maintain bid libraries, templates and knowledge resources.
• Track bid outcomes and identify lessons learned and improvements.
• Interrogate and use AI effectively to develop bid responses and help build a more efficient AI-supported bid process.
• Work closely with the practices new Marketing professional and wider team to support work winning.

What You’ll Need

• Strong experience in bid management within architecture, construction, consultancy or the wider built environment.
• Ideally, experience working within a consultancy environment, with an understanding of how consultant bids differ from contractor submissions.
• Excellent writing, editing and proofreading skills.
• Proven experience managing bids from opportunity through to submission.
• Strong understanding of public and private sector procurement and tender processes.
• Strong graphic presentation skills.
• Good working knowledge of Adobe InDesign and ideally Photoshop and Illustrator.
• Excellent organisation, attention to detail and ability to manage multiple deadlines.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Commercial awareness and an understanding of work-winning and business development.
• Ability to work autonomously while coordinating multiple contributors.
• An understanding of architectural services and design processes.
• Strong ability and interest in using AI to develop bid-writing responses and improve processes.

Working Pattern

The successful candidate will initially be required to work fully office-based for the first 3-6 months to establish themselves within the practice and build relationships across the team. Following this initial period, the role will move to 1 day working from home per week.

What’s on Offer

• Competitive package based on experience.
• Key role within a growing architectural practice.
• Strong pipeline of framework, private sector and international bids.
• Opportunity to take ownership of the full work-winning process.
• Opportunity to help shape the practices AI approach to bid writing.
• Close exposure to Directors, Architects, Marketing and wider design teams.
• Genuine opportunity to contribute to the practices continued growth.

This is an urgent appointment, with the practice looking to move quickly for the right person. If you’re an experienced Bid Manager with a background in the built environment, strong writing and graphic skills, and an interest in using AI to transform the bid process, we’d be keen to hear from you.