Bid Manager (Defence & Security)

Bid Manager (Defence & Security) 

Great Chesterford, Essex | Full-time | Hybrid (min. 3 days in office)

£65,000 - £75,000 (dependant on experience)



I’m currently partnered with a business in Great Chesterford who are looking to hire an experienced Bid Manager to join their team, with a focus on Defence & Security. This is a customer-facing role, working closely with sales, engineering, and client teams to manage and coordinate the full bid lifecycle process.

The Role

Reporting into the Head of Defence Sales

Based at the Great Chesterford office, with a hybrid model (minimum 3 days per week in the office)

Full-time positionResponsibilities

Manage and coordinate the full lifecycle of bids, from opportunity qualification through to proposal submission, contract negotiation, and acceptance (Must have experience of writing own bids)

Own the bid management process and drive its ongoing development within the business

Lead regular bid review meetings, assigning tasks, setting timescales, and defining deliverables

Work with stakeholders across sales, engineering, the CTO office, legal, and others to gather input

Prepare and deliver compelling bid documentation, ensuring alignment with customer requirements (including contributions to project plans)

Lead responses to supplier onboarding questionnaires

Manage government frameworks, including regular reviews to identify new opportunities

Take ownership of the CRM system (HubSpot), including monthly reporting against sales targets

Liaise with legal on bid information to support review of terms and conditions

Support subcontractor management on collaborative bids

Oversee successful handovers from proposal acceptance through to project execution, working closely with project managers

Coordinate with engineering and project management teams to forecast weekly resource requirementsAbout You

Strong background in government procurement as well as B2B bidding

Several years of experience managing bids in a technical services environment, ideally within Defence

Degree in electronics, physics, or a related technical discipline

Experienced in preparing both commercial and technical bid/proposal documents

Comfortable dealing directly with clients in a professional setting

High energy, proactive, and a self-starter

Able to operate confidently when facing challenge or uncertainty