Role: Senior Solutions Manager
Salary: £80k-£85k, plus a £7,200 car allowance
Job Status: Permanent/Full-Time
Location: London
Vacancy Reference: VR/04660
 

Role Description:
Our client, a forward-thinking business within the built environment industry, has appointed Bridge Recruitment to identify a Senior Solutions Manager to join their team. Reporting to the Head of Bids, the Senior Solutions Manager will be responsible for leading the Solutions Team to achieve significant growth targets through the tender process. As Senior Solutions Manager, you will already have proven experience of working in a similar industry, with in-depth experience of devising FM solutions for a variety of organisation types. This is an exciting opportunity for an individual who knows their way around bid and tender processes from start to finish, along with extensive knowledge of the FM industry.
 

Responsibilities:

• Manage the Solutions Team to deliver a high conversion rate for all live bid opportunities 
• Take overall responsibility for the RFPs commercial and solution strategy, prioritisation, and allocation of resources
• Work cohesively with the relevant SMEs, stakeholders, bid and commercial teams to develop compelling, compliant, and competitive tender responses
• Lead the solution design for all tender opportunities by generating specific solutions that provide a compelling proposition to the client by addressing their business needs and objectives, while differentiating the company from their competitors
• Highlight key risks and ensure all risk factors have been reviewed, mitigated, and agreed with the relevant stakeholders prior to bid submission
• Attend client pre-tender meetings to positively position the company, help to influence the client’s business drivers and to ensure that the client is favourably disposed towards the company
• Set up and conduct opportunity assessment meetings, resource and project manage the proposal / bid process in alignment with agreed procedures, developing a matrix of owners, completion dates and customer requirements
• Take full ownership for the bid process, managing new business opportunities through a structured approach to maximise success
• Maintaining an overview of the end-to-end solution across a bid cycle - ensuring that the overall client proposition is compelling, competitive, and compliant
• Engaging with SME’s from across the business, managing key stakeholders
• Build peer support and strong internal-company relationships with other key management personnel and subject matter experts, both internally and externally
• Work with the Bid Team to create innovative solutions which are specific to each client with a robust value proposition
• For all bid opportunities developing detailed customer knowledge and insight to understand their key hot buttons
• Analyse client requirements and drivers, competitor strengths and weaknesses to target effectively
• Design and execute complex win strategies and themes, ensuring that they are correctly articulated and flow through the whole tender response
• Proactively monitoring and maintaining high levels of quality and accuracy within bids and tender submission
• Ensure corporate governance is undertaken for all opportunities they lead 
• Work with the operations teams on rebidding and retenders of existing contracts from capture through to bid submission
• Develop and maintain a comprehensive understanding and up to date knowledge of the company’s service offering and overall company vision, values, and purpose and key differentiators
• Conduct regular competitor analysis to evaluate the competitive landscape and ensureproposition remains competitive 
• Track market developments relevant to target client group for new and emerging solutions
• Achievement of the set objectives and financial targets
• At all times to display the behaviours required in line with ‘Behaviours for Success’ framework

Requirements:

• Senior Management role and proven experience of working in similar industry setting
• Successfully led and managed teams in a structured bid process in similar/comparable industries
• In-depth experience of devising FM solutions for a variety of organisation types
• Experience of managing and participating in project teams that work, adopting project management disciplines
• Proven experience of delivering strong consistent win ratios against target
• A commercial thinker with the ability to understand and guide commercial negotiations
• Sound commercial understanding, able to identify the levers which can enhance competitiveness in bid proposals
• Proven experience of delivery strong consistent win ratios against target
• A strong quality orientation and commitment to continuous improvement
• An influential and persuasive communicator, with a high standard of written and verbal communication skills
• Demonstrating credibility in client facing settings/events, being able to articulate propositions in a way which inspires confidence with clients
• A clear and strategic thinker, able to offer new and innovative solutions
• Leadership skills - managing and motivating teams (both direct reports and indirect contributors)
• Excellent influencing and communication skills
• Ability to lead the overall bid and solution response under tight and often changing time scales
• Ability to forecast and resolve resource or skills contention that could adversely affect bid response capability
• Displaying resilience and flexibility - ability to work individually under pressure to ensure final solution response meets the very highest standards of quality and competitiveness
• Effective listening - being able to analyse feedback from stakeholders and clients and translating that into improved bid content/strategies
• Strong bid writing / content writing skills
• A strong understanding of the Facilities Management industry preferred
• Knowledge of FM/engineering/ building environment
• Experience in Facilities Management bidding
• Experience of the international FM market
• Degree or equivalent qualification in relevant subject
• Member of APMP. APMP Practitioner Level certification - at the very least APMP Foundation
• Computer literacy including Microsoft Office programs essential 
• Five years’ experience specifically focused on bidding
• Adobe Creative Suite (In Design) experience an advantage