Bid Writer

Sharpsmart Ltd; Ashby-de-la-Zouch; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 42,000; Full time

Job summary

Sharpsmart Ltd is seeking an experienced Bid Writer to join the Business Development team on a 12-month contract. You will lead tender submissions from pipeline building to final delivery, coordinating with operations, commercial teams and framework providers to ensure compliant, compelling responses that showcase our value.

You will manage the tender lifecycle, write and edit submissions, and implement RFPIO to improve collaboration and content management, helping drive future win rates.

Qualifications

• Experience in bid writing, tender coordination or business development support.
• Excellent written communication, editing and proofreading skills.
• Experience of responding to ITTs, PQQs, SQs, frameworks or other formal tender processes.
• Ability to interpret tender documentation, compliance requirements and evaluation criteria.
• Strong planning and project-management skills with multiple deadlines and contributors.
• Collaborative approach and confidence working with colleagues at all levels.
• High attention to detail and sound commercial awareness.
• Strong Microsoft Office skills; experience of tender portals or RFPIO would be advantageous.
• Experience in waste management, logistics, manufacturing, facilities management or similar sectors would be beneficial.

Responsibilities

• Create, maintain and review a detailed pipeline of tender opportunities.
• Coordinate relationships with framework providers, customers and internal stakeholders.
• Share bid information and opportunity updates with the team.
• Support opportunity qualification, capture planning and bid/no-bid decisions.
• Ensure bid plans and governance checks are in place for priority opportunities.
• Manage the full tender process, review requirements and coordinate contributors.
• Analyze documents to tailor responses and maximise marks.
• Gather operational, commercial and technical information from SMEs.
• Write and coordinate compelling tender responses addressing customer requirements.
• Ensure submissions are professional, accurate and timely.

Skills

Bid writing

Proposal writing

Editing

Proofreading

Project management

MS Office

ITTs responses

Stakeholder collaboration

Attention to detail

Tools

RFPIO

Job description

We are looking for an experienced and highly organised Bid Writer to join our Business Development team. You will support the business to identify, qualify and secure new contract opportunities through well-planned, high-quality and fully compliant tender submissions.

This is a varied role combining market research, pipeline management, tender coordination and persuasive bid writing. You will work closely with Business Units, operational teams, commercial colleagues and framework providers to ensure we are well prepared for future opportunities and deliver strong submissions that clearly demonstrate our capability and value.

This will be a contract for 12 months.

Your role will involve

• Create, maintain and regularly review a detailed pipeline of current, upcoming and budgeted tender opportunities.
• Build effective relationships with framework providers, customers and internal stakeholders to gather market intelligence and identify future opportunities.
• Ensure relevant bid information, customer insight and opportunity updates are shared with the wider team.
• Support opportunity qualification, capture planning and bid/no-bid decision-making ahead of tender release.
• Ensure bid plans, capture tools, governance checks and stakeholder actions are in place for priority opportunities.
• Manage the full tender process once documents are published, including reviewing requirements, arranging kick-off meetings, coordinating contributors and tracking actions.
• Analyse tender documents, submission instructions and scoring methodologies to ensure all responses are tailored, compliant and focused on maximising available marks.
• Work with Business Units and subject-matter experts to gather accurate operational, commercial, technical and supporting information.
• Write, edit and coordinate compelling tender responses that clearly address the customer’s requirements and highlight the organisation’s strengths.
• Ensure all submissions are professionally presented, accurate, complete and submitted within required deadlines.
• Develop and implement RFPIO to improve collaboration, content management, consistency and version control across the bid process.
• Build and maintain a library of approved stock answers, case studies, policies, accreditations and other supporting tender content.
• Capture feedback, successful content and lessons learned from completed bids to strengthen future submissions and improve win rates.

Candidate Profile

• Previous experience in bid writing, tender coordination, proposal writing or business development support, ideally within an operational or service-led environment.
• Excellent written communication, editing and proofreading skills.
• Experience of responding to ITTs, PQQs, SQs, frameworks or other formal tender processes.
• The ability to interpret tender documentation, compliance requirements and evaluation criteria.
• Strong planning and project-management skills, with the ability to manage multiple deadlines and contributors.
• A collaborative approach and confidence working with colleagues at all levels of the business.
• High attention to detail, sound commercial awareness and a proactive approach to problem-solving.
• Strong Microsoft Office skills; experience of tender portals, bid-management systems or RFPIO would be advantageous.
• Experience within waste management, logistics, transport, manufacturing, facilities management or a similar operational sector would be beneficial.