Bid Manager
- London, United Kingdom
Posted 3 days ago
About the role
London Hybrid
Does this sound like you?
You're a senior bid professional who thrives on strategy as much as execution. You know that a great bid isn't just a well-written document - it's a narrative built on insight, shaped around an evaluator's priorities, and differentiated from the first paragraph. You're comfortable making the call on bid/no-bid decisions, challenging scope when it isn't commercially sound, and holding yourself accountable for the outcome. Whether your background is public sector frameworks, enterprise RFPs, or both, you bring the rigour, credibility, and independent judgement this role demands.
What you’ll be doing (in a nutshell):
In our Bids & Frameworks team, you'll own the full bid lifecycle across both public and private sector - from opportunity qualification through to submission, presentation and contract award. You'll hold a primary sector focus, but the expectation is that you can operate credibly across both. This is a senior, autonomous role: you're setting the strategy, not just executing it.
Day-to-day you can expect to:
Define win themes and set the strategic direction for each bid before production begins - not after
Lead bid/no-bid decisions and present well-reasoned recommendations to the Head of Bids & Frameworks
Write, structure, and edit high-quality responses across all evaluation criteria, producing content that's specific, commercially compelling, and clearly differentiated
Manage submission timelines across multiple concurrent bids at different stages, escalating capacity risks before they become problems
Lead post-submission activity including clarification responses, client presentations, and negotiation support through to contract award
Own the debrief process - secure feedback, document lessons, and translate them into measurable improvements
Build and maintain pipeline visibility across your primary sector, flagging upcoming opportunities and cross-sector dependencies
Engage confidently with senior stakeholders across commercial, sales, product, legal, and finance - including at CEO and Director level - to extract the insight and evidence needed to win
Contribute to a shared library of reusable, high-quality bid content, keeping it current and fit for purpose
For public sector bids: ensure full compliance with PCR 2015, the Procurement Act 2023, and relevant framework requirements
For private sector bids: interpret RFP requirements with commercial rigour and collaborate with sales on pricing strategy
To be successful, you'll have:
A proven track record of independently managing and winning complex bids - public sector frameworks, call-off contracts, enterprise RFPs, or structured procurement exercises
The ability to develop win narratives and lead bid strategy from first principles, not just coordinate content
Exceptional written communication: clear, evaluator-focused, and free of the generic template-speak that loses bids
Strong commercial acumen, including awareness of pricing strategy, risk, and ROI framing
The confidence to operate at CEO and Director level - both internally and with client organisations - and to hold contributors to deadlines
Awareness of both public and private sector procurement landscapes; deep specialism in one, with transferable capability in the other
Working knowledge of AI tools and prompt engineering as applied to bid management
Bonus points if you bring:
APMP Foundation or Practitioner qualification
Experience working across both public and private sector bid environments
Experience building and curating a bid content library that demonstrably improves submission speed and quality over time
Why Perkbox?
Perkbox is the employee experience platform built to care for, connect with, and celebrate employees in all areas of life.
With more than 20 years of experience across public, private, SME and corporate sectors, we support nearly 4 million employees across 7,500 organisations in the UK and Australia. From the NHS to leading private sector businesses, our platform brings together benefits, wellbeing, and recognition in one place people actually use.
From access to expert mental health services to help with the cost of everyday essentials, our range of benefits and wellbeing tools meets people where they are, at work and beyond.
We're redefining what employee benefits can be. And we're just getting started.
The Interview Process
Our interview process involves 4 main stages:
Application
Short call with a member of the TA team
30-minute video call with Hiring Manager and one other team member
Final Interview and task with two members of the team
Our average process takes around 2-3 weeks, but we will always work around your availability. You will have the chance to speak to our recruitment team at various points during your process. If you have any specific questions ahead of this, please contact us on talent@perkbox.com
We’re committed to being an inclusive employer and creating a fair workplace for all. We encourage applications from candidates across all backgrounds, circumstances, ages, disabilities, ethnicities, religions or beliefs, gender identities, or sexual orientations
We're happy to offer reasonable adjustments during our hiring process. Just let us know, and we'll make it work for you. Your comfort and success matter to us!