head of bids

FM Talent Partners Ltd; York and North Yorkshire; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

FM Talent Partners seeks a Head of Bids & Tender Management to lead a national bid function and drive growth across healthcare, education, care, hospitality and commercial sectors. Reporting to the Sales Director, you will own bid strategy, coach a Bid Team, and shape winning solutions from opportunity to award.

You will engage with Sales and Senior Leadership, influence senior stakeholders, and drive governance, pricing and continuous improvement across the tender lifecycle.

Qualifications

• Experience leading bids, tenders, proposals or solutions teams.
• Proven track record of securing significant contracts.
• Experience at Senior Leadership Team level.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop bids and tenders function.
• Manage, coach and develop the Bid Team.
• Oversee complex tender submissions from opportunity through to award.
• Collaborate with Sales Leadership and Senior Leadership Teams on strategic opportunities.
• Develop innovative customer solutions and winning bid strategies.
• Conduct market and competitor analysis.
• Improve bid governance, quality, compliance, and submission processes.
• Support commercial pricing strategies and contract-winning proposals.
• Drive continuous improvement across the tender lifecycle.

Skills

Leadership

Bids & Tenders

Stakeholder management

Strategic thinking

Commercial awareness

Job description

FM Talent Partners is delighted to be partnering with a major client of mine, a market-leading provider of mission-critical infrastructure solutions, to appoint a Head of Bids & Tender Management.

My client supports customers across Healthcare, Education, Care, Hospitality and commercial sectors with services including Laundry, Catering, Heating, Fire Safety, Infection Control and Air

Conditioning solutions. As part of their continued growth, they are seeking an experienced bids and tender professional to lead and develop their national bid function.

The Opportunity

Reporting directly to the Sales Director and sitting within the Sales Leadership Team, you'll take ownership of the bid and tender strategy, leading a team responsible for securing major contracts and driving business growth. You'll play a pivotal role in shaping winning solutions, improving bid processes, coaching stakeholders, and helping this client continue its impressive growth journey.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and develop bids and tenders function.
• Manage, coach and develop the Bid Team.
• Oversee complex tender submissions from opportunity through to award.
• Collaborate with Sales Leadership and Senior Leadership Teams on strategic opportunities.
• Develop innovative customer solutions and winning bid strategies.
• Conduct market and competitor analysis.
• Improve bid governance, quality, compliance, and submission processes.
• Support commercial pricing strategies and contract-winning proposals.
• Drive continuous improvement across the tender lifecycle.

About You

We're keen to speak with individuals who can demonstrate:

• Previous experience leading a bids, tenders, proposals or solutions team
• A proven track record of securing significant contracts
• Experience operating at Senior Leadership Team level
• Strong commercial awareness and strategic thinking
• Experience within Facilities Management, Building Services, Compliance, Engineering, Technical Services, Healthcare, Fire & Security, Utilities, or a similar service-led environment
• Ability to influence senior stakeholders and manage multiple complex opportunities simultaneously
• Excellent presentation, report-writing and leadership skills.

Why Join?

• Join a long-established market leader.
• Genuine opportunity to shape and develop a national bids function.
• Senior leadership visibility and influence.
• Strong growth plans and investment.
• Collaborative, values-driven culture focused on Care, Commitment and Collaboration.