Tendering Manager

Ipsum; Sidcup; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days annual leave

Buy up to 5 additional holidays

Group Personal Pension Plan

Career development & progression with,

24/7 virtual GP & mental health

Cycle to Work scheme

Discount club

Life assurance cover

Long service recognition

Enhanced Maternity Pay

Paid volunteering opportunities

Job summary

Ipsum is seeking a Tendering Manager in Sidcup to lead the end-to-end bid function for the RJ Power Networks Division. You will oversee the estimating team, govern bid processes, and coordinate cross-functional contributors to produce compelling, compliant submissions.

The role focuses on bid strategy, risk management, and ensuring timely, high-quality responses across HV/LV and related infrastructure opportunities, with a strong emphasis on governance and performance improvement.

Qualifications

• Experience managing and producing technical/commercial bids, end-to-end bid leadership.
• Ability to interpret specifications, drawings, and tender documents with strong narratives.
• Excellent planning, organisation, time management and process control.
• People management experience, including governance and reporting improvements.

Responsibilities

• Lead the full bid lifecycle from qualification to submission and handover.
• Line manage the estimating team and ensure deadlines and accuracy.
• Own bid processes, governance, templates, trackers and document control.
• Develop bid strategies, win themes and submission plans aligned to client needs.
• Coordinate estimators, engineers, SHEQ, procurement and operations for submissions.
• Review estimates and mitigate risks to deliver competitive bids.

Skills

Bid leadership

Technical writing

Planning & scheduling

People management

Job description

Location: Sidcup, Bexley, Greater London

Employment type: Full time

Working Hours: 40 Hours per week - Monday to Friday

What’s In It For You…

We believe in looking after our people, and it shows. When you join Ipsum, you’re not just taking a job you’re starting a career with real support behind it.

• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays
• Option to buy up to 5 additional holidays
• Group Personal Pension Plan
• Career development & progression with the opportunity to earn professional qualifications
• 24/7 access to a virtual GP and Mental health support & counselling services
• Cycle to Work scheme
• Discount club - supermarkets, phone bills, gyms & more !
• Life assurance cover
• Long service recognition
• Enhanced Maternity Pay
• Paid volunteering opportunities in your community

About The Role…

The Tendering Manager will lead, manage and control the end-to-end bid function for RJ Power Networks Division within Ipsum Group, ensuring that tenders are strategically positioned, technically robust, commercially competitive and fully compliant. The role has responsibility for line management of the estimating team, ownership of bid governance and process control, coordination of cross-functional contributors, and continuous improvement of bid quality, win themes, risk management and submission standards across HV/LV and related infrastructure opportunities.

As a Tendering Manager you will…

• Lead and manage the full bid lifecycle from opportunity qualification and bid/no-bid review through to submission, clarification, interview, negotiation support and handover.
• Line manage the estimating team, setting priorities, allocating workload, supporting development, reviewing outputs and ensuring estimating deadlines, quality and commercial accuracy are achieved.
• Own, maintain and improve bid processes, governance, templates, trackers, approvals and document control to ensure a consistent, auditable and efficient approach to tendering.
• Develop bid strategies, win themes, compliance matrices and submission plans that reflect client requirements, and commercial objectives of the business.
• Interpret tender documentation, specifications, drawings, pricing schedules and contractual requirements, ensuring deliverables are clearly understood and assigned.
• Coordinate estimators, engineers, SHEQ, commercial, procurement and operational stakeholders to produce accurate, compliant and compelling submissions.
• Review and challenge estimate assumptions, exclusions, qualifications, programme inputs and technical solutions to support competitive and deliverable bids.
• Lead bid programme planning, chair progress meetings, manage action logs and drive accountability so all internal and client deadlines are met.
• Prepare, review and approve quality responses, method statements, delivery strategies, case studies, CVs and supporting evidence to a high written and visual standard.
• Identify, assess and eliminate technical, commercial, contractual, programme and resource risks at bid stage, ensuring appropriate mitigations and approvals are recorded.
• Act as the primary point of contact for bid queries, client clarifications, presentation preparation and post-submission feedback.
• Maintain bid performance data, lessons learned, content libraries and continuous improvement actions to improve win rates, efficiency and quality across future submissions.
• Ensure successful handover of secured work to delivery teams, including scope, pricing basis, risks, assumptions, client commitments and key tender information.

About You…

• Experience managing and producing technical/commercial bids, including end-to-end bid leadership and an understanding of HV/LV networks, electrical engineering and infrastructure tendering
• Ability to interpret specifications, drawings, and tender documents with strong writing skills for method statements and technical narratives
• Excellent planning, organisation, time management and process control, commercial awareness, risk management and familiarity with NEC/JCT forms of contract
• People management experience, including line management of estimators or bid contributors and the ability to develop bid governance, reporting, performance measures and continuous improvement processes

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