Head of Proposals

Were BDO a global professional services firm connected to local markets. Our people work together to provide specialist expertise helping businesses achieve their goals.

We inspire others to go further. We create together to reach higher. We build trust to lead purposefully.

Whether youre building your future or starting your career with us you wont do it alone. From creating solutions for our clients to building careers for our people we shape what matters and thats where you come in.

Reporting to the Chief Client Officer the Head of Proposals is a Clients & Markets leadership role accountable for BDOs firm-wide commercial positioning and pursuit strategy.

This role sets and embeds the standards frameworks and governance that drive disciplined bid decisions commercial rigour and quality across all major pursuits.

This position will be accountable for ensuring the firm produces compelling client-centric proposals that strengthen win rates enhance brand presence and support sustainable growth.

Responsibilities:

• Shape and embed the firms proposal and pursuit strategy setting standards governance and quality frameworks.

• Lead develop and inspire a high-performing proposals team fostering clear direction strong collaboration and shared accountability.

• Lead go/no-go decision-making for high-value high-risk or strategically significant opportunities ensuring alignment with firm priorities risk appetite and commercial objectives.

• Prioritise proposal investment and resource allocation to maximise return on effort and strategic impact.

• Influence and challenge leaders to improve discipline quality and decision-making across the opportunity lifecycle.

• Oversee performance reporting including client feedback and market intelligence to identify improvements across strategy capability tools and ways of working.

• Partner with Sector Leaders and the Head of Business Development to drive early engagement prioritise key opportunities and coach teams through bid processes.

• Guide value proposition development for major proposals collaborating with Partners and Finance to deliver commercially competitive outcomes.

• Build firm-wide proposal capability through training in proposal writing client-centric messaging storytelling and presentations.

• Drive adoption of proposal technology platforms leveraging AI and digital solutions to improve efficiency and effectiveness.

• Ensure submissions align to firm risk and commercial frameworks quality thresholds and brand standards.
  

About You

This position suits an individual with extensive experience leading a bids/proposals function within a professional services environment.

You will bring exceptional stakeholder influence with the ability to coach and constructively challenge leaders to lift discipline quality and commercial decision-making across the bid lifecycle.

Strong commercial and financial acumen is essential including experience in pricing and fee strategy development.

You will demonstrate exceptional communication skills and storytelling capability with a proven track record building capability and performance to support business outcomes.

Why BDO

Working for BDO you will be part of a growing and market leading professional services firm.

Our national and global footprint provides our people with opportunities to work on interesting client engagements across diverse industry sectors and services.

Our open and collaborative culture ensures access to Partners and professional mentors to guide and accelerate your professional career across a wide array of career pathways.

We provide our people with various health and wellbeing social financial and professional development benefits to help realise whats possible.

Participate in fitness challenges or take advantage of exclusive discounts to corporate health insurance gym memberships and wellness facilities via our BWell program. Access benefits such as travel perks retail discounts employee referral rewards study and professional development support.

Our leave options cater to the unique needs of our people; and include enhanced family support cultural and religious leave and options to purchase additional leave. You can also give back and get involved in community initiatives via our BCaring program.

With a strong focus on learning and growth we provide on the job training and formal development programs to help you succeed in your role and develop your skills and experience.

Our culture is underpinned by our core values (One Bold Human Heart and Strive).

We are proud to be recognised as an Inclusive Employer for 2025-2026 by Diversity Council of Australia and a 2024-2025 Employer of Choice for Gender Equality by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA).

BDO is committed to inclusive and accessible recruitment practices. If you require any reasonable adjustments to support your application or interview process we encourage you to contact our Talent Acquisition team at