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Bid Director

Employer
AtkinsRéalis
Location
London/Bristol
Salary
Competitive
Closing date
12 Mar 2019

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Clearance Level
DV, SC, None / Undisclosed
Sector
Aerospace, Defence, Security
Job Type
Permanent

We’re looking for talent; that special combination of skills and experience that make for a good bid director: The leader, collaborator, strategist and stakeholder manager, with the drive and appetite for winning major new contracts in the face of stiff competition.

This doesn’t mean to say we don’t want people who can ‘think outside the box’. Being creative is part of what gives us the competitive edge, and our bid directors are at the heart of creating new value propositions and business models for us and our clients.

This position is in the Aerospace, Defence, Security & Technology (ADS&T) division of SNC Lavalin’s Atkins business of Engineering, Design & Project Management. As one of the top consultancies in the UK (#11 in the FT UK’s Top Consultancies list 2019), we have the ambition to go much further, and our Bid Directors have a key role to play in achieving this.

As a senior member of the business development team you will be responsible for leading strategic bids through the win-work lifecycle and successfully on to contract with our clients. 

You will be working closely with technical experts, consultants and leaders across our business, as well as external partners, suppliers and of course our clients to achieve business growth. The multi-disciplinary nature of our work and complexity of challenges our clients are facing, means you will be working with thought leaders and innovators to develop value propositions which set us apart from our competitors and open up new business opportunities.

We are looking to appoint an experienced and motivated individual within the ADS&T core business development team, to be based in one of our main offices in Bristol or London. The individual will, however, be expected to spend time working remotely in other UK locations as necessary to lead bid teams and support client engagements. 

As well as the development and submission of winning bids, the role contributes to the continuous improvement of the division’s win-work capability (people, processes, tools, information and governance). This is an active role and not simply a point of accountability – the individual will be expected to get ‘stuck in’.

The role will involve working across the team but has a direct line report to the core BD Director.

Responsibilities 

• The customer relationship and any required customer engagement activities. 
• Liaison with relevant Atkins business functions to obtain the resources necessary to stand up a Bid Team and produce the bid. 
• Ensuring all relevant operations functions, including though not limited to Technical Governance, Operations, Business Development and Commercial management are suitably informed as to the status of the bid/opportunity pursuit. 
• Partner and/or supplier relationships; including defining the contribution required of partners through the establishment of relevant non-disclosure and teaming agreements and leading any required commercial negotiations. 
• Development of the offer price and the commercial shape of the proposal.
• Providing lead review and challenge on submissions prepared by other parts of the business.
• Proactive involvement in the development and implementation of initiatives to improve the quality and cost effectiveness, system compliance and success of all bid submissions.
• Providing a mentor/role model for best practice approaches and behaviours across the core business development and wider work winning community. 

The Bid Director is the owner of the Win Strategy. They are responsible for providing insight and understanding of the customer’s requirement so as to develop a Win Strategy that considers: 

• The customer’s aims, objectives and issues and the necessary value, benefits and discriminators required to deliver a successful proposal. 
• Competitor intelligence and analysis, including: the competitor strengths and Atkins’ mitigation tactics, and the competitor weaknesses and Atkins’ exploitation tactics. 
• The solution to be delivered and the target cost, margin and offer price necessary to be both profitable and commercially competitive.

Criteria

The below criteria indicate the skills and experience that the successful candidate is likely to possess, however we recognise the right person may not satisfy all of these, and this should not discourage an application. First and foremost, we are looking for someone with relevant knowledge, the right attitude and potential.

Essential criteria

• Experience of major strategic bid preparation and management.
• Strong commercial awareness / understanding – experience of a range of business models and commercial constructs.
• Excellent communication skills - written, verbal and presentational.
• Experience of writing high quality, compelling proposal material.
• Ability to lead a team to deliver tasks within demanding timescales.
• Able to select, form and maintain high-performing bid teams. 
• Analytical skills - able to make sense of complex problems spanning technical, commercial and programmatic.
• Experience liaising with external and internal contacts at a range of levels.

Desirable criteria

• Knowledge of the Aerospace, Technology, Security & Technology sectors.
• Knowledge of both public and private sector bidding and business development.
• Key stakeholder contacts across industry and government.
• Negotiation experience.
• Experience of bidding in an international environment.
• Engineering or business / marketing-related degree.
• Experience of software packages such as MS SharePoint, MS Project, MS CRM etc.
• Awareness of industry recognised techniques such as Shipley, Miller Heiman and Huthwaites.

Behaviours:

• Strong interpersonal skills – with confidence to work with senior staff from across the wider Atkins business and develop relationships with our clients.
• Self-starter, motivated and able to manage own time – and supporting bid teams.
• Enthusiastic/proactive outlook – generating ideas/identifying improvement opportunities.
• Ability to work effectively and calmly under pressure and to tight deadlines.
• Attention to detail.
• Team player.
• Well organised and able to prioritise work effectively.

Right to Work

The UK Government has taken steps to reduce net migration to the UK by limiting the number of overseas workers from outside the EEA coming to the UK for employment. Please note that whilst we are able to consider applications from overseas workers from outside the EEA (who require a Tier 2 (General) visa) we can only employ them if we can provide evidence that there are no other suitable candidates for this vacancy from inside the EEA.

Security Clearance

This role may require security clearance and offers of employment will be dependent on obtaining the relevant level of clearance. If this is necessary it will be discussed with you at interview. 

If applying to this role please do not make reference to (in conversation) or include in your application or CV, details of any current or previously held security clearance.

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