Commercial & Tender Manager

Freight Force Recruitment Ltd; West Kirby; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 55,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company car or car allowance

Company pension

Private medical insurance

Company sick pay

Health and wellbeing programme

On-site parking

Job summary

Freight Force Recruitment Ltd is partnering with a logistics provider to recruit a Commercial & Tender Manager. The role focuses on retaining and growing key accounts, managing tender processes, and developing profitable pricing strategies.

The successful candidate will coordinate cross-functional teams, lead customer meetings and drive new business opportunities. The role requires strong commercial acumen, relationship-building skills and willingness to travel to customer sites as needed.

Qualifications

• Experience in commercial, business development, account management or tender-focused roles within logistics/transport/freight.
• Understanding of contract logistics and commercial considerations for customer solutions.
• Proven experience coordinating tender submissions and developing pricing.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain long-term relationships with existing customers as a commercial point of contact.
• Understand customer operations, logistics needs and future business potential.
• Identify opportunities to grow accounts through added services and cross-selling.
• Lead tender processes from enquiry to contract award with negotiations and presentations.
• Collaborate with transport, warehousing, finance and operations to gather required information for proposals.
• Deliver professional, commercially sound tender responses within deadlines.
• Support customer retention with proactive account management and service delivery.

Skills

Account management

Tender submissions

Commercial negotiations

Relationship building

Pricing and profitability

Travel willingness

Job description

Commercial & Tender Manager

Location: Liverpool, L5

Salary: £45,000k - £55,000k per annum + company car or car allowance

Working arrangement: Office-based, with customer travel as required

Overview

Freight Force Recruitment are proud to be working in partnership with an established, multi-award-winning logistics provider with a fleet of approximately 2,000 vehicles and a team of around 900 employees. The business delivers tailored transport and supply chain solutions to customers across a range of sectors.

Key Responsibilities

Account Management & Customer Development

• Build and maintain strong, long-term relationships with existing customers, acting as a key commercial point of contact.
• Develop a thorough understanding of customer operations, logistics requirements and future business needs.
• Identify opportunities to grow existing accounts through additional services, contract extensions and cross-selling across transport, warehousing, customs and other relevant logistics solutions.
• Conduct regular customer meetings and business reviews to assess performance, strengthen relationships and identify areas for improvement.
• Work collaboratively with operational teams to ensure customer expectations are met and service issues are addressed effectively.
• Support customer retention by delivering a proactive, consultative and commercially focused account management approach.

Tender Management & Commercial Proposals

• Take ownership of the tender process, coordinating submissions from initial enquiry through to presentation, negotiation and contract award.
• Attend and lead tender meetings, customer presentations and commercial negotiations, confidently representing the business and its service capabilities.
• Develop tailored proposals that reflect customer requirements, operational capabilities and commercial objectives.
• Work closely with transport, warehousing, finance and operational teams to gather the information required for accurate and competitive tender submissions.
• Ensure tender responses are professionally presented, commercially sound and submitted within agreed deadlines.
• Manage tender pipelines, maintain visibility of upcoming opportunities and ensure appropriate follow‑up with prospective and existing customers.
• Evaluate customer requirements and tender opportunities to establish commercial viability and identify potential risks.

Commercial Growth & Business Development

• Identify opportunities to secure new contracts and develop existing customer relationships across relevant sectors, including retail, FMCG, manufacturing, ports and logistics.
• Build on existing industry relationships and develop new contacts through networking, customer meetings and targeted commercial engagement.
• Support the development of new business opportunities, with an emphasis on securing sustainable, profitable contracts rather than pursuing volume alone.
• Maintain an understanding of the competitive landscape and identify opportunities where the business can differentiate its offering.
• Develop a strong pipeline of potential opportunities while balancing new business activity with existing account responsibilities.

Pricing & Commercial Strategy

• Work alongside finance and operational stakeholders to develop accurate, competitive and profitable pricing structures.
• Assess transport, warehousing and wider logistics requirements to ensure proposals reflect the true cost of service delivery.
• Negotiate commercial terms and ensure agreements align with agreed margin expectations and business objectives.
• Monitor contract performance, pricing arrangements and changing customer requirements, identifying opportunities to improve profitability.
• Keep abreast of market conditions, industry developments and cost pressures that may influence customer requirements and commercial decisions.

Internal Stakeholder Collaboration

• Build effective working relationships across transport planning, operations, warehousing, finance and compliance.
• Ensure customer commitments made during the sales and tender process can be delivered operationally.
• Support the smooth onboarding of new customers and contracts, ensuring requirements are clearly communicated to relevant teams.
• Provide commercial input into service development and customer solutions.
• Maintain accurate records of customer activity, tender progress, commercial proposals and account development opportunities.

Skills & Experience

Essential

• Experience in a commercial, business development, account management or tender-focused role within logistics, transport, freight or contract logistics.
• A strong understanding of contract logistics and the commercial considerations involved in delivering customer-specific solutions.
• Proven experience managing or contributing to tender submissions, including preparing proposals, developing pricing and coordinating internal input.
• Confidence in attending and participating in tender meetings, customer presentations and commercial negotiations.
• Demonstrable ability to build and maintain effective customer relationships.
• Experience identifying opportunities to develop existing accounts, improve customer retention and generate additional revenue.
• Strong commercial acumen, with the ability to balance customer requirements against operational feasibility and profitability.
• Excellent communication, presentation, negotiation and stakeholder management skills.
• Strong organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple accounts, tenders and deadlines simultaneously.
• A full UK driving licence and willingness to travel to customer sites and meetings as required.

Desirable

• Knowledge of UK and Ireland freight markets and associated transport networks.
• Experience in temperature‑controlled transport, groupage, container transport, customs or specialist logistics services.
• Existing relationships within relevant customer sectors, such as retail, FMCG, manufacturing or ports.
• Experience working with complex customer requirements and multi‑stakeholder tender processes.

Personal Attributes

• Commercially astute, with a focus on sustainable growth and profitability.
• Relationship‑driven, with the ability to build trust and credibility with customers.
• Confident presenting solutions and representing the business in customer and tender meetings.
• Proactive in identifying opportunities to develop accounts and improve commercial performance.
• Collaborative, with the ability to bring internal stakeholders together to deliver customer solutions.
• Organised and detail‑oriented, particularly when managing tenders, pricing and contractual requirements.
• Adaptable and resilient, with the confidence to manage competing priorities in a fast‑paced commercial environment.

What Success Looks Like

• Strong retention and development of existing customer accounts.
• Successful tender submissions and conversion of commercially viable opportunities into contracts.
• Growth in account revenue and the introduction of additional services where appropriate.
• Profitable pricing and achievement of agreed gross margin targets.
• Positive customer feedback and effective management of key commercial relationships.
• Strong collaboration between commercial and operational teams, ensuring customer commitments are delivered effectively.

Salary & Benefits

• Salary of up to £55,000 per annum, depending on experience.
• Company car or car allowance
• Company pension.
• Private medical insurance.
• Company sick pay.
• Health and wellbeing programme.
• On‑site parking.