Bid Writer

IFS International Facilities Services; Umhlanga Rocks; On-site; ZAR 420,000 - 640,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Remote access to templates

Job summary

IFS International Facilities Services in South Africa seeks a Bid Writer to produce compliant, on-time tender submissions that showcase our value in integrated facilities and remote-site services such as camp management, catering, housekeeping and maintenance.

You will collaborate with operations, HSE, HR, procurement and legal to gather inputs, develop win themes, manage timelines and ensure alignment with client requirements and competitor insights.

Qualifications

• A degree or diploma in communications, journalism, business, marketing or a related field.
• 3–5 years of bid or proposal writing experience in B2B services.
• Experience in facilities management or hospitality is advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Tender analysis and planning.
• Review RFIs, RFQs and RFPs and extract requirements into a compliance matrix.
• Develop bid response plan with writing schedule and responsibilities.
• Raise clarifications through proper tender channels.
• Identify SMEs and brief them at kick-off on requirements and deadlines.
• Coordinate input and maintain bid calendars and templates.
• Write executive summaries and cover letters aligned to client priorities.
• Ensure submissions meet formatting, page limits and local content requirements.
• Build and maintain a library of reusable bid content.

Skills

Bid writing

Editing

Tender processes

Stakeholder mgmt

Compliance matrices

Market research

MS Office

Proposal writing

Education

Communications/Business/Marketing degree

Tools

MS Office

e-procurement portals

Design tools

Job description

Purpose of the Role

The Bid Writer produces compelling, compliant and on-time tender submissions that show IFS’s value in integrated facilities and remote-site services, such as camp management, catering, housekeeping and maintenance. The role works closely with internal stakeholders to collect quality inputs and uses client and competitor intelligence to shape winning proposals. Together these support a higher win rate with mining, oil and gas and other clients across Sub-Sahara Africa.

Key Responsibilities

• Tender analysis and planning
• Review RFIs, RFQs and RFPs, and pull out every requirement, evaluation criterion, mandatory document and deadline into a compliance matrix.
• With the Commercial and Costing Manager, draw up the bid response plan, writing schedule and responsibilities for each bid.
• Raise clarification questions on time through the proper tender channels.

Stakeholder engagement and input management

• Identify the subject matter experts needed for each bid (operations, HSE, HR, procurement, finance and legal).
• Brief them at kick-off on the tender requirements, win themes and deadlines.
• Hold regular bid check-ins and follow up on outstanding inputs.
• Escalate risks to the Commercial and Costing Manager early.
• Interview stakeholders where needed to draw out experience, examples and data, so they don’t have to write long submissions themselves.

Templates and tools for bid inputs

• Design standard input templates and questionnaires for method statements, staffing and rostering, HSE statistics, CVs, case studies and project references.
• Build a bid kick-off pack, a bid calendar and a contributor checklist so everyone knows what is needed, in what format and by when.
• Keep improving templates based on contributor feedback and how well inputs turn out.

Market and competitor intelligence

• Research the client before each bid: strategy, operations, ESG commitments, local content obligations, and any history with IFS or other incumbent providers.
• Track competitors’ positioning, service offerings, recent contract wins and losses, and pricing signals where available, and keep a competitor profile register.
• Use award notices, debriefs and market intelligence to inform win themes and differentiators.
• Share insights with Business Development to support go/no-go decisions and pricing strategy.

Proposal writing and content development

• Write the technical and qualitative sections of each bid: company profile, service delivery methodology, mobilisation plans, staffing approach, HSE, quality, food safety, ESG and local content or community development.
• Turn stakeholder inputs into clear, client-focused writing that answers the evaluation criteria.
• Make sure win themes and IFS differentiators run through the whole submission.
• Write executive summaries and cover letters that match the client’s priorities.

Compliance and quality control

• Make sure each submission meets all mandatory and formatting requirements: page limits, templates, certifications, statutory documents, and local content and in-country registration requirements.
• Edit and proofread for accuracy, consistency, tone and IFS brand standards.
• Check that the technical narrative matches the commercial and costing schedules, for example staffing numbers, shift patterns and service levels.

Bid library and knowledge management

• Build and maintain a current library of reusable content: CVs, case studies, client references, policies, certificates, method statements, organograms and site photos.
• Track when certificates, accreditations and statutory documents expire.
• Capture lessons learned and evaluator feedback after each award, and update content to match.

Submission and post-submission support

• Assemble, format and package final submissions, in hard copy and on e-procurement portals.
• Coordinate internal review and sign-off before the deadline.
• Keep accurate records of submissions, versions and outcomes.
• Help prepare client presentations, clarification responses and BAFO (best and final offer) narratives.
• On award, hand over commitments made in the bid to the operations and mobilisation teams.

Competencies

Technical and functional

• Excellent business writing, editing and proofreading in English.
• Sound knowledge of tender processes, evaluation methods and compliance matrices.
• Understanding of facilities management, catering and remote-site camp services, ideally in the mining and oil and gas sectors.
• Working knowledge of HSE, quality and food safety standards (ISO 9001, 14001, 45001 and 22000/HACCP).
• Awareness of local content, ESG and socio-economic development requirements in African jurisdictions.
• Research skills, and the ability to interpret client and competitor information.
• Advanced MS Office skills (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and familiarity with design or layout tools and e-procurement portals.

Behavioural

• Stakeholder management: builds good working relationships across functions and sites and gets quality input on time without having direct authority.
• Attention to detail: catches gaps, inconsistencies and non-compliance before submission.
• Deadline discipline: plans backwards from submission dates and stays calm under pressure.
• Client focus: writes from the client’s point of view and their evaluation criteria.
• Commercial awareness: understands what drives wins in the facilities and mining services market.
• Analytical thinking: breaks complex tender documents into clear requirements and responses.
• Process orientation: creates simple, practical tools and templates that make it easier for others to contribute.
• Integrity and confidentiality: handles commercially sensitive pricing, client and competitor information appropriately.
• Continuous improvement: learns from wins, losses and debriefs.

Minimum Requirements

• A degree or diploma in communications, journalism, business, marketing or a related field.
• 3–5 years of bid or proposal writing, preferably in facilities management, hospitality, mining services or another B2B services setting.