We’re recruiting a Bid Manager and Writer to join RCI Group, based in Stevenage.
This is a pivotal role within our Business Development function, reporting to the Business Development Director and working closely with senior leaders, clinical teams and operational colleagues across the organisation. Winning high quality contracts is fundamental to our ability to deliver safe, effective and compassionate services, and this role sits at the centre of that work.
About the role
As Bid Manager and Writer, you will take full ownership of the end to end bid process, managing tenders from initial opportunity through to submission and post bid review. You will be responsible for ensuring submissions are well planned, well governed, compliant and compelling.
Key responsibilities
You will lead bid activity across the organisation, including:
•Leadership of the bid team: pick up line management of the bid team from a day to day perspective, managing workloads and providing support and coaching to individuals, plus over seeing quality of all bids.
• Planning, coordinating and delivering bids from opportunity identification through to submission and lessons learned
• Managing the full bid lifecycle, ensuring timelines, governance and quality standards are met
• Booking and facilitating bid kick off meetings, solutioning workshops, challenge sessions and formal review stages
• Coordinating and motivating cross functional contributors, ensuring clarity of responsibilities and progress against deadlines
You will own bid communications and workflow management, including:
• Acting as the single point of contact for all bid related communication
• Logging, managing and disseminating Clarification Questions accurately and promptly
• Managing tender portals and overseeing electronic submissions
• Maintaining a live bid diary and tracking milestones throughout the bid lifecycle
• Proactively managing risks, blockers and competing priorities, escalating to the Business Development Director where required
Content development and quality assurance will be central to the role. You will:
• Draft, edit and refine high quality written bid responses tailored to commissioner and specification requirements
• Coordinate and manage contributions from subject matter experts and other writers
• Ensure structured review cycles are followed and feedback is incorporated effectively
• Maintain a strong focus on compliance, clarity and evaluation criteria
You will also contribute to continuous improvement by:
• Capturing lessons learned following submissions
• Developing and maintaining bid tools, templates and a bid library
• Supporting the refinement of best practice bid processes
• Conducting regular opportunity sweeps of tender portals
Who this role is for
This role will suit a experienced bid professional who enjoys ownership, structure and complexity. In this player/manager role you will be highly organised, confident working under pressure and comfortable managing multiple priorities.
You will bring excellent written communication skills, strong attention to detail and the ability to coordinate cross functional teams. Experience within healthcare, public sector or regulated environments is beneficial, as is familiarity with procurement portals and commissioning processes.
Flexibility is important in this role, as bid activity can be cyclical and deadlines are fixed.