Proposal Manager

Northrop Grumman; Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Northrop Grumman UK is seeking a Proposal Manager to lead the bid engine, overseeing the end-to-end proposal process from pre-proposal to post-submittal. You will coordinate cross-functional inputs across defence, cyber, ISR and other domains, ensuring compliant, high-quality submissions and clear status reporting.

The role requires strong experience in tendering, stakeholder management, and leadership of multi-disciplinary teams, with a flexible/hybrid working arrangement and UK travel as

Qualifications

• Experience with formal tendering processes and procurement portals.
• Clear experience in creating and delivering bid documentation.
• Proven ability to produce concise progress reports at all levels.
• People management and leadership experience.

Responsibilities

• Drive the generation of a proposal and outline structure per the RFP.
• Manage inputs to ensure a competitive, coherent submission.
• Coordinate collection of cost, scheduling and performance data from functions.
• Develop and own internal stakeholder management for each submission.
• Ensure compliance with business acquisition processes and procedures.
• Provide regular proposal status reports to stakeholders.
• Collaborate with industrial partners to contextualise contributions in the main submission.

Skills

Tendering processes

Proposal development

Stakeholder management

Team leadership

MS Office

MS Project

PowerPoint

Presentation delivery

English fluency

Problem solving

Tools

Bravo solution

Award

Job description

Job Overview

As a Proposal Manager, you are a key part of the Northrop Grumman 'Bid Engine' supporting the BD and capture managers and bid teams in delivering successful tenders. You will be responsible for the timely delivery and quality of a proposal, with direct oversight and control of the proposal process, operating from the Pre-Proposal Preparation phase through to Post-Submittal of the Northrop Grumman Business Acquisition Process (BAP). You will work across all NGUKL customer accounts and be responsible for bids in the fields of next generation Air Force, cyber security, ISR, Communications, Radar and Command and Control, ranging from small study or research openings to significant size and scale multi-£m, multi-year deals. Our UK Defence business is a Sovereign software and systems centre of excellence. As well as developing and supporting UK wide and internationally deployed multi-domain command and control systems, our work is critical to the modern backbone of the Royal Navy. We pioneer - with fierce curiosity, dedication, and innovation, we seek to solve the world's most challenging problems. You will be joining an established, energized, collaborative and supportive business development team who are focused on delivering growth for our customers and stakeholders at a time where Northrop Grumman UK is experiencing unprecedented growth.

Key Responsibilities

• Drive the ultimate generation of a proposal, outlining the proposal structure as required by the Request For Proposal (RFP), setting the schedule and allocation of section / contribution responsibilities to the relevant subject matter expert
• Manage the proposal team contributions / inputs as appropriate to establish a competitive and ultimately market differentiating proposal
• Continuously monitor progress and content of inputs to ensure that the RFP requirements are being suitably answered, the content is of suitable quality and coherence across the submission
• Coordinate the collection and accumulation of cost, scheduling, and performance elements from all relevant functional departments
• Develop and own the internal stakeholder management process for each submission
• Research and analyse historical data and project experience to support proposal efforts
• Ensure compliance with the business acquisition process and internal company procedures
• Establish and develop the tools and techniques to continuously enhance the quality of our bid submissions, assessing market best practice and its applicability in order to support the evolution of our competitive bid approaches
• Manage the key in-process proposal submission reviews to ensure that our offer is suitably and independently reviewed and challenged to ensure it best represents our offer, our approach and our capabilities
• Ensure each proposal team benefits from previous lessons learnt and as such ensures that each submission is better than the last
• Provide clear and concise proposal status reports to all relevant internal stakeholder on a regular and suitable periodic basis
• Develop effective collaborations with the proposed industrial partners to ensure their contributions are suitably framed and contextualised in a manner consistent with the main submission

General Operational duties

• Attend Business Development and other functional department meetings as required
• Remain compliant with all applicable NGUKL / Command Media Processes and procedures

