Research Bids Manager

Reports to: Director Research Business Development

Team: Business Development

Salary range: £ 60,000 per annumbased on skills and experience

Location: 61 Whitehall , London

Contract:Full-time Permanent

About RUSI

The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) is one of the world’s leading research think‑tanks in the field of defence, security, and geopolitics. The Research Business Development team was established in 2023 to support RUSI’s seven research groups to meet their annual funding targets by responding to competitive bids, proactively identifying new funding opportunities, and sharing best practice across the organisation.

Main purpose of the post

We are seeking to appoint a Bids Manager with experience in managing the development and submissions process for successful research bids, to be an integral part of a wider team that spearheads RUSI’s research fundraising efforts. Reporting to the Director, Research Business Development, the successful candidate will lead the process for preparing select strategic bids, provide high‑quality contributions to other research bids, including providing quality assurance on content and budgets against scoring criteria, and be responsible for building central resources to improve and facilitate effective bids to key funders.

This is a highly collaborative and demanding role that requires exceptional interpersonal skills. The post‑holder must be adept at building very strong internal relationships across all levels of the organisation, skilfully managing competing priorities, diverse personalities, and strict deadlines. It should be noted that the role involves periods of intense, overlapping deadlines linked to funder cycles. We are seeking a pragmatic, resilient, and positive team player who is committed to continuous improvement. The ideal candidate will enjoy immersing themselves in RUSI’s research areas and building stronger systems and processes to make our Business Development efforts more efficient, successful, and globally competitive.

Key tasks

1. Strategic Bid Management and Ownership

The post‑holder will have end‑to‑end ownership of the bid lifecycle for select strategically important, high‑value, and complex institutional bids. This includes those that are cross‑programmatic and/or involve multi‑office coordination (RUSI UK and RUSI Europe) targeting major funders such as the UK FCDO and the European Commission. Strategic bids will be decided by Senior Leadership and/or Research Directors, who will make the final go/no‑go decision and give approval for final submission.

• Strategic Bid Leadership: Lead the full lifecycle management of selected major tender responses, complex funding applications, and large‑scale requests to participate (e.g. consortium bids).
• Contractual & Partnership Negotiation: Manage early‑stage contractual and legal work, including the negotiation and finalisation of teaming agreements, pre‑bid agreements, and prime contractor partnerships.
• Informed Decision‑Making & Intelligence: Maintain and proactively disseminate a comprehensive, centralised knowledge base detailing funder practices, key deadlines, bid cycles, preferences, and relevant institutional data (e.g., outcomes, impact statistics) to underpin evidence‑based bid strategies.

2. Bid and Proposal Coordination, Compliance, and Collaboration

• Content Development Support: Collaborate with research leads to translate complex technical information into persuasive, high‑quality bid language, and draft core institutional and administrative sections of proposals (with support from the Business Development Coordinator/Officer).
• Existing professional contacts or connections to partners within RUSI’s key funding institutions and/or prime contractor organisations.

Pragmatism – we solve problems and find solutions to complex issues. Action oriented.

• Rental deposit scheme (after successful completion of 6 months in post).
• Free access to RUSI\’s world leading programme of events and conferences, research materials and library.
• Trained Mental Health First Aiders
• Enhanced maternity and paternity leave
  • Enhanced sick pay

£60,000 per annum (depending on skills and experience)