Technical Bid Writer

Jackson Civil Engineering; Ipswich; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A civil engineering firm in Ipswich is seeking a Technical/Senior Bid Writer to join their Pre-Contract Proposals team. In this full-time role, you will create compelling written narratives and produce technical sketches, collaborating with cross-functional teams to secure future work. Ideal candidates will have exceptional writing skills and a strong understanding of technical documentation. The firm offers a supportive environment, flexible working options, and a range of benefits including life assurance and extensive training programs.

Benefits

Life assurance cover (4x annual salary)

Company pension scheme (we match up to 8%)

25 days holiday plus bank holidays

Cycle-to-work scheme

Free on-site parking

Regular fun days and charity events

Qualifications

• Strong engineering background preferred for writing methodology answers.
• Ability to communicate complex operations to technical and non-technical clients.
• Experience with tender submissions and technical documentation.

Responsibilities

• Gather, collate, and coordinate technical information for prequalification and tender returns.
• Work with planning department to answer technical questions effectively.
• Draft and review tender submission answers collaboratively.

Skills

Effective teamwork

Exceptional writing skills

Clear communication

Time management

Idea development

Awareness of social value and environmental mitigation

Job description

Overview

Career Opportunity: Technical / Senior Bid Writer

To strengthen our Pre-Contract Proposals team, we are recruiting for a Technical or Senior Bid Writer. We are looking for someone, preferably with a strong engineering background, who currently writes methodology answers using great communication skills.

This is a full-time role developing responses to technical questions posed by clients at tender stage. You will create compelling written narratives, produce sketches that capture our method of construction, and use other engaging approaches to secure future work.

As our new Technical or Senior Bid Writer, you will join a dynamic, innovative, focused and engaged team, tackling an increase in workload from a variety of key clients, including the Environment Agency, National Highways, local authorities, and private clients. We want to work with someone who will challenge the team by asking the right questions to get the best information out of our site staff. You will uncover the ‘why, how, who and when’ from our project teams, then develop and write case studies and specialist evidence pieces which demonstrate and showcase Jackson’s principles and values.

The successful applicant will be based at our Head Office in Ipswich, with flexible home working to support a healthy work/life balance. Occasional travel to meet regional teams and visit future worksites will also be required.

Skills required

• Effective teamwork - collaboration with head office planners, estimators, and regional contacts is essential. You will need to understand how other departments work and learn how to get the best out of them during each tender.
• Exceptional writing skills, ideally in construction or a related industry are key to this role. Candidates invited for interview will be asked to participate in a written exercise to demonstrate the skills they bring.
• Ability to communicate complex operations clearly and simply to technical and non-technical clients using a combination of writing and illustration.
• You will need to manage your time efficiently to meet strict deadlines associated with each tender submission.
• Developing ideas for how we should best use our evidence to demonstrate Jackson's competencies and experience to our clients and bringing these back to the team for discussion.
• Learning lessons, individually and for the business, that will lead to fresh ideas that may appeal to our clients and prove key to winning work. Bespoke training will be provided to further develop and harness your skills.
• An awareness and understanding of wider aspects, such as social value, stakeholder management and environmental mitigation would be an advantage.

Main responsibilities and duties

• Working with each team across the Precontracts department and region to gather, collate and coordinate technical information for prequalification, tender returns and case studies.
• Using your site and/or industry experience to work closely with our planning department and other members of the Proposals team to successfully answer technical questions and help win tenders.
• Reading through tender documents to reach a thorough understanding of each scheme, sufficient to provide challenge to our planners and estimators and to identify any advantageous approaches at tender stage.
• Identifying and exploring options for Value Engineering that will elevate our submission over rival contractors.
• Developing quality submission answer plans for our planners to follow when producing content, based on specific client requirements in tender documents and the detailed evaluation/ scoring criteria provided.
• Drafting, reviewing and reworking answers in collaboration with fellow writers to achieve best results that will secure future work for Jackson.
• Producing sketches to show phasing and/or technical details clearly and concisely.
• Working with our Communications Officer to create case studies that will enhance our bids.

Excellent benefits package and personal development opportunities

We don’t just offer a great place to work with a supportive, family atmosphere. We also offer:

• Life assurance cover (4x annual salary)
• Company pension scheme (we match up to 8%)
• 25 days holiday plus bank holidays (with an option of buying more holiday)
• Extra holiday for long service
• Extensive training programmes
• Cycle-to-work scheme
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Employee benefits platform
• Free on-site parking
• A bright, modern, open plan office
• Company social calendar
• Regular fun days hosted in the office, and a broad range of charity events.
• A supportive business that genuinely wants to help you progress in your career.
• ‘The Great Escape’ - leaving work early every Friday!

Candidates must be eligible to live and work in the UK.

We are committed to equality of opportunity for all staff and applications from individuals are encouraged regardless of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and marriage and civil partnerships. We also place high importance on our inclusive recruitment policy and will do our very best to support those applicants who may need adjustments to take part in the recruitment process. Please do let us know if you require any additional assistance or adjustments on. Due to the high volume of applications, we receive it is not always possible to respond to unsuccessful applicants. Therefore, if we have not responded to your application within two weeks, please note that on this occasion your application has not been successful