Bid and Proposals Specialist

activpayroll Ltd.; Aberdeen City; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

activpayroll Ltd. is seeking a Bid & Proposals Specialist to join our Commercial team in the UK. You will coordinate RFPs, RFIs and tenders, working with Sales, Finance and IT to develop clear, compelling responses that win new business.

The role requires strong writing, organization, and a commercial mindset to deliver high-quality proposals on time. You’ll craft tailored proposals, translate complex global payroll and service delivery details into client-friendly content, and help refine

Qualifications

• Experience in bids, proposals, tenders or sales support.
• Strong written English and the ability to turn technical information into clear content.
• Excellent organization to manage multiple deadlines and contributors.
• Attention to detail with formal requirements and submission deadlines.
• Confidence coordinating with stakeholders to gather necessary information.
• Understanding of pricing, scope, assumptions and risk from a commercial perspective.
• Interest in understanding customer needs and tailoring responses accordingly.
• Proactive, questions and improvements to bid processes and content.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment with changing priorities.
• MS Office especially Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate RFPs, RFIs, tenders and proposal opportunities from review to submission.
• Collaborate with Sales and the commercial team to understand opportunity requirements and key messages.
• Review tender documents to identify deadlines, requirements and submission instructions.
• Create and manage bid plans, timelines and responsibilities across teams.
• Coordinate contributions from Sales, Finance, Operations, IT and SMEs.
• Draft, edit and tailor proposal responses to be clear, concise and customer-focused.
• Develop win themes, value propositions and differentiators for clients.
• Translate complex global payroll/tech/service delivery details into customer content.
• Support pricing schedules and commercial information with relevant teams.
• Identify gaps, risks or assumptions and raise with stakeholders.
• Manage document versions and submission cycles; perform quality checks.
• Support post-submission clarifications and capture lessons learned.
• Build and maintain a library of approved proposal content and case studies.
• Help improve bid processes, templates and ways of working.
• Leverage AI and automation to improve research, content creation and quality checks.

Skills

Bid & Proposals

Commercial writing

English writing

Organization

Stakeholder management

Pricing awareness

AI & automation interest

Tools

Salesforce

Job description

Bid and Proposals Specialist

Department: Sales

Employment Type: Permanent

Location: United Kingdom

Reporting To: Commercial Lead

Description

We’re looking for a Bid & Proposals Specialist to join our Commercial team and help us create clear, compelling and commercially competitive proposals for clients across our global payroll and managed services business.

This is a great opportunity for someone with experience in bids, proposals, tenders or commercial writing who wants to take the next step in their career and have a real impact on how we win new business.

You’ll work closely with Sales, Commercial, Finance, Operations, IT, Implementation and subject matter experts to bring together the information needed to create high-quality responses to RFPs, RFIs, tenders and other formal procurement opportunities.

You’ll be the person who brings structure to the process, makes sure the right people provide the right information at the right time, and turns complex information into proposals that are easy for the customer to understand — and compelling enough to make them choose us.

On a typical day, you'll...

• Coordinate assigned RFPs, RFIs, tenders and proposal opportunities from initial review through to submission.
• Work closely with Sales and the wider commercial team to understand the opportunity, client requirements and key messages.
• Review tender documentation and identify important requirements, deadlines, evaluation criteria, clarification questions and submission instructions.
• Create and manage bid plans, timelines, actions and responsibilities, keeping stakeholders on track throughout the process.
• Coordinate contributions from teams including Sales, Finance, Operations, IT, Implementation, Service Delivery and subject matter experts.
• Draft, edit and tailor proposal responses so they are clear, concise, persuasive and focused on the customer.
• Help develop win themes, value propositions and differentiators that demonstrate why our solution is the right fit for the client.
• Translate complex information about global payroll, technology, implementation, integrations and service delivery into straightforward customer-facing content.
• Support the preparation of pricing schedules, commercial information and assumptions, working with the relevant teams to ensure information is accurate and complete.
• Help identify potential gaps, risks, inconsistencies or assumptions and make sure these are raised with the appropriate stakeholders.
• Manage clarification questions, attachments, document versions, review cycles and submission requirements.
• Carry out detailed quality and compliance checks before proposals are submitted.
• Support post-submission clarifications and contribute to lessons learned to help improve future bids.
• Build and maintain our library of approved proposal content, case studies, credentials and reusable answers.
• Help improve our bid processes, templates and ways of working.
• Use AI and automation tools to make proposal development, research, content creation and quality checking more efficient.

Skills, Knowledge & Expertise

You don’t need to know everything about global payroll or managed services from day one. What matters most is that you’re organised, commercially curious, a strong communicator and someone who takes pride in producing great work.

You’ll ideally have:

• Experience in a bid, proposals, tender, sales support, commercial or similar role.
• Strong written English and the ability to turn detailed or technical information into clear and engaging content.
• Excellent organisation skills and the ability to manage multiple deadlines and contributors at the same time.
• Strong attention to detail, particularly when working with formal requirements, documents and submission deadlines.
• Confidence working with different stakeholders and following up to make sure you get the information you need.
• A good understanding of commercial concepts such as pricing, scope, assumptions and risk, with the ability to spot when something doesn’t look right.
• An interest in understanding the customer and creating responses that focus on their needs rather than simply copying standard content.
• A proactive approach and the confidence to ask questions, challenge gaps and suggest improvements.
• The ability to work well in a fast-paced environment where priorities can change.
• Good Microsoft Office skills, particularly Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• Experience with Salesforce or another CRM system would be useful.
• An interest in AI and new technology, and a willingness to explore how it can improve the way we create and manage proposals.

Hybrid Working

Our team is based primarily at our Aberdeen HQ where we work 1-2 days per week in the office. We are also open to candidates who are based elsewhere in the UK and would be interested in this role on a remote basis, with occasional travel to Aberdeen.