Senior Bid Manager

Job description

Are you a Senior Bid Manager who takes full ownership of multiple live opportunities? We are looking for someone who can bring structure, pace and accountability to a varied bid portfolio, coordinating stakeholders, inputs, deliverables, reviews and final outputs from qualification through to submission.

Reporting to: Head of Bid Management

As Senior Bid Manager, you will own a portfolio of opportunities from qualification through submission, clarification and post-tender review. You will establish the plan, define responsibilities, manage dependencies and keep operational, technical, commercial and senior stakeholders aligned to clear deadlines. The portfolio is deliberately varied, combining major framework procurements with a high volume of smaller in-framework opportunities. Success will depend on your ability to apply proportionate governance, maintain momentum across concurrent bids and ensure every input, review and final output is complete, coherent and submission-ready. Browne operates with a lean pre-construction structure, so you will be expected to take control, resolve gaps and drive actions rather than simply administer the process.

At Browne, we are engineering with purpose.

We're a leading UK contractor working in the water and civil engineering sectors, delivering projects that help improve everyday life. From building pipelines and upgrading pumping stations to maintaining reservoirs and drainage systems, we support cleaner water, stronger infrastructure and more reliable services for communities.

We offer a wide range of career opportunities both on site and behind the scenes. Whether your skills are in engineering, project delivery, safety, sustainability, commercial, planning or business support, there's a place for you at Browne. We value different perspectives and experiences, and we're proud to be a Silver Award Investors in Diversity accredited employer.

Our teams use smart technology and a hands-on approach to make sure every job is delivered safely and to a high standard. We support our clients through the full life of their assets, from construction and mechanical systems to long-term maintenance.

Browne is part of Renew Holdings plc, a UK-based group of specialist engineering companies.

What We're Looking For

We are looking for an experienced, hands-on bid professional with the judgement and resilience to manage several opportunities at different stages. You will be accountable for the overall bid process and submission outcome, coordinating diverse contributors, setting expectations and following through on actions. Strong writing and editing skills remain important, but this is first and foremost an ownership role for someone who can create order from complex inputs, keep senior stakeholders engaged and deliver consistently against immovable deadlines.

• Proven experience managing and delivering bids for a main contractor. Direct UK water-sector bidding experience would be a significant advantage. Candidates without water-sector experience should bring relevant bidding experience from civil engineering, infrastructure or electrical and MEICA contracting.
• Strong experience controlling concurrent bids through clear programmes, deliverables matrices, action tracking, review schedules and disciplined progress reporting.
• Experience working as part of a pre-construction team and using informed questions to help operational, technical and commercial specialists develop credible methodologies covering sequencing, resources, logistics, interfaces, constraints and risk controls.
• Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills, with the confidence to secure timely inputs, challenge missed commitments, resolve dependencies and escalate risks early.
• Commercial awareness and the ability to understand how pricing strategy, programme, contractual obligations, assumptions, exclusions, risk and opportunity influence both the proposed solution and the written submission.
• Strong Microsoft 365 skills, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams and SharePoint.
• APMP accreditation or a relevant bid/project management qualification would be advantageous.
• Direct UK water-sector bidding experience would be a major advantage. We will also consider strong candidates from civil engineering, infrastructure or electrical and MEICA contracting who can demonstrate relevant pre-construction experience and the ability to transfer their knowledge into water-sector solutions.

You do not need to be a Quantity Surveyor, engineer or technical designer, but you do need enough commercial awareness and technical curiosity to test assumptions, understand how the proposed solution will be delivered and recognise where programme, cost, risk and contractual considerations affect the bid. You must also know when specialist judgement is required and bring the right people together to resolve an issue.

Why Join Us?

This is an opportunity to take a visible, influential role in Browne's work-winning team and own a broad portfolio of live opportunities. You will create the structure that enables operational, technical and commercial contributors to perform at their best, while giving senior leaders clear oversight of progress, risks and decisions. The variety of the portfolio means you can lead long-term strategic pursuits while also driving a steady flow of fast-moving project bids through to high-quality, compliant submissions.

If you are a Senior Bid Manager who enjoys taking ownership, bringing people together and keeping complex opportunities moving, we would like to hear from you. This role will particularly suit someone who can manage competing priorities, hold contributors to account and remain responsible for the quality and timely delivery of every submission.

Please note that we drug and alcohol test all new starters as part of their induction, whilst also carrying out a DBS check.

Engineering with purpose

Reference 225700776