Senior Proposal Manager

Leonardo UK Ltd; Basildon; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

An exciting opportunity awaits for a Proposal Manager to join a forward-thinking company in the aerospace and defence sector. This role is pivotal in leading the proposal creation process, ensuring quality, compliance, and alignment with customer requirements. You will collaborate with diverse teams, manage proposal authors, and guide them through the development and review stages. With a flexible working model and a commitment to employee well-being, this position offers a chance to make a significant impact while enjoying a supportive work environment. If you are driven, detail-oriented, and ready to take on new challenges, this is the perfect opportunity for you.

Benefits

Flexible Working Hours

Company Funded Healthcare

25 Days Holiday Plus Bank Holidays

Pension Scheme with Employer Contribution

Employee Assistance Programme

Discounted Gym Membership

Access to Online Courses

Referral Incentive

Bonus Scheme

Qualifications

• Experience in managing complex commercial proposals, ideally in the defence sector.
• Strong understanding of bid team roles and interdependencies.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage all aspects of proposal creation and submission.
• Coordinate inputs from various functional areas for proposal submissions.

Skills

Proposal Management

Communication Skills

Attention to Detail

Bid Environment Experience

Shipley Proposal Processes

Education

Relevant Degree or Equivalent Experience

Tools

Proposal Writing Best Practices

Proposal Management Tools

Job description

Job Description:

The opportunity:

At Leonardo, we have a fantastic new opportunity for a Proposal Manager to join the Business Winning Team within the Integrated Sensing and Protection Line of Business.

Leonardo is a global high-tech company and one of the key players in Aerospace, Defence and Security. Headquartered in Italy, Leonardo has over 45,000 employees, of which 7,000 are based in the UK.

The ISP Business Winning Team is responsible for the delivery of competitive proposals, including but not limited to the generation of statements of work, pricing, and customer value propositions. You will be responsible for the preparation, co-ordination, consistency, quality, compliance and completeness of the proposal documentation.

As a Proposal Manager, you will coordinate inputs from functional areas across multiple sectors and work with Bid Managers, Sales Leads, Sector VPs, Integrated Capture Teams (ICTs), Integrated Project Teams (IPT), Engineering, and Capability Managers to develop highly compelling proposal submissions.

You will coordinate the proposal authors and reviewers through the proposal development and colour review process in line with the bid schedule. This will require excellent planning and stakeholder management skills. The Proposal Manager has accountability for the quality, compliance and completeness of the proposal submission.

This role is based at our Basildon site with occasional UK travel to other Leonardo sites. We operate a custom working model and offer flexible working to support your wellbeing and work-life balance.

What you’ll do as a Proposal Manager:

1. Lead and manage in all aspects of proposal creation, management and submission including preparation, co-ordination, consistency, quality, compliance and completeness.
2. Develop robust bookplans against customer requirements to track and manage progress and ensure compliance.
3. Manage proposal inputs and reviews against the bid schedule, ensuring the winning strategy and win themes are articulated effectively throughout the bid response.
4. Lead the proposal kick-off providing the authors and reviewers with clear instructions, timelines and templates.
5. Lead the proposal colour team reviews (Shipley Pink, Red, Gold, etc.).
6. Support the capture and bid teams in identifying win strategies, proposal solution design, and management of tender clarification logs.
7. Support proposal authors in creating comprehensive responses in line with proposal writing best practice (4-box approach, etc.), ensuring consistency throughout the proposal document.
8. Manage the proposal storyboards, section templates and undertake the final formatting and editing.
9. Manage and maintain the proposal library.
10. Regular perusal of government tender portals for context related content to the Line of Business.

What we need from you:

Personal attributes:

1. Strong proposal management skills within a bid environment.
2. Strong communication skills, with high attention to detail.
3. Understanding and experience of Shipley Proposal processes including colour reviews.
4. Goal focused with a positive outlook that produces solutions rather than problems.
5. Resilient to setbacks and has the ability to keep going and encourage others to follow.
6. Good written and oral communications skills.

Qualifications, Experience, Skills:

1. Relevant degree or equivalent experience.
2. Experience acting as proposal manager for complex commercial proposals, ideally in the defence sector (Typically between £5M - £100M).
3. Previous experience of MoD proposal process and procedures.
4. Proven history of producing compelling proposals.
5. A clear understanding of all main roles within a bid team, and an ability to navigate their complex interdependencies to ensure a successful proposal submission.
6. Understanding of best practice proposal processes and tools.

Security Clearance

You must be eligible for full security clearance. For more information and guidance please visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/united-kingdom-security-vetting-clearance-levels

Life at Leonardo

With a company funded benefits package, a commitment to learning and development, and a flexible approach to working hours focused on the needs of both our employees and customers, a career with Leonardo has never offered as many opportunities or been more accessible to as many people.

1. Flexible Working: Flexible hours with hybrid working options. For part-time opportunities, please talk to us.
2. Company funded flexible benefits: Access to private healthcare, dental schemes, Workplace ISA, Go Green Car Scheme, technology and lifestyle options (£500 annual allowance).
3. Holidays: 25 days plus bank holidays, option to buy/sell leave and to accrue up to 12 additional flexi leave days per year.
4. Pension: Award-winning pension scheme (up to 10% employer contribution).
5. Wellbeing: Employee Assistance Programme with access to free mental health support, financial wellbeing support and network groups to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to diversity & inclusion (Enable, Pride, Equalise, Reservists, Carers).
6. Lifestyle: Discounted Gym membership, Cycle to work scheme.
7. Training: Free access to more than 4000 online courses via Coursera and LinkedIn.
8. Referral Incentive: You can earn a reward for successfully referring a friend or family member.
9. Bonus: Scheme in place for all employees at management level and below.

For a full list of our Company benefits please visit our website.

Leonardo is a global high-tech company and one of the key players in Aerospace, Defence and Security. Headquartered in Italy, Leonardo has over 45,000 employees, of which 8,000 are based at 8 sites throughout the UK.

At Leonardo UK, we believe that a diverse and inclusive work environment unlocks our people’s full potential and drives innovation and creativity. We work hard to offer a welcoming, accessible and inclusive place to work for all of our people, creating a culture where everyone can thrive, feel safe and have a sense of belonging and connection.

This is a great opportunity to bring your talents and form an integral part of Leonardo’s future. We can help you develop your skills and offer great opportunities to develop and grow, so why not join us.

Primary Location:

GB - Basildon

Contract Type:

Hybrid Working:

Hybrid