The posting
Job Description
Senior Bid Manager
Location: Flexible UK Location (within reasonable commuting distance of a regional office, with travel between regional offices, client locations and project sites as required) Business Unit: Environment
About Us
Galliford Try is one of the UK's leading engineering, construction and infrastructure businesses, delivering innovative solutions across the water, environmental and infrastructure sectors.
Our Environment Business is responsible for delivering some of the UK's most significant water and environmental infrastructure projects. As we continue to grow our portfolio of strategic framework opportunities and long-term client partnerships, we are seeking an experienced Senior Bid Manager to join our work-winning team.
Purpose of the Role
We are looking for a highly motivated and commercially aware Senior Bid Manager to lead the development and delivery of high-quality bids and tender submissions across the Environment Business.
Reporting to the Bid Director, you will take ownership of complex work-winning opportunities, leading multidisciplinary teams through the entire bid lifecycle. From developing winning strategies and managing stakeholder engagement to ensuring governance compliance and submission quality, you'll play a key role in securing new business and supporting the continued growth of the division.
What You'll Be Doing
As a Senior Bid Manager, you will:
- Lead major tender submissions and framework opportunities across the Environment Business.
- Analyse tender documentation and establish the appropriate bid team structure.
- Develop and manage bid programmes, ensuring deadlines, review stages and governance milestones are achieved.
- Coordinate and produce compelling, client-focused bid submissions.
- Draft, review and enhance technical and quality responses to maximise scoring opportunities.
- Chair bid team meetings and manage stakeholder contributions throughout the bid lifecycle.
- Define clear responsibilities and deliverables for operational teams and Subject Matter Experts.
- Lead tender reviews and progress reporting to senior management.
- Manage submission processes through portal platforms including Bravo, Ariba and other client systems.
- Present bids and approval papers through Galliford Try governance processes.
- Support mobilisation and client engagement activities following contract award.
- Promote continuous improvement, lessons learned and best practice across the bid function.
- Ensure all submissions comply with Business Management System (BMS) requirements and internal governance procedures.
Key Responsibilities
Bid Leadership & Coordination
- Lead the preparation and delivery of complex bids from opportunity stage through to submission.
- Manage bid programmes, resources and review processes.
- Coordinate contributions from operational, technical, commercial and support teams.
- Monitor progress and ensure submission quality remains consistently high.
- Identify and manage risks and opportunities throughout the bid process.
Work Winning & Client Engagement
- Support the development of strategic win plans and customer engagement activities.
- Build strong relationships with internal stakeholders and external clients.
- Work closely with operational teams to understand and articulate Galliford Try's value proposition.
- Contribute to the development of work-winning strategies that support profitable business growth.
Governance & Continuous Improvement
- Manage governance approvals and bid sign-off processes.
- Present bid strategies and recommendations to senior leadership teams where required.
- Capture lessons learned and drive improvements across future submissions.
- Maintain compliance with company policies, procedures and governance requirements.
About You
We're looking for an experienced bid professional who combines excellent communication skills with strong commercial awareness and a passion for winning work.
You'll be comfortable managing multiple stakeholders, leading complex submissions and working within fast-paced infrastructure and construction environments.
Essential Skills & Experience
- Significant experience managing bids within the construction, infrastructure, utilities, engineering or energy sectors.
- Proven track record of successfully securing major contracts and framework agreements.
- Experience leading multidisciplinary bid teams and managing complex tender programmes.
- Strong commercial awareness and understanding of risk management principles.
- Excellent written, verbal and presentation skills.
- Strong analytical capability with the ability to identify winning opportunities.
- Experience engaging with clients and stakeholders at senior management level.
- Ability to work under pressure and deliver high-quality submissions to challenging timescales.
- Strong leadership and stakeholder management skills.
Qualifications & Technical Knowledge
- Degree qualified in Business, Engineering, Construction Management or a related discipline.
- Understanding of commercial models and forms of contract.
- Experience using CRM systems and opportunity management tools.
- Knowledge of public sector procurement processes and framework bidding.
- Strong Microsoft Office skills including Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint.
Desirable Experience
- Strong network of contacts within UK water companies and regulated utility sectors.
- Experience working within Tier 1 construction or infrastructure organisations.
- Knowledge of strategic account management and customer engagement planning.
- Understanding of major water frameworks and AMP programmes.
What Success Looks Like
Success in this role will be measured through:
- Successful delivery of high-quality, compliant and compelling bid submissions.
- Achievement of business growth and work-winning targets.
- Securing new framework appointments and project awards.
- Strong relationships with operational teams and Subject Matter Experts.
- Effective customer engagement and stakeholder management.
- Contribution to profitable and sustainable business growth.
Why Join Us?
This is an excellent opportunity to take a leading role in securing some of the most exciting infrastructure opportunities in the UK water and environmental sectors.
You'll work alongside experienced operational, technical and commercial teams while helping shape the future growth of Galliford Try's Environment Business.
What We Can Offer in Return
With a strong order book and ambitious growth plans, Galliford Try offers stability, career progression and the opportunity to work on industry-leading projects that make a real difference.
We are committed to maintaining the physical and mental wellbeing of our people through our Be Well programme, which offers support, guidance and wellbeing resources across a range of areas.
We invest heavily in professional development, leadership training and career pathways that help our people fulfil their potential.
Our Agile Working programme provides flexibility in how, when and where you work, where business requirements allow.
Our Benefits
We put our people first and our benefits package reflects that by offering a comprehensive range of attractive options alongside a competitive salary.
- 28 days holiday plus bank holidays, increasing with length of service, with the opportunity to purchase additional leave
- Annual performance-related bonus opportunities
- A wide range of corporate discounts
- Cycle to Work scheme
- Comprehensive pension scheme
- Save As You Earn share purchase scheme
- Private medical scheme options
- Employee Assistance Programme providing free 24/7 support
- Paid membership to one recognised professional institution relevant to your role
About Us
Our purpose is to improve people's lives through building the facilities and infrastructure that communities need, providing opportunities for our people to learn, grow and progress, promoting best practice throughout our supply chain and caring for the environment in which we work.
We do this by living our values of Excellence, Passion, Integrity and Collaboration (EPIC) and striving to be the most respected business in our sector.
For more information on this role or to enquire about other opportunities within our business, please contact [email protected].
Additional Information
Galliford Try welcomes applications from candidates who would like to work full-time, reduced hours or flexibly and this will be discussed in more detail as part of the recruitment process.
We encourage candidates to let us know if there are any reasonable adjustments we can make to support them throughout the recruitment process.
Don't meet every requirement? Studies have shown that some people are less likely to apply for jobs unless they meet every qualification. At Galliford Try, we are committed to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you're excited about this opportunity but your experience doesn't align perfectly with every requirement, we encourage you to apply anyway.
As a Disability Confident employer, we are committed to offering an interview to candidates with a long-term health condition or disability who meet the essential criteria for the role. Please contact the Resourcing Partner listed within the advert if you believe this applies to you.
A full job description is available upon request.
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