European Tender Desk Lead — Cross-Border Bids

TOPdesk; Delft; Hybrid; EUR 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working environment

Personal development program (10 to G​

Open, collaborative culture

Excellent employment conditions

Job summary

TOPdesk is seeking a European Tender Desk Manager to lead a growing international tender operation, handling approximately 60–90 tenders annually across the Netherlands, DACH, UKI and Nordics. You will oversee three Tender Coordinators and own the European tender framework, process and quality standards.

You will build capacity, knowledge and tools to deliver timely, competitive submissions, scale with automation and knowledge reuse, and collaborate with Sales, Consultancy, Legal, Product and

Qualifications

• Proven experience managing complex tenders, bids or RFPs in international B2B (software/SaaS/IT services).
• Familiarity with European public procurement (Germany and/or the Netherlands).
• Experience leading and developing cross-location teams with shared processes.
• Experience managing concurrent tenders and cross-country capacity planning.
• Ability to challenge incomplete input and resolve competing deadlines.
• Experience with response libraries, quality assurance and tools like Brainial.
• Fluent English and German or Dutch; proficiency in all three is an advantage.
• Willingness to travel between teams as needed.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop three Tender Coordinators across the Netherlands and DACH, setting objectives and monitoring performance.
• Build the European operating model: establish a single intake route, clear roles, gates and escalation paths, and partner with local Tender Coordinators to pilot and roll out internationally.
• Forecast demand and prioritize workload with Sales based on value, complexity, deadlines and likelihood of success.
• Drive process and quality: set review levels, milestones and submission readiness with required approvals.
• Coordinate with Sales, Consultancy, Legal, Security, Product, SaaS/Hosting, Finance and other experts; escalate gaps early.
• Build reusable tender knowledge: own central knowledge base, templates, version control and review cycles for content reuse.
• Scale delivery through tooling and AI-assisted analysis and train local coordinators to increase adoption.
• Measure and improve performance: report on volumes, workload, timeliness, quality and outcomes.

Skills

Tender management

Cross-border leadership

Stakeholder management

Capacity planning

Process optimization

Knowledge management

Tools

Brainial

Job description

TOPdesk is seeking a European Tender Desk Manager to lead a growing international tender operation, handling approximately 60–90 tenders annually across the Netherlands, DACH, UKI and Nordics. You will oversee three Tender Coordinators and own the European tender framework, process and quality standards.

You will build capacity, knowledge and tools to deliver timely, competitive submissions, scale with automation and knowledge reuse, and collaborate with Sales, Consultancy, Legal, Product and