Project Proposals Team Leader

Main Purpose of the role
The Proposals Team Leader is responsible for leading the development of high-quality competitive and commercially robust proposals across the business.

The role ensures that all proposals clearly articulate the value of the solution meeting customer requirements and align with business objectives while maintaining control of quality consistency and timelines.

Working closely with the Applications Team Leader and the Project Proposal Co-ordinator the role ensures that technical solutions are translated into clear accurate and compelling commercial proposals that maximise the probability of order conversion.

• Lead manage and support the central Proposal team in delivering quality outputs maintaining a minimum of 33% conversion rate.
• Lead and support regional engineers when developing proposals ensuring consistent quality outputs in line with central team standards.
• Develop direct reports to ensure technical and commercial skills are aligned to business requirements.
  
  

Primary Responsibilities
The role holder is responsible for contributing to the successful conversion of opportunities into orders by delivering high-quality proposal outputs aligned to customer requirements and business expectations.

• Develop team capability in commercial awareness proposal writing and structure understanding of customer requirements and value drivers.
• Provide coaching and guidance to ensure consistent standards across all proposals.
• Working with the Project Proposal Co-ordinator manage workload within the team.
• Oversee the preparation of all proposals ensuring clear and structured documentation alignment with customer requirements and URS and strong articulation of Ishidas value proposition.
• Ensure proposals are professional consistent and aligned with Ishida standards both in the central team and regional project teams.
• Review and approve proposals prior to submission as required.
• Ensure that proposals are commercially sound and aligned with business expectations.
• Identify both technical and commercial risks within proposals ensuring risks are managed accordingly within the proposal.
• Provide necessary sales support during customer interactions where required including clarification of proposal content.
• Resolve discrepancies between commercial and technical aspects of proposals.
• Ensure compliance with defined processes templates and governance requirements.
• Review proposal performance including win/loss outcomes and customer feedback identifying opportunities to improve proposal quality efficiency and competitiveness.
• Provide regular reports as required to show progress against annual team KPIs.
• Support the team with development of accurate and complete proposal content aligned to defined technical solutions and customer requirements.

Other Responsibilities

Further to primary responsibilities the role holder will also be responsible for:

• Support continuous improvement by capturing feedback from project delivery and contributing to improvements in proposal quality and processes.
• Promote standardisation and reuse of solutions templates and cost models to improve efficiency and consistency.
• Maintain organised and accessible records of proposal documentation and support knowledge sharing across the team.

What skills are we looking for
The successful candidate must have proven experience within a design project or proposal environment with very strong technical and sales writing skills in a third-person narrative. You will have a competent working knowledge of Microsoft Office and 2D AutoCAD and 3D would be advantageous with a clear understanding of technical layout drawings. A solid understanding of the food industry and FMCG production systems is essential along with the ability to work to deadlines and communicate effectively both written and verbally. You will be capable of guiding supporting and developing team members through constructive feedback and development planning whilst also being able to prioritise workloads based on value complexity and demand. Strong commercial awareness is key with a clear understanding of pricing margin and commercial risk as well as the ability to review and challenge both technical and commercial outputs.

The ideal candidate will demonstrate strong organisational and planning skills with the ability to manage and measure work effectively while driving results. A high level of decision-making capability interpersonal skills and process management is essential enabling you to work collaboratively across teams and contribute to continuous improvement within the business.

Applications should be submitted by the close of 20 April 2026

Are you interested in this opportunity

If you would like an informal conversation about the role before applying please contact Nick Price discuss with your manager and then apply using the link in the email