Head of Proposals

This is a high-impact leadership opportunity offering real influence over the future direction of a successful and ambitious professional services firm. We are not simply looking for someone to lead the proposals team - we are seeking a transformative leader who can introduce best-in-class processes and systems. Your mission will be to help guide the business as it evolves from a relationship and delivery-focused model to a more professionalised, insight-led, and data-driven proposals function.

With a focus on quality, innovation and growth, our client is continually looking to expand their expertise and nurture their talent. They are an award-winning high-growth business with ambitious 10-year goals. They know what they want to achieve and now need a capable leader in their bids team to help them get there. As a built environment consultancy, they help public and private sector clients transform the quality and sustainability of the built environment by providing access to a wide range of integrated expertise and professional disciplines.

The opportunity involves leading a national proposals and bids team of 25, defining the end-to-end bid process, driving continuous improvement, developing pursuit strategies for complex opportunities, and embedding best practices to ensure high-quality, compelling, and client-focused submissions. Your influence will extend across all business units and regions, helping to position the firm as a partner of choice for clients across the UK.

Key responsibilities include:

• Leading the national proposals and bids team, setting direction, standards and frameworks that deliver consistently high-quality outputs.
• Developing and implementing an integrated proposals strategy aligned with the organisation’s growth and client objectives.
• Providing strategic leadership and coaching on major pursuits, working closely with senior stakeholders and technical teams.
• Establishing clear bid/no-bid criteria, pursuit planning processes and win strategies to enhance success rates.
• Championing a culture of excellence, knowledge sharing, and continuous improvement across the team.
• Monitoring pipeline activity and proposal performance metrics to identify trends, improve win rates, and drive return on investment.
• Leading on developing persuasive written content, executive summaries and value propositions that resonate with clients.
• Mentoring and developing proposal professionals at all levels, providing clear career pathways and opportunities for growth.

The candidate should be a strategic thinker with a sharp commercial instinct, a passion for creating business processes and leading high-performing proposals teams. Proven experience in a senior proposals or bids leadership role within the professional services, consultancy or built environment sectors is essential. Strong understanding of proposal best practice, client-centric storytelling, and how to win work in competitive markets is required.

You will benefit from becoming part of their engaging and progressive culture, which supports your continued development, career aspirations and overall wellbeing. This is an exciting opportunity to join a growing organisation during a significant period of expansion, offering a range of attractive benefits including:

• 25 days' paid annual leave plus bank holidays, with the option to buy/sell additional days.
• 3 days per year to volunteer for causes you care about.
• A holistic wellbeing package - supporting financial, physical and mental health.
• Flexible, hybrid working arrangements.
• Tailored career development - focused on professional, personal and educational growth.

For more information and to arrange a confidential conversation about the role, please apply now by submitting your CV or contact Dean Forster at Tempest Jones directly.