Experience & Skills

• Experience of operating within the constraints of formal tendering processes, using procurement portals such as Award and Bravo solution
• Clear demonstrable experience in product, service and complex bid documentation
• Experienced in the creation and delivery of clear and concise progress reporting at all levels within the business
• Relevant experience of people management and leadership

Desired Qualifications/Experience

• Previous experience in commercial or government proposal work
• Familiar with online tender submission tools

Competency/Skill requirements

• Able to review, challenge, highlight issues and recommend improvements to proposal contributions
• Strong but collaborative individual with the confidence and integrity to earn internal stakeholders confidence
• Competent in the interpretation of tendering instructions
• Can recognise what is needed to create a complete and compliant submission
• Exceptional attention to detail
• Adept at problem-solving, able to develop solutions to a variety of very complex problems
• Excellent interpersonal skills, able to engage effectively with all audiences/stakeholders
• Proactive team worker, equally self-motivated and able to work autonomously
• Highly-organised, adept at workload management, prioritising appropriately to meet deadlines under pressure
• Able to handle multiple projects simultaneously
• Thrives in a dynamic and challenging environment
• Proficient MS Office and MS Project user
• Highly competent in PowerPoint and face-to-face presentation delivery
• Strong customer orientation
• Fluent in written and spoken English
• An engaging and 'can do' attitude, able to influence opinion and decisions

Other requirements

• Travel requirements: some national travel may be required to attend team and customer meetings and training activities. Occasional international travel may be required
• Clearance requirements: Must be able to gain and maintain UK Government clearances
• Must be able to work overtime and weekends as required
• Valid UK driving licence and passport holder, Extensive experience of operating within the constraints of formal tendering processes, using procurement portals such as Award and Bravo solution
• Clear demonstrable experience in product, service and complex solution bid proposal development and delivery within the defence, security and government sectors
• Evidenced track record of people management and leadership, building high-performing delivery teams operating under pressure
• Experienced in the creation and delivery of clear and concise progress reporting at all levels within the business
• Line management experience, leading and growing talented individuals into high-performing teams
• Multi-discipline team leadership experience (up to 20 individuals) to achieve excellence in proposals delivery

Security clearance

You must be able to gain and maintain the relevant UK Government security clearance in line with the job role (SC). Our requirement team is on hand to answer any questions and we will guide you through the process.

About Northrop Grumman UK

At Northrop Grumman UK, our mission is to solve the most complex challenges by shaping the technology and solutions of tomorrow. We call it Defining Possible. This mind-set goes beyond our customer solutions; it's the foundation for your career development and the impact we have within the community. So, what's your possible?

Opportunity: This is more than just a job; it's a mission., Be part of our global team of 100,000 colleagues - The possibilities for your future career are only limited by your drive. Whether you're looking for a hands-on internship or your next leadership position, we have career opportunities across the world. Northrop Grumman continues to expand and broaden our presence in global markets and strengthen our partnerships with local industry.

A mission to believe in - Every day we contribute to building a more secure and connected world, expanding our reach from land, sea, and air to space and cyberspace. From engineering data and intelligence solutions, to developing maritime navigation and control systems and innovating command and control systems for the UK and NATO, what we do together matters.

A place to belong and thrive - Every voice matters at our table meaning you can bring your authentic self to work. From our Employee Resource Groups backed by thousands of employees, to sponsoring Cheltenham Pride and our partnerships with Association For Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers, Forces Transition Group, Mind, and Women in Defence - we are passionate about growing and supporting our inclusive community where everyone can belong.

Your career, your way - Shape your career journey with diverse roles, mentorship, and development opportunities that fuel your curiosity, channel your expertise and nurture your passion. Looking for flexibility? Balance your professional career with your personal life, health and wellbeing benefits, discount schemes, pension benefits and investment in your future development. Speak to our team to find the balance that's right for you.

We can offer you a range of flexible and hybrid working options to suit you, including optional compressed working schedule with every other Friday off. Our benefits including private health care, career development opportunities and performance bonuses. For a comprehensive list of benefits, speak to our recruitment team.