Description
SC Cleared Bid Manager - Government client - 3-6 moths contract
Experience in one of the following; Construction, Security or Professional Services industries
Background
The person appointed will perform a critical role in assisting Secure Global Solutions (SGS) which is part of the client, to take on and win future business that aligns with its commercial strategy and assists it to achieve/exceed its revenue & margin targets. They will be involved at the commencement of a bid proposal and will project manage it to help shape and determine the proposal content to ensure it matches the customer's requirements and where necessary, help clarify and crystalise requirements into a defined schedule of works that will be included in the proposal document in response to formal invitations to tender. Areas of work covered principally fall within the Estates, Security, Professional Services and Logistics arenas.
Role Profile
The role will be responsible for the establishment of a temporary bid team drawn from appropriate disciplines within the client, formulating and project managing the bid plan and proposal document, to achieve a compliant proposal within a defined timescale and commercial process procedures. They will establish bid budgets and monitor spend against them. At any one time the bid manager will be managing a number of proposals at various stages within the bid process. Each proposal can have a revenue value ranging from circa £60k to several £m's. Typically each bid manager will handle 8 to 10 active bids at any one time. Consequently each bid manager can expect to manage bids with a potential ongoing average revenue of circa £3m and associated bid budgets totaling circa £100k - £200k in value. It will be their role to own the bid to ensure that relevant questions are asked of the customer by subject experts and taken into account by the client during proposal formulation, thereby ensuring no gaps exist within either the customer's specification of requirements, or contractually, that will later lead to downstream problems when the project goes into delivery. The bid manager will also be responsible for ensuring that internal governance and sign off procedures are adhered to during the proposal life cycle prior to submission to the customer.
This role is key in identifying and addressing issues at the proposal stage and for ensuring that, where appropriate, change control procedures are covered off within the proposal document, thereby seeking to minimise problems in delivery and maximise/protect the client's planned margins.
Role Responsibilities:-
Financial and Commercial Performance
- Understand SGS Commercial strategy and incorporate as required within Customer strategy papers and or proposal submissions.
- Exercise bid project management procedures and assure compliance with prevailing commercial processes from bid consideration through to proposal outcome. Provision of expertise and guidance to the temporary bid team to instill an understanding of the procedures/timescales involved in pulling together a proposal and maintaining/documenting commercial process decisions.
- Leading colleagues and working with them to ensure customer requirements are specific, defined and understood and or re-shape them as necessary to achieve that. Ensuring that the resulting proposal matches customer requirements, with risks and liabilities identified, mitigated and priced within the proposal..
Customer Focus
- Develop and maintain a close relationship with key service providers across the client
- Develop a good knowledge of SGS products and services
- Lead and co-ordinate bid teams drawn from across the client- ensuring team members have an understanding of bid processes, through close liaison with technical and project teams, as well as senior management. Liaise with external organisations and Wider Market customers dependent on bid. Ensure proposals are submitted to the requisite timescale.
Processes (Efficiencies and Effectiveness)
- Define and manage the wider bid team to achieve key milestones in order to arrive at a successful submission.
- Chair bid kick-off meetings, draw up and issue bid plans to bid team members and ensure that timeframes are realistic for all involved.
- Monitor progress against plan, liaise with bid team members to ensure submissions completed on time and in correct format
- Ensure that control processes are followed, commercial risk assessment escalation process deployed, managed and decisions recorded. Responsible for ensuring sign off on associated commercial governance documentation.
- Library data on products, services, standard schedule of questions, previous bid submissions (categorised), is gathered and kept up to date.
- Draft proposal document to present a compelling proposition for the customer and take responsibility for ensuring that the final submission covers: all customer requirements, addresses issued raised by the client's bid team members.
Knowledge/Skills Required
Essential:
- Experienced Bid Manager - Demonstrable Experience
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Experience of managing multi-disciplinary virtual teams
- Ability to work under pressure and to deadlines
- Experience of managing bids/proposals within one of the following, Construction, Security or Professional Services industries
Desirable:
- Bid Management qualification (Shipley or equivalent training) preferred but not essential
- Understanding of Central Government
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