Proposals Engineer

GMC Utilities Group; Connacht; On-site; EUR 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

GMC Utilities Group in Galway is seeking an experienced Proposals Engineer to own opportunities from initial tender assessment through to contract award and handover.

You will coordinate multi-disciplinary inputs, develop win strategies, manage the bid process, ensure compliant submissions and deliver high-quality proposals to support growth.

Qualifications

• Degree in Engineering, Quantity Surveying or a related technical/commercial discipline.
• Proven experience in the preparation and delivery of successful bids for significant engineering, utilities, or infrastructure projects.
• Experience managing bids from initial opportunity identification and qualification through to submission, negotiation and contract award.
• Strong commercial awareness with the ability to understand project cost, value, risk and contractual requirements.
• Excellent written communication skills with the ability to produce clear, persuasive and professionally presented technical and commercial proposals.
• Strong presentation and client-facing skills, with the confidence to represent GMC Utilities Group at meetings, presentations and tender interviews.

Responsibilities

• Bid Management: manage the complete proposal process from opportunity qualification to contract award.
• Bid Strategy: develop value propositions, differentiators and win themes for each opportunity.
• Commercial Strategy: work with internal stakeholders to balance value, margin, programme and risk.
• Technical & Commercial Submissions: coordinate high-quality, compliant submissions.
• Contract Review & Risk Management: identify risks and support client engagements.
• Quality & Compliance: ensure governance and client requirements are met to maximise scoring.

Skills

Bid management

Win strategies

Stakeholder management

Commercial awareness

Client-facing skills

Education

Degree in Engineering/Quantity Surveying or related

Job description

The Role.

GMC Utilities Group is seeking an experienced and commercially focused Proposals Engineer to join our team based in our Galway office.

The Proposals Engineer will play an important role in supporting the continued growth of the Group by taking ownership of opportunities from initial tender assessment through to contract award and handover.

Key Duties and Responsibilities will include but are not limited to:

Key Responsibilities:

• Bid Management: Manage the complete proposal process, from opportunity qualification and tender review through to submission, clarification, negotiation and contract award.
• Bid Strategy: Develop clear value propositions, differentiators and win themes for each opportunity, ensuring proposals demonstrate a strong understanding of the client's requirements.
• Commercial Strategy: Work with internal stakeholders to develop competitive commercial strategies, balancing value, margin, programme and risk.
• Technical & Commercial Submissions: Coordinate the preparation and delivery of high-quality technical and commercial submissions that are compliant, compelling and aligned with tender requirements.
• Contract Review & Risk Management: Review tender and contractual requirements, identify commercial and contractual risks, manage clarifications and support engagement with client procurement and commercial teams.
• Quality & Compliance: Ensure submissions comply with internal governance requirements and client specifications while maximising quality and scoring potential.
• Opportunity Pipeline: Support the achievement of agreed order intake, win-rate and secured backlog targets through the effective management and prioritisation of bidding opportunities.
• Market & Opportunity Analysis: Identify and assess potential opportunities and ensure bidding activity is aligned with the Group's strategic growth objectives.
• Bid Qualification: Lead and contribute to structured go/no-go reviews, providing clear recommendations based on strategic fit, technical capability, commercial viability, resources and risk.
• Stakeholder Coordination: Coordinate inputs from engineering, design, estimating, commercial, procurement, construction and project delivery teams to ensure an integrated approach to each proposal.
• Supply Chain Engagement: Work closely with procurement and the wider supply chain to secure competitive quotations, identify value-engineering opportunities and ensure supplier strategies support the overall bid.
• Client Engagement: Participate in client meetings, tender interviews, presentations and clarification meetings as required, supporting the wider business development process.
• Proposal Team Development: Support and mentor colleagues involved in proposal preparation, promoting collaboration, accountability and consistently high standards.
• Continuous Improvement: Conduct post-tender and post-award reviews, capturing lessons learned and embedding improvements into future bids.
• Process & Governance: Review and enhance bid-management processes, templates, procedures and governance to improve efficiency, consistency and quality.
• Project Handover: Ensure a comprehensive and structured handover of successful bids to the commercial and project delivery teams, including key commitments, assumptions, risks and opportunities.
• Strategic Contribution: Provide market, client and competitor insights to support the Group's wider business development and growth strategy.
• Budget Management: Manage proposal-related expenditure appropriately and in accordance with agreed budgets and Group procedures.
• Problem Solving: Apply strong technical and commercial judgement to resolve complex issues arising throughout the tender and proposal process.

The Candidate: Required Experience and Competencies:

• A Degree in Engineering, Quantity Surveying or a related technical/commercial discipline.
• Proven experience in the preparation and delivery of successful bids for significant engineering, utilities, or infrastructure projects.
• Experience managing bids from initial opportunity identification and qualification through to submission, negotiation and contract award.
• A demonstrable track record of contributing to opportunity identification, win strategies, commercial strategies and technical solution development.
• Strong commercial awareness with the ability to understand project cost, value, risk and contractual requirements.
• The ability to manage complex, multidisciplinary and multi-workstream tender opportunities, often within challenging submission timescales.
• Strong knowledge of the competitive marketplace and an ability to translate market and client intelligence into effective bid strategies.
• Excellent written communication skills with the ability to produce clear, persuasive and professionally presented technical and commercial proposals.
• Strong presentation and client-facing skills, with the confidence to represent GMC Utilities Group at meetings, presentations and tender interviews.
• Excellent stakeholder-management skills and the ability to coordinate contributions from multiple disciplines and seniority levels.
• Experience developing or improving bid processes, procedures and governance frameworks to support efficient and consistent delivery.

Become a part of something bigger.

At the heart of GMC is our people, from engineers through to customer service and we aim to work collaboratively towards our common goals.

GMC is an equal opportunity employer, and we aim to recruit and retain like-minded people from diverse backgrounds with a wide range of expertise. If you require any specific accommodations, we will make every reasonable effort to support you throughout the recruitment and selection process.

In GMC we foster a work culture that promotes collaboration and learning, building an environment where our people have the capacity to maximise their potential whilst gaining the opportunity to continuously develop.

Our Future.

Since the founding of GMC in 1981 by Gerry McCloskey, GMC has grown to be Ireland’s leading Civils and Utilities company and the future for GMC is bright. We have engaged with our staff and other stakeholders to agree and publish our core values.

One of our core values is to “Focus on the Future”.

Our growth to date reflects the confidence that our customers have in our service delivery, in the innovative approach that we bring to how we do our work, and to our culture of safety and quality.

We have ambitious plans to develop our footprint in Ireland and overseas but understand that every decision we make contributes to people’s quality of life throughout generations, and we don't take that responsibility lightly as we build Ireland’s infrastructure of tomorrow, today.