Bid Manager

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 salary commensurate with experience 

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced Bid Manager to lead the delivery of complex, high-quality bids within the Public Sector, including opportunities across established frameworks. Reporting to the Strategy & Growth Director, this role will manage bids of significant complexity and scale, providing end-to-end leadership from bid mobilisation through to submission.

You will coordinate bid teams, manage customer interactions, and ensure proposals are compliant, compelling, and delivered to deadline. With line management responsibility for Bid Coordinators, you will play an important role in building consistency, capability, and strong ways of working across the bid function.

This is a pivotal role requiring strong leadership, planning, governance discipline, and stakeholder engagement in fast-paced, high-pressure environments.

About You

We are looking for a confident and capable Bid Manager with a proven track record of delivering successful bids in complex environments. You will bring a structured, disciplined approach to bid delivery, with the ability to lead cross-functional teams and manage competing priorities without compromising quality.

Goal-oriented and resilient, you perform strongly under pressure and bring a calm, pragmatic approach to problem-solving. You communicate clearly at all levels, take ownership of outcomes, and support bid team performance and wellbeing. You are comfortable applying recognised methodologies and adapting them to suit the bid context, driving robust governance and high-quality submissions.

Key Responsibilities

Bid Planning & Delivery

• Build and manage robust bid plans, including critical path activities, dependencies, and delivery milestones.
• Lead day-to-day bid delivery from mobilisation through to submission, maintaining momentum and resolving issues that threaten delivery.

Stakeholder & Customer Management

• Coordinate cross-functional inputs (Sales, Commercial, Solutions, SMEs) to ensure timely, accurate, and consistent contributions.
• Manage customer engagement activity, including dialogue sessions, clarifications, and bid portal administration.

Proposal Governance, Quality & Reviews

• Own bid governance and submission compliance, ensuring alignment to customer requirements and internal standards.
• Manage document control, versioning, and data room content to protect quality and auditability.
• Lead structured review cycles (e.g., pink/red/gold), ensuring actions are closed out and the submission is compelling and professional.
• Support Bid Writers by enabling access to best-practice/standard responses and ensuring consistency of approach.

People Leadership & Continuous Improvement

• Line manage Bid Coordinators, providing direction, coaching, and support to maintain consistent delivery standards.
• Drive improvements in bid processes, templates, and tools to strengthen quality, efficiency, and governance.

Person Specification

Experience

• Proven experience as a Bid Manager (or equivalent senior bid role) delivering successful outcomes on complex bids.
• Experience managing bids within the Public Sector and across established frameworks.
• Track record of leading bid teams and coordinating cross-functional contributors.
• Familiarity with large, complex bid environments and/or centralised bid management functions.

Skills & Capabilities

• Strong leadership and delivery focus, able to plan, organise, and drive accountability across bid teams.
• Resilient under pressure, maintaining bid quality and team effectiveness through tight timescales and change.
• Strong stakeholder engagement skills, with clear written and verbal communication and active listening.
• Proactive, self-motivated, and accountable, with effective workload and priority management.

Knowledge & Qualifications

• Training in recognised bid/project methodologies (e.g., Shipley, PRINCE2), with the ability to apply pragmatically.
• Strong understanding of bid governance, compliance, and structured review processes
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, Project, and Word.
• Familiarity with CRM systems and AI-enabled bid tools is desirable.

Additional Information

• Experience managing bids within the Public Sector and across established frameworks is essential.
• Experience in large, complex bid environments is advantageous.

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.