Senior Bid Manager - Fixed Term Contract
// Role Summary
QinetiQ is seeking a Senior Bid Manager to lead complex bids within the Defence and National Security domain, playing a pivotal role in securing new business and driving company growth.
// Key Responsibilities
- Lead bids from qualification to award, integrating multi-disciplinary teams to deliver competitive solutions.
- Manage bid budgets, facilitate Shipley Colour Reviews, and contribute to proposal content and strategy.
- Engage stakeholders across various functions to ensure early buy-in and address potential issues.
- Drive storyboarding, proposal production, and ensure alignment with customer needs and win themes.
- Ideal candidates have 5+ years of complex bid experience and a track record of winning competitive bids.
// Role Specification
Senior Bid Manager
QinetiQ is seeking a Senior Bid Manager to join a team of focused and successful professional Capture Managers, Bid Managers and Bid Writers working in the Defence and National Security Domain. This role is a 12 Month Fixed Term Contract, full-time, based in Farnborough, Boscombe, Malvern, Bristol or Portsmouth.
You will work on complex and varied bids across different domains including Air and Space, Maritime, and Science and Technology. This pivotal role will help secure new business to support QinetiQ’s growth agenda.
As a Senior Bid Manager, you will be responsible for leading bids from qualification through to contract award. You will work with multi-discipline teams to develop competitive, deliverable solutions, ensuring they are aligned with cost and time constraints. Success in this challenging and rewarding role depends on clearly articulating benefits and win themes in compelling proposals. Strong stakeholder management skills are essential for engaging with wider functions such as sales, technical, project management, supply chain, procurement, commercial, finance, and HR, securing their early buy-in.
QinetiQ operates an adaptive working policy, offering flexibility with a mix of home and office working. Your base site can be one of the following locations: Farnborough, Amesbury, Malvern, Bristol or Portsmouth.
What you will be doing:
- Leading a team to produce responses to PQQs, ITTs and ITNs under challenging timescales.
- Managing the bid within an agreed budget.
- Facilitating the Shipley Colour Reviews, maximising their benefit to improve our PWin.
- Contributing to the written proposal, including direction, content, presentation, and the Executive Summary.
- Challenging the team to focus on winning strategies, balancing optimum price with technical score.
- Driving the storyboarding process and proposal production with a strong focus on output quality.
- Engaging with all relevant functions, proactively identifying and resolving issues.
- Working with BD/Capture Leads to understand customer hot buttons and represent win themes in bid responses.
- Making an impact by challenging existing thinking on individual bids and improving the overall bid process.
- Managing the assurance and governance approach.
You will ideally have:
- A track record of working in a complex bid environment (~5+ years) with experience of winning competitive bids in the past 12-18 months.
- Proven track record of leading large or multi-disciplinary teams.
- Excellent communication, organisation, and planning skills.
- Good understanding of Shipley colour processes and the importance of hot buttons and win themes.
- Experience in bids involving partners/sub-contractors.
- Experience in driving a bid team to meet the Price to Win.
- Ability to build relationships quickly and brief senior management on project and solution details.
- Knowledge of MOD/Government procurement processes and tools (e.g., ITTs, ITNs, AWARD, MEAT, VfM).
- An energetic, enthusiastic approach, with the ability to work under pressure.
Why Join QinetiQ?
As QinetiQ grows into new markets, there’s never been a more exciting time to join. Our success is driven by our appetite for innovation and the courage to tackle complex challenges. You’ll experience a unique, collaborative, and diverse working environment where you can be authentic, feel valued, and realise your full potential.
Our Benefits:
- Matched contribution pension scheme with life assurance.
- Competitive holiday allowance, with the option to purchase additional days.
- Options for Health Cash Plan, Private Medical Insurance, and Dental Insurance.
- Employee discount portal offering various discounts.
- Support for the Armed Forces community, honouring the Armed Forces Covenant and holding Gold Award standard in the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme.
- Volunteering opportunities.
Our Recruitment Process:
Applications are reviewed upon receipt; early applications are encouraged. This vacancy will close when sufficient suitable applications are received. We are committed to an inclusive recruitment process where everyone feels valued, heard, and supported. If you have a disability or health condition that may affect your assessment performance, please discuss potential reasonable adjustments with your Recruiter.
Many roles in QinetiQ are subject to national security vetting. Applicants holding appropriate vetting may be able to transfer it. Some roles may have additional nationality-related restrictions.
Please note that all applicants for this role must be eligible for SC clearance, as a minimum.