Bid Manager in Leeds

We have an exciting opportunity for a Bid Manager in Leeds or Manchester to join a growing team of win professionals who work closely with technical colleagues across the business to secure new projects and drive growth. Although based in a local office, the individual will work as part of a wider bidding team that supports opportunities across their geographic region. They will also be an integral part of a likeminded community of bid managers, coordinators and writers who are sharing best practice and driving improvement across the UK.

In this role, you will work with client-facing teams to develop winning strategies for their pipeline, manage the bidding process throughout the tender window, and contribute to the writing of compelling and convincing responses. Ridge is a growing built environment consultancy that helps clients create better, more sustainable places for people to live, learn, work and play. We are committed to delivering outstanding service and providing our people with the support, opportunities and environment they need to thrive.

What You'll Do

• Oversee and lead the end-to-end process of developing, preparing and submitting bids to win new projects - from pipeline planning, through proposal submission and interview, to lessons learnt.
• Facilitate pre-bid activities to research clients, competitors and market trends as we understand and improve our position - developing bid strategies and win themes that maximise our success.
• Undertake early bid / no bid meetings with leaders to review our appetite and right to win - and participating in commercial risk assessment and approval gateways before submission.
• Review tender documentation to understand all inclusion requirements - agreeing and promoting a clear proposal plan to drive the delivery of each submission in line with compliance and deadlines.
• Assemble and lead a cross-functional bid team of contributors as we bring together timely inputs from sector / client leads, technical specialists, subject matter experts and senior stakeholders.
• Drive communication across the team (including kick off, workshops, stand-ups etc) - ensuring a common understanding of timescales, evaluation criteria and deliverables through clear work allocations.
• Ensure that a clear plan is in place for compelling high-quality responses through storyboarding, writing and review - setting a writing framework, coaching authors and personally drafting answers.
• Review and edit inputs prepared by others to ensure that our content is presented in an accurate, professional, concise and consistent manner - delivering compelling bids which maximise our scores.
• Manage the coordination of materials into a completed format - liaising with other members of the team (e.g. designers) in the production of the final submission and its timely upload / delivery.
• Liaise with clients as appropriate (and guide those in client-facing roles) as we respond to queries and prepare to participate in post submission discussions, presentations and negotiations.
• Lead post-submission lessons learnt reviews (based on internal and external feedback) to identify opportunities to improve - ensuring that these are shared and cascaded to benefit future pursuits.
• Support the development and maintenance of case studies, project examples, CVs and other relevant bid content as part of an ongoing knowledge management approach.
• Monitor bid performance and contribute to the continuous improvement of our work-winning approach by collaborating with colleagues to identify best practice and implement changes.
• Upskill employees - training all new staff involved in bid production activities, as well as educating and sharing knowledge with account / technical teams in relation to bid production best practice.

To Succeed In This Role, You'll Have

• Understanding and experience of public and/or private sector procurement processes.
• Experience within the construction, engineering, property or consultancy sectors would be beneficial.
• Experience in a Bid Manager, Senior Bid Writer, Senior Bid Coordinator or similar work-winning role.
• Experience managing complex bid submissions from opportunity identification through to submission.
• Strong project management and organisational skills - with the ability to manage multiple deadlines.
• Excellent writing, editing and proofreading skills with a focus on attention to detail.
• The ability to communicate technical information in a clear, persuasive and engaging way.
• Commercial awareness and an understanding of successful bidding strategies.
• Strong critical thinking skills - curiosity and the ability to ask questions and constructively challenge.
• The ability to perform well under pressure and meet challenging deadlines.
• A proactive and collaborative approach, with the confidence to influence stakeholders at all levels.

Qualifications

• APMP certification or an equivalent bid management qualification would be advantageous.
• Wider proposal and behavioural training - e.g. Shipley, Miller Heiman, Mindflick etc.
• Strong Microsoft Office skills, including Word and PowerPoint.
• Experience using Adobe InDesign would be advantageous.
• Proficiency in relevant software/systems (CRM, knowledge management, AI etc).