At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead complex proposals and collaborate with teams to drive space missions.
- Company: Join Open Cosmos, a mission-driven company making space accessible.
- Benefits: Work in a diverse team with opportunities for growth and innovation.
- Other info: Flexible work locations and a commitment to inclusivity and diversity.
- Why this job: Be at the forefront of space technology and tackle real-world challenges.
- Qualifications: Experience in managing multi-stakeholder bids and strong organisational skills.
The predicted salary is between 45000 - 55000 £ per year.
Aim high, go beyond! At Open Cosmos we are solving the world’s biggest challenges from space, providing businesses, governments and researchers access to more readily available information than ever before - ready for the challenge? Then read on…
Working in our Chief Revenue Office (CRO) Our CRO division drives the commercial growth of Open Cosmos. The team works across business development, marketing, and customer success to connect with partners worldwide, understand their needs, and turn opportunities into space missions. Their work expands our reach and ensures we deliver meaningful impact for customers and end users.
The Growth team acts as the powerhouse of the company, ensuring the immediate needs of the customers are swiftly met and the future ones are translated into a product roadmap and deliverable projects. Each member of the team combines a mix of programmatic, system engineering, and commercial skills with specific strengths.
What will you be doing? As Bid Manager, you’ll play a key role in ensuring that Open Cosmos’s future mission opportunities are properly addressed through effective coordination, collaboration, and delivery. You’ll work closely with our Mission Concept Engineers and Business Development (BD) teams to manage complex proposals, while also supporting team reporting, workload assessment, forecasting, and opportunity pipeline analytics. Your role will have two major functions: proposal management and bid operations.
- Proposal Management
- Coordinate the full proposal process from go/no-go through submission — ensuring quality, compliance, and on-time delivery
- Set up proposal templates and manage updates to shared documentation (company profiles, WPDs, CVs, and literature)
- Lead large and complex bids in collaboration with Mission Concept Engineers (MCE) and internal stakeholders across engineering, finance, and commercial teams
- Liaise with external partners and suppliers to coordinate joint proposals and consortium responses
- Support the definition of bid strategy with MCE and BDs, including win themes, partner alignment, and pricing structure
- Bid Operations
- Produce analytics and summaries of the company’s opportunity pipeline to support team and leadership decision-making
- Track and report workload forecasts, ensuring visibility of resources and priorities
- Maintain structured bid monitoring systems and digital tools for tracking opportunities, submissions, and outcomes
- Contribute to the improvement of proposal processes and documentation efficiency
What You’ll bring You’ll combine structured project management with creative problem-solving — balancing technical understanding with commercial awareness.
You’ll have:
- Proven ability to manage complex, multi-stakeholder bids or proposals
- Understanding of ESA/EU/national space or high-technology procurement frameworks
- Excellent organisational, analytical, and communication skills
- The ability to manage large documentation sets with precision and consistency
- Confidence working cross-functionally and aligning diverse teams to deadlines
This role will be based in any of our locations.
Why Open Cosmos? Work at the cutting edge of space technology with customers around the globe. A mission-driven company making space accessible to help solve real-world challenges. A diverse, ambitious, and supportive team. Equal opportunity employer. At Open Cosmos, we are dedicated to fostering a workplace built on respect, dignity, and belonging. As an equal opportunity employer, we actively challenge bias to ensure every candidate and employee feels truly welcome. We celebrate diversity in all its forms and are committed to maintaining an inclusive environment where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.
Bid Manager in Harwell employer: Open Cosmos Ltd.
Open Cosmos Ltd is an exceptional employer located in East Hagbourne, offering a unique opportunity to work at the forefront of space technology. With a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion, the company fosters a collaborative work culture that encourages innovation and personal growth. Employees benefit from engaging in meaningful projects that address global challenges, alongside opportunities for professional development in a supportive environment.
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We think this is how you could land Bid Manager in Harwell
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We think you need these skills to ace Bid Manager in Harwell
Some tips for your application 🫡
Highlight Your Analytical Skills:In the business intelligence field, showcasing your analytical skills is a must. Make sure your CV includes relevant experience with data analysis tools, programming languages like SQL or Python, and any projects where you've interpreted complex data sets to drive business decisions.
Showcase Your Business Acumen:Don't just focus on data; show us how you can apply your insights to real-world business problems. Highlight projects where you made a tangible impact on company performance, and be prepared to explain your thought process in your cover letter.
Tailor Your Documents for Us:When applying for a full-time role at Open Cosmos Ltd., tailor your CV and cover letter to reflect our organisational goals and strategies. Mention specific tools and methodologies that align with what we do—this shows you’ve done your homework and are genuinely interested in our mission!
Include Relevant Certifications:Certifications like Google Data Analytics or similar qualifications can really make you stand out in business intelligence. Include these in your application, as they demonstrate your commitment to the field and your willingness to stay current with industry standards.
How to prepare for a job interview at Open Cosmos Ltd.
✨Show off your analytical skills
In a business intelligence role, you're going to need to demonstrate your analytical prowess. Be prepared to discuss specific tools you've used, like SQL, Tableau, or Power BI. Have real-world examples ready where you’ve turned data into actionable insights – this is what makes us shine in interviews!
✨Practice your technical know-how
Expect some technical questions during the interview that dive deep into your understanding of data modelling and analytics frameworks. Brush up on your knowledge of data warehousing concepts and be ready to tackle any real case scenarios they might present. They’ll want to see how you approach problems using your BI toolkit.
✨Portfolio of Projects
Since it's a full-time role, having a strong portfolio is key! Compile case studies demonstrating your previous projects, preferably showing how your insights led to business improvements. This can help us display how you think through complex datasets and your problem-solving process, which is what employers are keen on seeing.
✨Know their business model
Get familiar with Open Cosmos Ltd.’s business model and recent data-driven decisions. Be prepared to discuss how your skills can specifically support their objectives or challenges. Understanding their landscape shows that you’re not just a data buff, but you’re also genuinely interested in how BI can impact their bottom line.
