Bid Manager

Leonardo UK Ltd; Caddington; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading aerospace and defense company in the UK is looking for a Bid Manager to join its Bids and Proposals team. In this role, you will be responsible for leading the proposal generation process, developing strategic bids for contracts worth over £10 million, and coordinating efforts across various teams to ensure quality submissions. The company offers a comprehensive benefits package and promotes a diverse and inclusive work environment.

Benefits

Generous leave with additional flexi-days

Award-winning pension scheme

Free mental health support

Access to online learning resources

Flexible working options

Tailored benefits package

Qualifications

• At least 2 years’ experience managing complex bids and proposals.
• Proven track record in winning business with values of £10m+.
• Strong commercial, project, and risk management skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead proposal generation process and develop win themes.
• Coordinate inputs from functional areas across multiple sectors.
• Manage bids of varying complexities throughout the lifecycle.

Skills

Leadership of competitive bids

Stakeholder management

Bid strategy formulation

Risk analysis and management

Proposal writing

Job description

Job Description:

Are you looking to take the next step in your career, do you want to join a team that is at the start of its bids and proposals improvement journey or is it time for a new challenge in business winning? If so, we have an exciting opportunity within our Electronic Warfare Line of Business for a Bid Manager to join our Bids and Proposals team.

Your impact

The Electronic Warfare Bids and Proposal team is responsible for the delivery of competitive proposals, including, but not limited to, leading a proposal generation process and developing customer win themes and value propositions. You will be responsible for the formulation of bid strategies, building and leading bid teams to develop winning solutions for our customers. You will coordinate inputs from functional areas across multiple sectors and work with Sector VPs, the EW Head of Bids and Proposals, Capture Leads, Integrated Project Team Leads, Engineering, and Capability Managers to define the bid strategy and implement win themes.

You have accountability for the overall quality of bid submissions and will guide the capture team through the internal governance and approval gates ensuring that relevant business winning information is presented to the EW leadership team. This will require excellent planning and stakeholder management skills.

What you’ll bring

• Leadership of both competitive and non-competitive bids through to a successful conclusion, ranging from tactical follow-on business through to multi-million-pound strategic initiatives
• Work as part of capture teams to help develop win themes, storyboards, graphics, and compelling narratives that can be woven into bid submissions to deliver competitive Customer proposals
• Coordinate and manage bids with a range of complexities throughout the capture and bid phases of the lifecycle
• Analyse and break down customer requirements (PQQs, RFIs, RFPs, RFQs, ITTs etc.) into packages of work for the capture team
• Work in collaboration with customers and partners, applying best practice, to formulate bid strategies, and drive bid teams to find winning solutions
• Support the capture team during the contract negotiation phase, managing and implementing changes required to our bid submission to secure contract award
• Schedule, plan, and drive bid activities including Win Strategy, Bid Kick-off, Answer Planning, WBS development, Bid Progress Reviews, Proposal production, Proposal content collation, Proposal reviews (e.g. colour reviews) and Tender Approvals
• Plan, lead, and challenge cost build-up and pricing activities from business functions
• Lead bid teams to identify and analyse risks and opportunities, developing mitigation/realisation plans for action post-contract award
• Forecast functional resource and budget requirements on bids you lead, proactively managing approved bid budgets
• Manage and contribute to the writing of compelling proposals, drawing on the skills and experience of capture team members and subject matter experts
• At least 2 years’ experience managing complex bids and proposals
• Proven track record in winning business (preferably experience of leading bids with values of £10m+) through competitive processes, with strong commercial, project, and risk management skills

This is not an exhaustive list, and we are keen to hear from you even if you might not have experience in all the above. The most important skill is a good attitude and willingness to learn.

Security Clearance

This role is subject to pre-employment screening in line with the UK Government’s Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS). An additional range of Personnel Security Controls referred to as National Security Vetting (NSV) may apply, this could include meeting the eligibility requirements for The Security Check (SC) or Developed Vetting (DV). For more information and guidance please visit: https://careers.uk.leonardo.com/gb/en/security-and-vetting

Why join us

At Leonardo, our people are at the heart of everything we do. We offer a comprehensive, company-funded benefits package that supports your wellbeing, career development, and work–life balance. Whether you're looking to grow professionally, care for your health, or plan for the future, we’re here to help you thrive.

• Time to Recharge: Enjoy generous leave with the opportunity to accrue up to 12 additional flexi-days each year.
• Secure your Future: Benefit from our award-winning pension scheme with up to 15% employer contribution.
• Your Wellbeing Matters: Free access to mental health support, financial advice, and employee-led networks championing inclusion and diversity (Enable, Pride, Equalise, Armed Forces, Carers, Wellbeing and Ethnicity).
• Rewarding Performance: All employees at management level and below are eligible for our bonus scheme.
• Never Stop Learning: Free access to 4,000+ online courses via Coursera and LinkedIn Learning.
• Refer a friend: Receive a financial reward through our referral programme.
• Tailored Perks: Spend up to £500 annually on flexible benefits including private healthcare, dental, family cover, tech & lifestyle discounts, gym memberships and more.
• Flexible working: Flexible hours with hybrid working options. For part time opportunities, please talk to us about what might be possible for this role.

For a full list of our company benefits please visit our website.

Leonardo is a global leader in Aerospace, Defence, and Security. Headquartered in Italy, we employ over 53,000 people worldwide including 8,500 across 9 sites in the UK. Our employees are not just part of a team—they are key contributors to shaping innovation, advancing technology, and enhancing global safety.

At Leonardo we are committed to building an inclusive, accessible, and welcoming workplace. We believe that a diverse workforce sparks creativity, drives innovation, and leads to better outcomes for our people and our customers. If you have any accessibility requirements to support you during the recruitment process, just let us know.

Be part of something bigger - apply now!

Primary Location: GB - Luton - Cap. Green 300

Contract Type: Permanent

Hybrid Working: Hybrid