What, actually, is a bid manager?
I've had a few bid manager jobs over the years, in different companies and different industries. And what's very clear, is not only have the roles been called different things - bid manager, pitch manager, bid adviser, proposals manager, bid management associate manager (!) - there's been a real divide in what's expected of me in the role, even within the same industries.
Let me just say that most have been very similar - manage the bid (or pitch/proposal) from start to end; assessing the opportunity, kick offs, agreeing the teams, drafting as well as sourcing content, designing the document, CVs and case studies, finalising and submitting, then presentations and debriefs. Love it!
But then there's been a couple of outliers. One where the bid team role was very much 'at the end' of the process, after the SMEs had done all the assessment, kick off, drafting etc, and the team just got involved to put it together in the template ready for the SME to submit. Everything was quick turnaround, and we couldn't add any value. The other, the bid role was to support the sales lead - they did all the assessing, kicking off, sorting the teams and driving the response, while the bid manager booked in meetings, and managed the budget. Drafting was minimal, that was all done by other teams with no bid training and went through multiple (and I mean multiple) versions. I wonder why?!
领英推荐
I'm very much on the all-in side - how else do you understand the client, the team, our experience etc to ensure the bid response ATDQ, without being involved from the start and having an actual role throughout? Sitting around watching everyone else crack on with 'the work' wasn't for me.
But all these roles are 'pitched' (no pun intended) similarly and none of the job descriptions I had pointed to these differences - so do you do you actually know what you'll be doing when you get there? And what should you be doing?
If I've learned one thing in my (gulp) 16 years in bid management, it's that every day and bid and company is different. But I still like what I like and it's when I'm at my happiest, even when it's completely rushed off your feet busy for a few days/weeks. Give me in the trenches with the teams any day over letting everyone get on with it! Onward!
C-Suite answer to Bid Strategy | Helping leaders to win contracts more easily | Ask me how?
10 个月It is a very different job wherever you are and one which is so poorly understood by so many. The bid team need to be driving the response and others need to understand the role they have. Too many times it is just seen as an admin exercise: answer the questions and win the work, when in reality there is an awful lot more to it than that. You're right it is poorly explained as to roles and responsibilities, I always like the salary review Bidding Solutions Ltd do because it shows the wide range in salaries which are available, depending on whether its contract, freelance or permanent employment which also indicates the different level of skill.