Bid/Proposals Writer

WSP; Manchester; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading engineering firm in the UK is seeking a Bid Writer to join their Strategic Bids Team. The role involves creating compelling bid documents and collaborating with various teams to develop tailored proposals. Ideal candidates should hold a degree in English or a related field, have excellent writing skills, and be able to work under tight deadlines. This position requires UK-wide travel.

Qualifications

• Qualified to degree level in an appropriate subject.
• Good level of IT literacy in particular MS Word.
• Relevant experience in a similar role.

Responsibilities

• Support operational businesses to deliver growth through winning new work.
• Lead content planning sessions with Bid Team members.
• Develop written offers from initial content planning to final submission.

Skills

Writing and editing skills

IT literacy (MS Word)

Collaboration and communication

Education

Degree in English or related field

Tools

MS Word

InDesign

Job description

What if you could do the kind of work the world needs?

At WSP, you can access our global scale, contribute to landmark projects and connect with the brightest minds in your field to do the best work of your life. You can embrace your curiosity in a culture that celebrates new ideas and diverse perspectives. You can experience a world of opportunity and the chance to shape a career as unique as you.

A little more about your role…

The Bid Writer is an integral part of WSP’s Strategic Bids Team, which supports our operational businesses to deliver WSP’s Strategic Growth Strategy through work winning. The Strategic Bids Team works on WSP UK’s large, complex, multi-disciplinary bids in areas of strategic growth.

The Bid Writer ensures WSP’s solutions are communicated in a compelling and consistent voice and is responsible for articulating WSP’s offers so they reflect an understanding of client drivers, objectives and needs.

The role requires UK wide travel.

Key Responsibilities

• Be an integral part of WSP’s Strategic Bids Team, supporting WSP’s operational businesses to deliver growth through winning new, sustainable work.
• Build and maintain close links with WSP’s operational businesses, in particular subject matter experts, identifying and collating areas of best practice, improvement and innovation, and clearly articulate these areas into strategic bids.
• Understand internal and external customer requirements in order to support the development of quality solutions and authorship of written offers for strategic bids across WSP UK.
• Lead and facilitate content planning sessions with Bid Team members, to establish the structure, content and flow of key responses and across the bid submission. Ensure each question is dissected, understood and fully answered, considering the client drivers and our value proposition.
• Develop our written offer from initial content planning, through drafting and quality reviews to final production and submission. Typically, this includes authoring, developing, reviewing new and tailoring existing solutions.
• Adhere to and develop WSP’s in-house style guidance and coach Bid Team members including subject matter experts in best practice writing for bids, client presentations and sales collateral.
• Analyse bids to identify and share good practice which will enhance our library of excellent, high scoring responses.
• Support bid planning, management, review, governance and feedback processes as required.

The post requires a person who will:

• Work closely and flexibly with the Bid Manager, technical authors, operational and business development staff to develop and/or advise on the production of tailored solutions in response to tender invitations.
• Work independently (and with bid managers, authors) to convert knowledge from operational and business development staff into winning solutions and proposals.
• Confidently develop new written content in collaboration with operational and business development colleagues, checking it forms a comprehensive, correct and accurate answer.
• Identify and re-work existing written content and boilerplate in line with specific questions, tailoring to individual client requirements.
• Review, re-write or edit written responses from others including, but not limited to, sales, operational, commercial, legal, HR and finance staff.
• Build relationships quickly to deliver efficient and effective working within newly created bid teams.
• Convert knowledge from operational and business development staff into winning solutions and proposals.
• Analyse each bid to identify and share good practice with operational and business development staff across the business, providing support to cross-cutting initiatives and bids to support WSP to achieve its corporate objectives.

What we will be looking for you to demonstrate…

• Qualified to degree level in an appropriate subject. Our preference is for candidates with an English degree but other subjects that require the assimilation and communication of information such as History, Marketing and Journalism or similar will be considered.
• Good level of IT literacy in particular MS Word. Knowledge of InDesign is desirable.
• Relevant experience in a similar role.
• Experience of producing tenders in the markets that WSP operates in including Transport & Infrastructure, Earth & Environment, Property and Buildings, Industry & Energy
• Knowledge and experience of the development of solutions and their translation through excellent written English into winning proposals.
• The ability to choose the right approach to developing the quality proposal to meet client requirements and business capabilities.
• An acknowledged bid author with a demonstrable record of success in formulating and delivering winning bids
• A strong command of oral and written English, with the ability to present complex ideas in a straightforward, compelling and easily understandable way.
• Strong and effective collaboration and communication skills in team environments, includingactive listening.
• Excellent long form content development, writing, editing and proofreading skills.
• Participation in workshops, formulating ideas, drafting solutions and graphics that fully meet client requirements.
• Ability to work independently to tight deadlines and communicate and influence at senior levels.
• Ability to assimilate large volumes of information and understand, plan and manage associated workflows.
• Develop strong relationships and rapport with internal colleagues and external clients.
• Understanding of the professional services industry and public sector procurement process.
• Support and promote a culture of continuous improvement.

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