Senior Bid Manager

Thales; Crawley; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading company in the aerospace sector is seeking a Senior Bid Manager in Crawley to drive successful bid delivery in the defense avionics industry. The role demands strong leadership, excellent project management skills, and a proven track record in managing complex bids. This opportunity enables candidates to shape the future of aviation technology while working with a diverse team committed to safety and innovation.

Benefits

Annual performance bonus

Pension Scheme

28 days annual leave (Plus Bank Holidays)

Life Cover

24/7 Employee Assistance Program

Employee discount shopping schemes

Gym membership discounts

Qualifications

• Minimum of 15 years in relevant field.
• Proven track record in bid and project management.
• Experience in defense engineering preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead multi-disciplinary teams to ensure bid success.
• Manage relationships with customers and stakeholders.
• Create and control bid schedules and resource plans.
• Ensure compliance with technical and non-technical requirements.

Skills

Stakeholder Management

Risk Management

Leadership

Negotiation

Project Management

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent relevant experience

Job description

Location: Crawley, United Kingdom

Thales people architect solutions that enable two-thirds of planes to take off and land safely. We create in-flight entertainment systems that engross 50 million fliers every year and we develop the avionics that control the world’s largest commercial aircrafts. Our simulators train the next generation of pilots for fighter jets, transporters and search and rescue helicopters. And, together, each and every member of our aerospace team makes a difference. Together we offer fantastic opportunities for committed employees to learn and develop their career with us. At Thales UK, we research, develop, and supply technology and services that impact the lives of millions of people each day to make life better, and keep us safer. We innovate across the major industries of Aerospace, Defence, Security and Space. Your health and well-being matters to us and that’s why we offer you the flexibility to do what’s important to you; whether that’s part time hours, job sharing, home working, or the ability to flex your start and finish times. Where possible, we support a working pattern that suits your lifestyle and helps you reach your ambitions.

THALES are looking to recruit a dynamic & driven Senior Bid Manager to ensure the successful delivery of bids in the defence avionics industry and to ensure that the Initial Project baseline for Project execution (post contract award) is robust, with an appropriate level of confidence that customer and business expectations will be met.

The role requires strong leadership, professional Bid and Project management expertise, excellent stakeholder management, commercial awareness and a proactive approach to identifying and mitigating risk.

Location: Crawley

This role will require SC Clearance. It would be advantageous if currently held, however, if not currently held, it is a requirement that the successful applicant will undergo, achieve, and maintain SC Clearance. Please visit the UKSV website for further guidance.

What can we offer you?

On offer is a competitive salary and benefits package, which includes;

• Annual performance bonus
• Pension Scheme
• 28 days annual leave (Plus Bank Holidays)
• Life Cover
• 24/7 Employee Assistance Program and access to mental wellbeing app
• Employee discount shopping schemes on major brands and retailers
• Gym membership discounts

What will you deliver?

