Bid Manager

NEC Software Solutions is headquartered in the UK and operates around the world.

We employ more than 3,000 people in six countries, building software and services to get our customers better outcomes.

We traded as Northgate Public Services until 1 July 2021 when we rebranded to align with our owners, NEC. Most of our subsidiary companies did too (APD Communications, i2N, EMIS Care and Charter Systems) but our service design agency still trades as Snook.

We’ve been part of global tech company NEC Corporation since January 2018.

NO AGENCIES

The Bid Management Team manages all of the open procurement bids for NEC.  This includes all of the procurements arising through OJEU and Government Catalogues as well as strategic proposals to existing clients.

A vacancy exists for an experienced Bid Manager to co-ordinate bids for the public sector business. Strategic markets include all areas of Local and Central Government, Housing, Criminal Justice and Public Safety, and Health.

Reporting to the Head of Bid Management and Frameworks, the Bid Manager will work closely with the Account Managers and the wider pre-sales teams to produce excellent quality bids. This role will be based in Hemel Hempstead or Alderley Edge and the person selected will be expected to travel throughout the UK when required.

This role is very demanding, involves working to tight timescales and multi-tasking to ensure all bids are managed to a high quality standard. Where business needs dictate, additional working hours outside of the core hours will be required.

The primary objectives of the Bid Manager’s role are to:

• Manage multiple concurrent bids within the NEC bid process, ensuring our bid documents are of a consistently high standard and are consistent, compelling and compliant, meeting all legal, commercial and technical requirements.

• Lead bid teams, developing win themes, analysing competitive information and ensuring the win themes are articulated in the bid;

• Co-ordinate bid reviews to the appropriate level, ensuring all bids are comprehensively reviewed at each stage in the process.

• Identify and mitigate risk, ensuring a risk register is produced for submission to Senior Management.

Duties & Responsibilities

Managing the bid process by working with the Account Managers in the identification and formation of bid teams, assigning responsibilities and timescales for each element of the required response.

• Ensuring all bids have a formal kick off meeting, with responsibilities and timescales documented and agreed and to ensure the sales messages and approach are understood by all members of the team. 
• Leading win theme and shaping sessions for each bid, ensuring these are communicated throughout the NEC proposition. 
• Progress chasing the input to bids, escalating issues where appropriate. 
• Adding value to bids by improving the quality of the written response, ensuring the appropriate sales messages are contained therein, the bid is complete and meets all legal, commercial and technical requirements. 
• Arranging team reviews for all major opportunities, ensuring each team meets the required timescales and produces the appropriate standard of information for the others to review. 
• Recording the status of bids at all stages in the bid process. 
• Briefing the Bid Support Administrators on the requirements for each bid, ensuring bids are complete, properly formatted and all Appendices and Supplementary Information are included. 
• Constantly monitor and assess the Bid Process, identifying areas for improvement in terms of quality, time and effort. Collating feedback from clients and prospects on the quality and applicability of bids submitted, identifying areas of strength and weakness and feeding this information back to the Head of Bid Management and Frameworks to further improve the quality of our bids. 
• Be a recognised expert in the bid process, NEC offerings to market, strategy and direction and internal processes and procedures. 
• Providing constructive feedback to the more junior members of the team on the quality of their work by reviewing their bids prior to submission. 
• Contributing to the production of high quality Expressions of Interest and Pre-Tender Questionnaires by responding to strategic questions where required.
• To contribute to a library of NEC corporate information by authoring reusable content for inclusion in bids, including the production of standard proposals for repeatable product or service sales.

Essential

• Excellent bid writing skills
• Experience of coordinating teams of people.
• Ability to work under pressure and meet tight timescales.
• Ability to multi-task, working on several projects at any given time.
• Ability to assimilate sales strategies and offerings to market.
• Experience of leading workshops to establish win themes.
• Proactive, highly motivated with an enthusiasm to meet customer requirements.
• Experience of the OJEU procurement process.

Desirable

• Knowledge of public sector.
• Experience of shaping bids, identifying win themes, SWOT analysis.
• Experience of managing multi-million pound bids.

Knowledge

• Good Microsoft Word skills.
• Good Excel skills.
• Good Microsoft PowerPoint skills.

Personal Skills and Competencies

• Excellent attention to detail.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Good organisational skills.
• Ability to communicate effectively and work as part of a team.
• Ability to work unsupervised and collect relevant information from different sources.
• Quality focused.
• Good time management skills.
• Ability to be flexible and work additional hours where required by business needs.

Desirable

• Project Management skills.

Employees of NEC are entitled to the following Company funded benefits:

Single Private Medical Cover (with the option to select family cover at an additional cost)

25 days paid holiday (includes 3 company nominated days) with the option to buy/sell up to 5 days

4 x basic salary life assurance cover

A Group Pension Plan with fantastic employer contributions

A selection of tax efficient flexible benefits to suit your individual needs such as childcare vouchers and cycle to work scheme

The role offers a competitive salary.

OTHER INFORMATION

Candidates must be able to demonstrate a pre-existing right to work and travel within the EU. Documentary evidence will be required.

All offers are subject to satisfactory vetting and reference checks. Depending on the nature of the role a Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) check may also be required.

NEC is an equal opportunities employer, welcoming applications from all communities.