Senior Bids Manager

Key points

Contract Type: Full-time, Permanent contract
Working Pattern: Monday to Friday (with flexible start/finish times between 8 am–10 am and 5 pm–7 pm)
Hours: 40 hours per week
 
Occasional international travel may be required to support bid presentations or stakeholder workshops

Overview

As a Senior Bids Manager, you will report directly to the Head of New Business and be a key member of the wider new business and marketing team. You will be responsible for the end-to-end management of bids and tenders across international markets (EMEA / USA) and will collaborate closely with the Bids team responsible for the Asia region.
This is a pivotal role ensuring all proposals align with our strategic objectives, brand standards, and client expectations—positioning the practice to win high-profile projects worldwide.
 
Why This Role is Key

• Lead efforts to secure transformative architectural commissions globally by shaping the strategy, quality, and delivery of bids.
• Directly impact the future pipeline of projects for the practice.
• Use your strategic thinking, creativity, and coordination skills to drive growth and elevate ZHA’s international reputation.

Main responsibilities

Bid Strategy & Leadership

• Lead the bid process from opportunity identification to submission and post-tender feedback
• Develop and refine winning strategies
• Coordinate a team of 3+ bid coordinators and identify key resources to maximise success
• Foster accountability, collaboration, and high performance within the team

Bid Management & Execution

• Oversee the preparation of EOIs, RFPs, pre-qualifications, and final submissions
• Ensure compliance with client requirements, procurement policies, and internal branding standards
• Manage bid timelines, meetings, documentation, and version control across platforms

Cross-functional Collaboration

• Work closely with sector leads, design teams, marketing, finance, and external consultants to gather relevant content and technical input

 
Quality Control & Continuous Improvement

• Implement and maintain a robust quality control process for submissions
• Document lessons learned, analyse feedback, and evolve bidding strategies and practices for continuous improvement

Personal skills

• Self-motivated, goal-oriented, and deadline-driven.
• Organised and detail focused.
• Strong communication skills—both written and verbal.
• Collaborative team player with excellent interpersonal skills.
• Able to build strong relationships across all levels, internally and externally.
• Professional, discreet, and able to handle confidential information.
• Interest in architecture and the built environment.

Required experience

• Minimum 5 years’ experience in bid management, ideally within architecture, construction, or the built environment.
• Deep understanding of international bid processes, procurement regulations, and multi-disciplinary coordination.
• Proven ability to build and maintain strong relationships with internal stakeholders and external clients.
• Experience leading and mentoring a small team.
• High level of accuracy and ability to manage multiple complex submissions simultaneously.
• Strong strategic thinking and content development capabilities.
• Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (especially InDesign), asset management systems (e.g. OpenAsset), and bid portals.
• Strong Microsoft Office skills (especially Word and PowerPoint); excellent writing, editing, and proofreading abilities.
• Degree (or equivalent) in Architecture, Business, Marketing, Communications, or a related field.
• Professional certifications (e.g. CIM, APMP) preferred.
• Experience in international markets (e.g. Middle East, Europe).