Bid Director

Who we are

VIVO provides facilities management and accommodation maintenance for the UK military and its partners. VIVO embodies both experience and innovation.

What we do

We put our Customers and Families First. They are the driving force behind everything we do. We drive forward improvements for them to ensure the service they receive, whether reactive repairs or a major project, is completed safely and on time. In order to achieve this, we have 4 core values: open, caring, agile and collaborative. These are at the heart of everything we do.

Location - Hybrid working covering - Central and Southern England

Salary - Attractive Director-level salary commensurate with experience 

Benefits - Bonus upto 20%, car or car allowance & private medical (self & partner)

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced Bid Director to play a critical leadership role in driving the sustainable and profitable growth of VIVO’s portfolio. Reporting to the Strategy & Growth Director, this position will lead the organisation’s most complex, high-value strategic opportunities, typically of Investment Committee complexity, while also contributing to other priority pursuits as required.

Working in close collaboration with Business Managers, Commercial, Legal, Business Unit Delivery Leads, Project & Programme Management, Corporate Shared Services, and Bidding Services, you will provide end-to-end leadership across the bid lifecycle. You will shape and execute winning capture strategies, prioritise resources effectively, and ensure disciplined, high-quality bid governance that strengthens VIVO’s position within the Defence marketplace.

This is a high-profile role requiring strong leadership presence, deep market insight, and the ability to influence and engage credibly with senior internal stakeholders, MOD customers, and strategic partners.

About You

We are looking for a proven bid and growth leader with a strong track record of delivering profitable growth within the Defence sector. You will bring a deep understanding of the Defence landscape, including MOD customers, government departments, and strategic partners, alongside demonstrable experience of leading complex bid strategies from opportunity identification through to contract award and mobilisation.

Commercially astute and values-led, you operate confidently in complex, fast-paced environments. You are able to balance strategic thinking with hands-on leadership when required, bringing sound financial awareness, strong judgement, and the ability to translate complex information into clear, compelling recommendations for senior stakeholders. With exceptional relationship-building and influencing skills, you inspire confidence through calm, credible communication. Resilient and adaptable, you thrive under ambiguity and tight timelines while modelling integrity, collaboration, and professionalism.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Bid & Capture Leadership

• Lead VIVO’s largest, most complex and strategically critical bid opportunities, while contributing to other priority pursuits as required.
• Develop and execute robust capture and bid strategies aligned to customer needs, market conditions, and VIVO’s growth objectives.
• Prepare strategic action plans, ROIs, pricing strategies, and risk assessments to support informed leadership decision-making.
• Provide clear oversight and reporting on priority pursuits and pipeline performance to executive leadership.

Customer, Market & Competitive Insight

• Lead engagement with customers and internal stakeholders to identify, validate, and document customer requirements, decision drivers, risks, and opportunities.
• Apply customer insight, market intelligence, and competitive analysis to shape compelling and differentiated bid strategies, including low-price, technically competent environments.
• Identify competitive threats and assess relative strengths to inform bid positioning, pricing approaches, and leadership judgement.
• Identify, negotiate, and leverage teaming and partnering arrangements to strengthen bid solutions.

Bid Governance & Proposal Delivery

• Own the quality and governance of bids through all phases of the bid lifecycle, ensuring compliance, consistency, and alignment to win strategy.
• Prepare and present high-quality pursue/no-pursue and bid/no-bid recommendations, market briefs, and strategic account plans to senior leadership and executive management.
• Ensure winning technical, management, commercial, pricing, and past performance solutions are developed and integrated effectively within proposals.
• Provide senior-level oversight and challenge during proposal development and formal review stages.

Leadership, Collaboration & Capability Building

• Build strong, collaborative relationships across Business Units and support functions to prioritise resources and deliver successful bid outcomes.
• Develop and maintain a broad internal and external network across customers, partners, and industry to identify and qualify future opportunities.
• Mentor and support bid and capture professionals, strengthening capability in win strategy, competitive assessment, and pricing disciplines.
• Drive continuous improvement in capture and bid management processes, promoting consistency, knowledge sharing, and best practice.

Person Specification

Experience

• Proven experience leading large, complex bid strategies from identification through to contract award and mobilisation.
• Demonstrable success in developing and executing profitable growth plans within the Defence sector.
• Established relationships with MOD, government departments, and key industry partners.
• Track record of improving financial performance through effective work-winning and business development activity.
• Experience operating successfully within large, complex organisations under tight timelines and ambiguity.

Skills & Capabilities

• Agile and credible leadership style, with the ability to influence and drive outcomes in complex environments.
• Strong commercial and financial acumen, with sound judgement and decision-making capability.
• Excellent analytical and communication skills, able to distil complex information into clear, actionable insight.
• Strategic thinker with a pragmatic, delivery-focused approach when required.
• Highly collaborative, values-led team player who builds trust and accountability across diverse stakeholder groups.

Knowledge & Qualifications

• Strong understanding of the Defence landscape and public-sector procurement processes.
• In-depth knowledge of bid governance, capture management, competitive assessment, and pricing strategy.
• Evidence of continuous professional development in bid management, commercial leadership, or related disciplines.

Additional Information

• Flexibility to travel as required.
• Security Clearance at SC level may be required for this role.

VIVO Defence Services

The role you have applied for is with VIVO Defence Services, a joint venture between Serco and EQUANS. By applying for this role, please be aware that information contained within your CV may be shared between VIVO Defence Services, Serco and EQUANS during the recruitment process.

At VIVO, we are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organisation that supports the needs of all. Therefore, we will make reasonable adjustments at interview through to employment for our candidates and strongly encourage applications from a diverse candidate pool.

We are open to discussions around flexibility and flexible working and operate a hybrid work structure in many of our business areas. We are proudly a Disability Confident Leader. Disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the job will be given the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities at an interview.