Senior Proposal Manager in Manchester

What if you could do the kind of work the world needs? At WSP, you can access our global scale, contribute to landmark projects and connect with the brightest minds in your field to do the best work of your life. You can embrace your curiosity in a culture that celebrates new ideas and diverse perspectives. You can experience a world of opportunity and the chance to shape a career as unique as you.

A Little More About Your Role… As a member of the Strategic Bids team, you will play a key role in securing profitable business for WSP by managing our most important bid projects. Reporting to the Head of Strategic Bids, you will be involved in the capture planning process and may be required to lead it. Once assigned to a bidding opportunity, the Senior Proposal Manager will take charge of managing and supporting the bid team, communicating with clients and partners, organising review and approval meetings, and submitting the proposal. They will lead the formulation of winning strategies, client solutions, tender planning, and response delivery, and ensure successful handover to the delivery team upon winning the opportunity.

In addition to your bid responsibilities, the Senior Proposal Manager will lead the formulation of winning strategies, client solutions, tender planning, and response delivery. They will also champion best practices in work-winning through personal projects, coaching, and training initiatives, overseeing the management and development of any staff under their management. The position requires UK-wide and potentially international travel.

• To lead and manage complex and high value strategic bids as bid manager or other senior support roles as required depending on size and complexity of the bid.
• To ensure that the appropriate bid governance and bid review processes are followed.
• Provide input to the strategic bid capture planning process.
• Work with client and the Prospect Director to develop customised solutions that meet the client's specific needs and help them achieve their objectives.
• Assist in prospect qualification throughout.
• To understand internal and external customer requirements and provide resource expertise, providing support, management and leadership of strategic bids.
• To provide challenge to operational, technical, commercial and financial proposals to facilitate the development of solutions that provide greatest benefit for the businesses while delivering customer requirements and needs.
• Work with the bid authors/solution architects to convert knowledge from operational and business development staff into winning solutions and proposals.
• Support lessons learnt from bids. Analyse each bid, including customer feedback, to identify and share good practice with operational, bid and business development staff across the business and suggest improvements to process and team dynamics.
• Train and coach colleagues on the bid process and associated skills.
• Contributing to the overall development of the UK Strategic Growth team and its services.
• Taking responsibility for liaison with one or more business sectors and attendance at sector meetings to represent the proposals team.
• Collate market and competitor information that will be useful to WSP in the future.

• Qualified to degree level in an appropriate subject.
• APMP Foundation as a minimum.
• Thorough understanding of the public sector procurement process.
• Good experience of producing tenders in the markets that WSP operates in.
• An acknowledged senior bid manager with a demonstrable record of success in winning bids.
• A good awareness and understanding of bid governance and bid review processes.
• Good bid writing and management skills, and commercial skills.
• Strong and effective verbal and written communication, with the ability to present complex ideas in a straightforward and simple way.
• Robust project management skills with a meticulous approach to detail and quality.
• Strong time management skills and ability to prioritise.
• Adopt a pro-active approach, use initiative and take responsibility for own actions.
• Ability to assimilate large volumes of information and understand, plan and manage associated workflows.
• Develop strong relationships and rapport with external clients and internal colleagues.
• Excellent people skills to lead, encourage, motivate and enthuse others.
• A passion for quality and continuous improvement with a focus on delivery.
• Confidence to delegate to all levels, where required.
• Exhibit and demonstrate behaviours and attitudes in accordance with WSP core values to create a team culture and promote excellent communications.
• Support and promote a culture of continuous improvement.

Don’t quite meet all the criteria? Apply, and we can see how your experience aligns to this role and other opportunities within the team. Imagine a better future for you and a better future for us all. Join our close-knit community of talented individuals who share your passion for making a positive impact. Our global team includes more than 69,000 employees, working together to make a difference in communities both close to home and around the world. With us, you can. Apply today.

About Us We are one of the world’s leading engineering and professional services firms. Our 72,800 passionate people are united by the common purpose of creating positive, long-lasting impacts on the communities we serve through a culture of innovation, integrity, and inclusion. With over 9,000 professionals across the UK and Ireland, we are dedicated to our local communities and propelled by international brainpower.

• Work-life balance: At WSP, we understand that work is just one aspect of your life. It’s important to make time for you, your family, friends, interests and your community. Our hybrid working policy offers the flexibility to work from home two days a week, while also providing opportunities to collaborate in our modern offices across the UK.
• Inclusivity & Belonging: We welcome applicants with varied backgrounds and experiences. We enable rewarding careers by encouraging people to bring their whole and authentic selves to work so that our work represents the fullest spectrum of society. We celebrate integrity and treat people with respect, supporting each other and embracing a culture of inclusion and belonging at WSP.
• Health & Wellbeing: We are committed to supporting our people, giving you the tools to make improvements to your health and wellbeing through our Thrive programme. Our Virtual GP service gives you access to an NHS or Irish Medical Council GP at a time and place that suits you – giving you peace of mind and quick access to medical advice when you need it most.
• Flex your time: To enhance work-life balance, WSP offers the “WSP My Hour,” allowing you to take one hour each day for personal activities, with the flexibility to make up the time earlier or later that day. We also provide part-time and flexible working arrangements, the option to purchase additional leave, and the ability to use your bank holiday entitlement to suit you.
• Your development: We understand the importance of development and training to you. That’s why we foster a supportive environment that invests in your growth, whether through training, mentoring, or Chartership.

#WeAreWSP Here at WSP we positively encourage applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion or belief, marital status, pregnancy or maternity/paternity. As a Disability Confident leader, we will interview all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria, please let us know if you require any workplace adjustments in support of your application.