• Role modelling the Thales Leadership Model behaviours
• Embedding a strong sense of delivery accountability and a proactive risk and opportunity management culture (for both ‘win ability’ and ‘deliverability’) at all levels of the Bid team
• Creating and controlling the Bid schedule and resource plan; leading and coordinating multi-disciplinary teams to achieve key milestones
• Establishing and controlling the requirements baseline (technical and non-technical), including compliance traceability, allocation to Work Packages and the end to end estimating process
• Ensuring the creation of robust Initial Project Baselines for delivery post-contract award
• Supporting the management of customer, supplier and partner relationships – building trust and confidence through open dialogue
• Tailoring and application of Bid Governance as appropriate, including Bid Stage Gates, Bid Reviews (BKO, BBR, ER, SR, RR, HOR) and Project Characterisation
• Coordination and control of the Master Assumptions, Dependencies and Exclusions List (MADEL), ensuring alignment across all Bid artefacts including the Project execution baseline, estimates and proposal/commercial terms
• Coordination of proposal development, including the use of colour/peer reviews as appropriate
• Ensuring cross-functional alignment, both in terms of support to Bid delivery and clear commitment to the as-bid Initial Project baseline
• Ensuring appropriate focus on cash management and achieving a positive net cash profile associated with the Initial Project baseline
• Promoting and enabling left-shifting E.g. solutions options and selection, Make/Team/Buy decisions, Project execution strategies
• Leading and coordinating PQQ responses, including reviews, governance and final sign-off
• Contributing to the identification of customer hot buttons/win strategy and alignment of Bid activities to address these
• Creating initial Project plans (E.g. Project Charter, PMP, ROMP) for the execution of the contract as required for the proposal
• Establishing and maintaining the Bid data repository; ensuring migration to the future Project data repository as part of a managed handover to the Project execution team
• Ensuring that all Bid activities comply with the relevant Thales Chorus 2 processes
• Management and control of Bid Budgets (including status and forecast) for all Bids within their working perimeter and liaison with PMO to reflect in appropriate tools E.g. Oracle, P6 Note: for particularly large or complex Bids a PM-designate and/or Proposal Manager may be appointed to support the Bid Manager with some of the activities listed above

Who are we looking for?

• A proven track record of delivering successful Bids and/or Projects in contexts relevant to defence engineering (preferably with Thales)
• Leading and managing multi-disciplinary teams in achieving challenging timelines and with a proactive focus on risk and opportunity management
• Managing internal stakeholders and customer/supplier/partner relationships
• Constructing compelling proposals and/or solutions that meet customer needs
• Gate Bid Lifecycle processes; efficiently applying reviews and ensuring that business risk is appropriately managed
• Structuring and planning complex projects including the tailored deployment of best practice
• Management and control of technical and non-technical requirements on complex bids and projects, including compliance traceability, allocation to WPs and the end to end estimating process
• Management of Commercial and Technical Assumptions, Dependencies and Exclusions, ensuring alignment across all bid and/or project artefacts
• For more senior positions, experience with coaching others including junior Bid Managers
• Working in a complex, multi-site organisation
• Leadership and management in a Bid and/or Project context, including the ability to adapt personal style to achieve the desired results
• Strong negotiation skills with the ability to deal with customers, partners, suppliers and other parts of the business (stakeholder management skills)
• Strong interpersonal and verbal communication skills with written presentation and report writing skills.
• The ability to look ahead, identify risks and proactively engage with them
• Resilience and the ability to successfully manage change

Skills:

Essential:

• Candidates with a background in Defence and Avionics are preferred, with a minimum of 15 years of relevant experience.
• Gate Bid Lifecycle processes; efficiently applying reviews and ensuring that business risk is appropriately managed

Security Clearance

For further details of the evidence required to apply for Baseline and Security Clearance please refer to the National Security Vetting (NSV) Agency - United Kingdom Security Vetting - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

#LI-DB2

In line with Thales' Baseline Security requirements, candidates will be asked to provide evidence of identity, eligibility to work in the UK and employment and/or education history for up to three years. Some vacancies may require full Security Clearance which can require further evidence to be provided. For further details of the evidence required to apply for Baseline and Security Clearance please refer to the Defence Business Services National Security Vetting (DBS NSV) Agency.

At Thales we provide CAREERS and not only jobs. With Thales employing 80,000 employees in 68 countries our mobility policy enables thousands of employees each year to develop their careers at home and abroad, in their existing areas of expertise or by branching out into new fields. Together we believe that embracing flexibility is a smarter way of working.

Thales UK is committed to providing an inclusive and barrier-free recruitment process. We will provide reasonable adjustments and support to ensure neuro-diverse applicants or those with a disability or long-term condition can be their best during the recruitment process. To request an adjustment, if you need this job advert in an alternative format or if you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Resourcing Ops for mid to senior roles, or the Early Careers Teamfor graduate and apprentice roles.

Great journeys start here, apply now!