Bid Manager

Ipsum; Wakefield; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

Join Ipsum as a Bid Manager and play a vital role in driving growth by developing high-quality bids and tenders for new and existing clients. Collaborate with key business stakeholders to shape effective strategies, manage customer accounts, and enhance our tendering processes. This position offers competitive rates and an excellent benefits package, ensuring you have the support to excel in your career.

Benefits

24/7 access to a virtual GP

Mental health support

Cycle to Work scheme

Group Personal Pension Plan

Big brand discounts

Flexible working options

Career progression opportunities

Qualifications

• Proven experience in business development and bid management.
• Strong understanding of customer tendering processes.
• Experience in utilities sector preferred.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute business growth strategies.
• Manage end-to-end bid activity and customer account plans.
• Lead pre-qualification and tendering events.

Skills

Communication

Organisational Skills

Interpersonal Skills

IT Literacy

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

APMP professional membership

Tools

Microsoft Office

MS Teams

SharePoint

Job description

This job is brought to you by Jobs/Redefined, the UK's leading over-50s age inclusive jobs board.

Wakefield
Competitive Rates + Excellent Benefits Package

About the Role
As Bid Manager, you'll play a vital role in driving growth across Ipsum by developing and delivering high-quality bids and tenders with both new and existing clients. Reporting to the Head of Strategic Bids and working closely with the Business Development Director and senior stakeholders, you'll help shape and execute business development strategies that support year-on-year sales growth.

You'll lead on end-to-end bid activity, manage key customer account plans, and help refine internal processes to support continuous improvement across our tendering and business development functions.

What you will be doing:

• Develop and execute the business growth strategy in collaboration with key stakeholders.
• Conduct market research to identify trends, new opportunities, and maintain a strong CRM & opportunity pipeline.
• Build new relationships and generate opportunities with prospective customers.
• Lead and support end-to-end pre-qualification and tendering events.
• Oversee the quality, governance, and consistency of tender content and submissions.
• Develop and manage a central library of tendering content and supporting information.
• Champion continuous improvement across all tendering processes and systems.
• Liaise with subject matter experts, capability leads, and leadership to deliver high-quality, competitive proposals.
• Support business development KPI delivery in line with annual growth targets.
• Produce and present customer engagement, key account, and sales activity plans.
• Provide regular reporting on PQQ and tendering pipelines, status updates, and board-level submissions to maintain visibility on new opportunities.

What you will bring:

Qualifications & Professional Memberships

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in a relevant discipline.
• APMP professional membership (desirable).

Knowledge & Experience

• Proven experience in business development and bid management within a fast-paced, matrix-style organisation.
• Strong understanding of customer tendering processes, procurement portals, and bid best practices.
• Demonstrated success in securing business through compelling proposals.
• Comfortable working both strategically and tactically, aligning activity with business goals and sector trends.
• Utilities sector experience (Water, Wastewater, Power, Infrastructure, Drainage, Digital Tech, or FM/Asset Management) is highly desirable.
• Background in digitalisation and data-led solutions is also advantageous.

Skills & Personal Qualities

• Strong written communication and presentation skills, with the ability to distil complex information into clear, persuasive responses.
• Highly organised, deadline-focused, and detail-driven.
• Strong relationship builder with excellent interpersonal skills.
• Collaborative team player with a proactive, improvement-focused mindset.
• Comfortable challenging the status quo to drive better outcomes.
• High level of IT literacy, particularly in Microsoft Office, MS Teams, and SharePoint.

What's In It For You?
We believe in looking after our people, and it shows. When you join Ipsum, you're not just taking a job - you're starting a career with real support behind it.

Your Benefits Package Includes:

Health & Wellbeing -

24/7 access to a virtual GP

Mental health support & counselling services

Occupational health guidance

Smart Benefits That Save You Money -

Cycle to Work scheme

Group Personal Pension Plan

Buy up to 5 extra holiday days each year

Everyday Perks -

Big brand discounts: supermarkets, phone bills, gyms & more

Life assurance cover

Long service recognition

Life Beyond Work -

Active local social committees

Regular social events

Paid volunteering opportunities in your community

Flexible working options (where possible)

Career Progression - Opportunities to earn professional qualifications and recognised accreditations

Equal Opportunities

We're proud to be an equal opportunities employer. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and experiences, and we're committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce. Before applying, please review our Privacy Policy to understand how we process your data in line with GDPR.

Recruitment Agencies - Please note, we do not accept speculative CVs or terms from third parties.

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