Bid Manager

Job description

Location: Manor Royal Crawley, United Kingdom

Thales people provide armed forces customers with operational advantage at every decisive moment throughout the mission. Defence and armed forces customers rely on us to deliver the full range of defence mission systems solutions at land, sea, and air. Our platforms extend across the battlespace including Above and Sonar, Electronic Combat, and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance systems.

Together we offer fantastic opportunities for committed employees to learn and develop their career with us. At Thales UK, we research, develop, and supply technology and services that impact the lives of millions of people each day to make life better, and keep us safer. We innovate across five major industries; Aerospace, Defence, Ground Transportation, Security and Space. Your health and well-being matters to us and that's why we offer you the flexibility to do what's important to you; whether that's part time hours, job sharing, home working, or the ability to flex your start and finish times. Where possible, we support a working pattern that suits your lifestyle and helps you reach your ambitions.

Job title: Bid Manager

Location: Crawley (Hybrid working - 3 days per week from site vs. home)

Are you an experienced Bid Manager who enjoys team collaboration and problem solving? Are you looking for your next opportunity with excellent learning and exposure prospects, working on one of the largest and high profile projects in Thales UK? Then look no further!

ISR UK have a fantastic opportunity for an experienced Bid Manager to join their growing and collaborative team. Your role will be to lead a variety of new and existing UK and international contract growth opportunities on a major programme in delivery as well as support agreement. Whilst obtaining exposure on a complex programme, you will be joining a fantastic, knowledgeable bid team, who pride themselves on team collaboration and flexible working. You will play a pivotal role in the team as well as future bid work within the portfolio.

What the role has to offer:

• Great opportunity collaborating and developing intimacy with customers
• Opportunity to work in a fast paced, exciting and dynamic environment
• Able to contribute to the business growth plans

Core Benefits:

On offer is a competitive salary and benefits package, which includes;

• Performance-related bonus
• Half day every Friday, usually finishing around 13:00pm
• 28 days annual leave (plus bank holidays) plus opportunity to buy up to 40 hours/year (pro rata)
• 24 hours volunteering paid for
• Private healthcare (grade dependent)
• Pension scheme
• Life cover
• 24/7 Employee Assistance Program and access to mental wellbeing app
• Employee discount shopping schemes on major brands and retailers
• Gym membership discounts

The role:

Working closely with the Bid Management and Programme team, you will be responsible for bid-management activities on a variety of new and existing UK and international contract growth opportunities, ensuring successful delivery of a bid or number of bids. The role is required to bring structure, clarity and governance to the process and discipline relating to bid management activities. It requires the successful management of the relationship with internal and external key UK and international customers and the effective management of multi-disciplinary bid teams to deliver high quality business winning proposals.

Key Responsibilities and Tasks:

• Manage the preparation of prequalification response submissions to customers with the objective of securing an invitation to bid.
• Lead bid reviews and meetings in accordance with Thales' processes, providing bid management direction and engagement with the Bid Team.
• Manage the creation of the bid deliverables and ensuring review and governance, leading to the creation of a high quality proposal.
• Work effectively with Capture Leader to generate win themes that link customer needs with defined benefits of the Thales offering
• Ensure that cost estimates / target budgets are provided with support of Systems Engineering / Product Management.
• Ensure that cost estimates are effectively reviewed to ensure competitive and winning pricing
• Ensure that effective Gate Business Cases are prepared for specific opportunities.
• Support the Sales/Capture Lead in any customer negotiations and presentations.

About you

• You will have a proven background of working as a Bid Manager, ideally on major, complex bids.
• You will be experienced and adept at building and managing effective relationships with customers and internal teams
• You will possess excellent communication and influencing skills
• You will enjoy learning new things as well as problem solve
• Commercial, financial and business acumen

#LI-DNI

In line with Thales' Baseline Security requirements, candidates will be asked to provide evidence of identity, eligibility to work in the UK and employment and/or education history for up to three years. Some vacancies may require full Security Clearance which can require further evidence to be provided. For further details of the evidence required to apply for Baseline and Security Clearance please refer to the Defence Business Services National Security Vetting (DBS NSV) Agency.

At Thales we provide CAREERS and not only jobs. With Thales employing 80,000 employees in 68 countries our mobility policy enables thousands of employees each year to develop their careers at home and abroad, in their existing areas of expertise or by branching out into new fields. Together we believe that embracing flexibility is a smarter way of working.

Thales UK is committed to providing an inclusive and barrier-free recruitment process. We will provide reasonable adjustments and support to ensure neuro-diverse applicants or those with a disability or long-term condition can be their best during the recruitment process. To request an adjustment, if you need this job advert in an alternative format or if you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Resourcing Ops for mid to senior roles, or the Early Careers Team for graduate and apprentice roles.

Great journeys start here, apply now!