Principal Bid Lead

Principal Bid Lead

Location: Remote

Contract Type: Permanent / Full Time

Salary: Paying up to 85000 depending on experience plus 4800 car allowance and great company benefits.

At Mears were proud to positively influence people places and communities through the delivery of high-quality housing and public services. Were now seeking an experienced Principal Bid Lead to take full ownership of significant public sector bids shaping strategies driving high-performing teams and securing sustainable sector-leading outcomes.

This is a pivotal and visible role within our Group Development function suited to a confident commercially astute leader who thrives on pace complexity and winning.

About the Role:

As Principal Bid Lead you will be responsible for the full end-to-end bidding lifecycle from pre-procurement strategy and early market engagement through tender development and dialogue stages all the way to contract signing and mobilisation handover.

Working with internal experts senior leadership external partners and clients youll ensure our proposals are innovative competitive commercially aligned and reflective of customer need. Youll set the tone define the strategy coordinate delivery and exercise the governance required to succeed on large-scale multi-million-pound opportunities.

• Lead pre-tender planning market intelligence SWOT analysis and competitor insight to maximise win probability

• Develop compelling bid strategies that balance client requirements commercial drivers and operational capability

• Be the voice of the customer throughout the bid process to ensure a sustainable and winning solution is submitted

• Build strong internal coalitions motivating virtual teams (commercial operational finance mobilisation legal marketing and others) to deliver high-quality proposals to strict timelines

• Own the quality submission and solution development challenging thinking and driving innovation

• Lead dialogue/negotiation sessions with clients to refine proposals and influence outcomes

• Manage bid governance internal sign-off and risk working closely with legal and commercial specialists

• Maintain proactive engagement with clients third-party partners and sector stakeholders

• Manage bid budgets resourcing and return on investment

• Oversee contract close-out and ensure a smooth handover to mobilisation

• Analyse bid performance and lessons learned to continually raise standards

• Contribute to broader sector strategy and Group Development priorities

Key Criteria:

• A proven track record of winning complex >10m per annum public sector contracts (ideally within central government or similar environments)

• Led bids from pre-procurement through to contract award and mobilisation

• Confident energetic and self-driven with the ability to lead under pressure and to tight deadlines

• Exceptional influencing and communication skills capable of engaging and presenting at senior levels

• Excels at problem-solving challenging assumptions and shaping innovative solutions

• Understands commercial drivers and can align pricing quality and operational models

• Possesses high levels of organisation attention to detail and analytical capability

• Excels in collaboration inspiring teams partners and stakeholders to deliver

All our roles require candidates to have the entitlement to work within the UK Mears does not currently offer visa sponsorship.

To drive a Mears vehicle you must be aged over 21 have held your licence over 3 months and have less than 9 points.

Candidates should be aware that all our roles are subject to relevant Background Identity & Security checks before commencement of employment.

Apply below or to discuss your application further; contact:

If you need any help with your application process we are here to support you. We will be accessible every step of the way.

At Mears Group we are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive environment where everyone can thrive we are a Disability Confident employer valuing individuality and ensuring equal opportunities for all.

We proudly support the Armed Forces Covenant and are honoured to have achieved the Gold Award in the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) to coincide with this we hold an Endorser Award for the Career Transition Partnership recognising our commitment to veterans transitioning into civilian careers.

In our continued effort to promote social mobility we invite applicants to voluntarily share their background information during the application stages to help us better understand the diverse experiences of our candidates. This is to ensure we are committed to improving social mobility. We use the Social Mobility Index to assess and enhance opportunities for individuals from diverse backgrounds. These questions are optional and will not impact your ability to apply.