Sector Lead Pre Contracts

Ventia; Sydney; Hybrid; AUD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Ventia is seeking a Sector Lead – Pre-Contracts to shape and own the pre-contracts strategy for Defence & Social Infrastructure in Australia. You will lead bid management, estimating and pricing, directing a multidisciplinary team and collaborating with senior leaders to win profitable opportunities.

You’ll report to the General Manager Strategy & Growth and contribute to governance, risk management and growth planning across the sector. Hybrid work from North Sydney or Cremorne is available.

Qualifications

• Senior leadership experience in pre-contracts, tendering and related commercial functions.
• Track record delivering major bids with competitive pricing and strategy.
• Ability to lead multidisciplinary pre-contracts teams and align with broader growth goals.

Responsibilities

• Lead the pre-contracts and tendering strategy aligned to sector growth and business strategy.
• Oversee end-to-end delivery of major bids, tenders, and unsolicited proposals.
• Set estimating and pricing strategy for complex opportunities balancing risk, price, and margin.
• Build a high-performing multidisciplinary pre-contracts team and guide capability development.
• Partner with senior stakeholders to shape and prioritise opportunities and ensure governance.

Skills

Pre-contracts leadership

Tendering & work-winning

Estimating & pricing

Stakeholder management

Strategic thinking

Team leadership

Education

Tertiary qualification in Business/Commerce/Finance or equivalent

Job description

What's on offer

Join one of the largest essential services providers across Australia and New Zealand, delivering critical infrastructure and services that communities rely on every day. Shape the growth strategy for Defence & Social Infrastructure, working directly with senior leaders to influence which opportunities we pursue and how we win them. Lead and grow a high-performing pre-contracts function, bringing together bid, estimating and technical capability across a diverse and complex pipeline of work. Step into a career-defining role with the opportunity to broaden your experience, influence at a senior level and make a real impact across our business doing work that takes you further.

As our Sector Lead – Pre-Contracts reporting into our General Manager Strategy & Growth, you’ll play a key role in shaping how we win work across Ventia’s Defence & Social Infrastructure sector.

This is a senior leadership position with responsibility for leading our pre-contracts strategy across bid management, estimating, pricing and work winning. You’ll bring together the right people, capability and commercial thinking to pursue the opportunities that matter most to our business and deliver profitable growth.

You’ll lead a team across bid management, estimating and technical functions, working closely with senior leaders across the sector, operations, finance and strategy to turn market opportunities into winning propositions.

With flexible hybrid working this role can be based from our North Sydney or Cremorne office.

What you’ll be doing

Lead the pre-contracts and tendering strategy, aligned to the sector’s growth ambitions and broader business strategy.

Lead the end-to-end delivery of major bids, tenders and unsolicited proposals, ensuring we put forward compelling, competitive and compliant submissions.

Set the estimating and pricing strategy for complex opportunities, balancing competitiveness, sustainability, risk and margin.

Build and develop a high-performing, multidisciplinary pre-contracts team and align capability to the sector’s growth pipeline.

Partner with senior stakeholders across Defence & Social Infrastructure, operations, finance and strategy to shape and prioritise opportunities.

Drive strong governance across the work-winning process, ensuring bids are commercially sound and aligned to Ventia’s frameworks and requirements.

Identify opportunities to grow through new work, renewals, extensions and strategic client engagement.

About You

You’ll bring significant experience in pre-contracts, tendering, operations, business management in a related industry environment, along with the commercial and strategic thinking to lead a complex work-winning function.

We’re looking for:

• Exceptional demonstrated experience across pre-contracts, operations, business management or relevant industry experience.
• Strong understanding of end-to-end tendering and work-winning processes and client expectations.
• Proven experience leading major and complex bids, including estimating, pricing and commercial strategy.
• Experience leading and developing multidisciplinary pre-contracts teams, including bid managers, estimators, planners and commercial professionals.
• Strong business acumen and strategic thinking, with the ability to align pre-contracts activity to broader business and growth objectives.
• Demonstrated ability to develop competitive and sustainable pricing and estimating strategies.
• Strong stakeholder and relationship management skills, with the ability to influence outcomes at a senior level.
• Experience working collaboratively across operations, finance, strategy and other business functions.
• A tertiary qualification in Business, Commercial, Finance or a related discipline, or equivalent experience.

About Ventia

As a leading services provider, we maintain, operate, and manage the essential infrastructure that makes modern life possible across Australia and New Zealand. With more than 35,000 employees and subcontractors across 400 sites, joining Ventia means becoming part of a team that values its people, supports career growth, and helps everyone go further towards their full potential.

Our commitment to Fairness, Inclusion and Respect shapes how we lead, collaborate, hire and support one another.

We welcome applications from people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and people of all genders, identities, sexual orientations, beliefs and caring responsibilities.

We are dedicated to providing an accessible recruitment process and encourage you to request adjustments at any stage.