Bids & Proposals Specialist

Job description

Bids & Proposals Specialist

Defence | Aerospace | Complex Technical Services

Package Details available on Request

UK South -Bournemouth | Hybrid working Considered

A leading organisation operating within the defence and aerospace sector is seeking an experienced Bids & Proposals Specialist to support the development and delivery of high-quality, competitive submissions across a diverse and growing portfolio of opportunities.

This role is ideal for a bid professional who enjoys working in complex, regulated environments, can bring structure to ambiguity, and thrives on turning technical, commercial, and operational inputs into compelling, compliant proposals.

The Role

Reporting into a senior bid leadership function, the Bids & Proposals Specialist will play a key role in leading and coordinating end-to-end bid activity, from opportunity qualification through to submission and contract award.

You will operate at the centre of multi-disciplinary bid teams, ensuring clarity of strategy, strong governance, and consistently high standards across written responses, pricing inputs, and supporting documentation.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and coordinate the full bid lifecycle, from early engagement and qualification through to final submission
• Develop clear bid strategies aligned to customer requirements, win themes, and commercial objectives
• Plan and manage bid schedules, resources, and inputs to ensure high-quality, on-time delivery
• Bring together subject matter experts across sales, delivery, engineering, finance, legal, and external partners
• Act as the focal point for bid governance, reviews, approvals, and stakeholder communication
• Ensure submissions are compliant, compelling, and aligned with internal processes and best practice
• Continuously improve bid processes, templates, and ways of working across the business
• Capture lessons learned and embed best practice to improve future bid performance

What success looks like

• Well-structured, competitive bids delivered to deadline
• Clear ownership, governance, and momentum throughout the bid lifecycle
• Strong collaboration across technical, commercial, and operational stakeholders
• Consistent quality and professionalism across all customer-facing submissions
• Improved bid efficiency, effectiveness, and win confidence

About you

Essential experience

• Demonstrable experience in bid and proposal management, ideally within defence, aerospace, or complex technical services
• Strong understanding of structured bid methodologies (e.g. Shipley or equivalent)
• Experience managing complex, multi-stakeholder bid processes
• Confidence operating in fast-paced, deadline-driven environments

Skills & attributes

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with a strong eye for detail
• Ability to translate complex technical and commercial information into clear, persuasive narratives
• Strong organisational and planning capability, with the ability to manage multiple bids in parallel
• Commercially aware, outcome-focused, and comfortable challenging constructively
• Advanced user of Microsoft 365 and bid-related documentation tools

Why this role?

• Work on high-value, strategically important opportunities
• Influence how complex defence and aerospace services are positioned and sold
• Operate in a collaborative, professional bid environment with senior visibility
• Play a key role in shaping bid quality, governance, and best practice

Extra information

Status

Open

Education Level

Secondary School

Location

Bournemouth

Type of Contract

Full-time jobs

Published at

05-02-2026

Full UK/EU driving license preferred

No

Car Preferred

No

Must be eligible to work in the EU

No

Cover Letter Required

No

Languages

English