Lead Bid Manager

About the job you're considering

Lead and direct complex bids from qualification through submission and presentation, creating compelling, competitive and commercially responsible propositions. The Lead Bid Manager is accountable for bid strategy, mobilisation, governance, quality and delivery, and acts as the critical friend to the Opportunity Owner and the focal point for the wider bid team. The Lead Bid Manager is expected to be positive, outcome-focused and constructively challenging.

They work flexibly, support collective decisions, tailor processes to the opportunity and reuse knowledge where it improves speed, quality and cost. They lead with integrity and keep the needs of both the client and the organisation at the centre of the pursuit.

Lead end-to-end bids, including qualification, strategy, planning, governance, budget, resourcing and evaluation. Partner with Sales and Opportunity Leads to define and execute winning pursuit strategies, including competitive positioning, stakeholder engagement and win themes. Translate client needs into compelling value propositions and commercial solutions. Act as the central point of contact for bid activity, driving alignment, pace and decision-making. Challenge constructively and keep teams focused on achieving successful outcomes.

Mobilise and lead multidisciplinary bid teams, ensuring the right expertise is engaged throughout the pursuit. Establish clear bid plans, responsibilities, milestones and governance aligned to opportunity complexity. Manage competing priorities, coordinating resources across onshore, offshore and partner teams. Drive efficiency through effective stakeholder engagement, planning and reuse of proven assets. Ensure all internal and customer deliverables are completed to a high standard and on time.

Own the quality and consistency of client responses, from written submissions to presentations and orals. Ensure propositions are compelling, competitive and clearly aligned to client requirements. Represent the customer perspective, balancing solution quality with commercial value. Lead reviews and resolve gaps, risks and inconsistencies ahead of submission. Support the production of high-quality proposal materials that differentiate Capgemini from competitors.

Manage bid governance, budgets, forecasting and reporting, providing clear oversight of progress, risks and dependencies. Work with Finance, Commercial, Legal and Risk teams to develop business cases and secure approvals. Monitor and mitigate risks throughout the pursuit lifecycle. Maintain high standards of professional integrity and governance. Balance winning business with commercial discipline and long-term profitability.

Build trusted relationships with client and internal stakeholders, including senior executives. Act as a strategic partner to Opportunity Owners, enabling them to focus on client engagement. Provide leadership teams with the information required to support successful delivery planning. Drive effective stakeholder participation while maximising client-facing time for the pursuit team.

Mentor bid professionals and promote best practice across the bid community. Identify opportunities to improve bid processes, tools and ways of working. Capture and share lessons learned to strengthen future pursuits. Adapt methodologies to the needs of each opportunity, applying pragmatism and commercial judgement.

Proven experience leading significant or complex bids and proposals through the full pursuit lifecycle. Demonstrable success…