Job Overview
The Head of Bids and Estimating will lead the development and submission of high-quality, commercially robust tenders across refurbishment, retrofit, and new-build projects within the regeneration of social housing sector. Responsible for ensuring competitive pricing, strategic positioning, and accurate cost planning, the role combines technical estimating expertise with strong leadership and bid management capability. In summary, the role is responsible for managing the full bid and estimating function to ensure we:
* Work in advance of opportunities coming to market to set a plan and conduct pre-bid work.
* Lead the team and identified subject matter experts to develop a robust solution to a specific client need.
* Price this solution in a commercially competitive way, reviewing and agreeing the pricing strategy with the estimating and commercial teams within each business unit.
* Write about the solution we have priced, to capture the full RE:GEN offering as well as the knowledge we have gained.
Key responsibilities:
* Work proactively with each business unit to understand their secured orderbook, their remaining gap against target turnover, and the bridge plan of opportunities that are required to be secured to meet the required turnover for each business unit. - Using this knowledge, work with the regional business units to proactively complete pre-bid work for key opportunities to ensure we are well positioned when the tender or opportunity becomes live. - Work with each business unit to understand the key bids that they are expecting through the financial year to allow for sufficient focus / preparation time.
* Working across all functions, bringing subject experts together including commercial and operational teams, as well as customer, SV, etc.
* Oversee the timely and detailed launch of opportunities into the business, bringing forward pre-bid work and promoting dynamic input into the early stages of the opportunity.
* Oversee the preparation of accurate cost estimates, pricing documents, and tender submissions across a diverse portfolio of projects within the social housing regeneration sector.
* Analyse tender documentation, drawings, and specifications to define scope, identify risks, and determine resource and cost requirements.
* Manage the team and roles responsible for sourcing, evaluating, and negotiating subcontractor and supplier quotations to ensure best value and alignment with project risks and commercial opportunities.
* Lead the production of bills of quantities, cost breakdowns, and pricing schedules to support commercially sound bids.
* Ensure consistency of process across all pricing submissions and use of internal estimating software.
* Responsible for driving increased out-turn profit through maximising commercial scope.
* Review the client proposed pricing mechanisms within each bid and provide cash flow forecasts to help the business understand the impact of the project and aiming to propose a positive cash flow position where possible.
* Collaborate closely with operational teams, commercial teams, central support functions, and senior leadership to ensure the proposed strategy aligns with client requirements and the business unit commercial strategy.
* Oversee bid clarifications, including those which maximise our competitive positioning as well as those which are required to protect against risk.
* Maintain and enhance cost databases, benchmarking tools, etc, to strengthen back-of-house information and ensure the estimating team are sufficiently upskilled of current market level pricing.
* Monitor market trends, inflation, and material costs to inform pricing strategy and maintain commercial awareness, including integrating with the commercial and operational teams to understand particular project, regional, and client commercial nuances.
* Research wider market trends to ensure the development of proposals are relevant and up to date for the market within which we operate.
* Oversee accurate data capture and reportage, including overseeing, critiquing, and reporting against pipeline information input into Evision.
* Oversee, challenge and support the qualitative bid management team, to ensure the proposals being developed are reflective of the offering we are proposing as well as capturing the unique dynamics of RE:GEN Group.
* Provide leadership, guidance, and development to the estimating and bid-writing teams, embedding consistent standards and quality across all submissions as well as post-tender and handover to the operational delivery teams.
* Manage all resources, including bid coordination, bid management (qualitative) and estimating to ensure the department is run efficiently and effectively for the business units.
The role cuts across all opportunities, including negotiated as well as competitively tendered opportunities. It also includes overseeing opportunities in their various stages, including longer-term proposal developments (including competitive dialogue), Selection Questionnaires, tendered opportunities, negotiated, and multi-stage opportunities.
Experience / Skills:
* Proven experience leading estimating and bid functions within the construction or social housing sector.
* Strong commercial acumen with the ability to analyse complex tender documentation and deliver accurate, competitive pricing.
* Excellent stakeholder management, communication, and leadership skills, particularly for working across different functions as well as across different business units.
* Advanced knowledge of estimating software, cost planning tools, and procurement processes.
* Strategic thinker, detail-oriented, and driven by continuous improvement and collaboration.
Benefits:
* Pension contribution scheme
* Life assurance scheme
* Private healthcare available
* Holiday purchase scheme
* 25 days holiday + bank holidays
Job Type: Full-time
Benefits:
* Company events
* Company pension
* Free parking
* On-site gym
* On-site parking
Work Location: In person