Head of Bids

Our Business: Selwood is the leading pump rental solutions company in the UK. We have an outstanding reputation for exceptional customer service backed by one of the largest fleets of quality pump products. Each customer and each project is unique and our deep technical knowledge means we are proud to deliver a bespoke and genuine 24/7, 365 days-a-year service. With an unrivalled depth of technical pumping expertise; a pedigree spanning seven decades and employing a wide variety of skilled staff throughout our nationwide network of branches, our ever-growing business is one of the largest privately owned companies serving the Water, Environmental and Construction industries. This is an exciting time to join Selwood as we drive our business forward and build on a foundation of over 70 year’s success within our industry. We are committed to ensuring our staff have the right skills, knowledge & experience to deliver to our customers, as well as creating career paths to help develop, retain, and motivate them.

About The Role: We are looking for a Head of Bids to lead the bid and tendering function for our Pump Rental Solutions division. You will be responsible for delivering high-quality, commercially robust and fully compliant tender submissions, while providing day-to-day leadership, driving continuous improvement and supporting the wider commercial strategy.

Key responsibilities:

• Lead the end-to-end bid and tender process (RFI, PQQ, ITT), delivering compliant high quality and commercially accurate and compelling submissions.
• Provide senior commercial and writing expertise, supporting board reporting and deputising at leadership level when required.
• Manage and develop a high‑performing bids team, setting clear standards, coaching capability and driving accountability for quality and output.
• Own tender governance and risk, ensuring alignment with client scoring criteria, procurement rules and commercial objectives.
• Oversee Contract Quality Plans (CQP) from award through mobilisation, embedding contractual compliance and continuous improvement.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Sales, Operations, SHEQ, Finance and Legal to ensure a unified, customer-centric and commercially aligned approach to tendering.
• Drive continuous improvement by maintaining content libraries, refining processes and incorporating client and internal feedback into future submissions.

Qualifications & Experience:

Essential

• Demonstrable experience managing complex tenders within public procurement.
• Proven line management or leadership experience.
• Advanced writing and editing skills.
• Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple deadlines.
• Understanding of procurement regulations compliance, and commercial risk.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and AI tools.

Desirable

• APMP or equivalent bid management qualification.
• Relevant sector experience (pump rental, utilities, construction, infrastructure).
• Experience with procurement portals (Achilles, Ariba, Jaggaer/Bravo).
• Understanding of pump rental operations and applications.

What we can offer you: We understand balancing work and life commitments isn’t always easy, that’s why we’ve designed our benefits package to support you in all areas of life.

• Competitive salary
• Company car
• Eligible for company bonus scheme (annual and quarterly payments)
• 28 days holiday + 8 Bank Holidays
• Holiday buying (up to an additional week)
• Private Medical Insurance (PMI) for yourself and either your partner or your children
• Medical cash plan for yourself and your partner – reimburse health costs e.g. dentist or optician, access to 24hour online GP services, discounted gym memberships
• Pension scheme with contribution based on total earnings not just salary
• Life assurance protection at 4 x salary
• Employee discount scheme (discounts/vouchers for supermarkets, high street shops, holidays and more)
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) & access to Mental Health first aiders
• Employee referral scheme (up to £1,000 per referral)
• Hybrid working (i.e., working from home and in the office) pattern
• Support for development and training

This role is not open to Agencies - Please no calls or emails - Thank you.

EDI Statement: Workdry International Ltd is committed to encouraging equality, diversity, and inclusion among our workforce, and eliminating unlawful discrimination. We value transparency, respecting others and understanding differences. We give full and fair consideration to all applicants, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy and maternity. As part of your recruitment journey, we are happy to support requests for reasonable adjustments.