Senior Bid Manager / Writer - Dubai, UAE

About the Role
The Senior Bid Manager / Writer plays a pivotal managerial role within the organization and its various lines of business, including Government Services International and Global Health. This role acts as a strategic deputy to the Director of Capture, Government Services International (GSI), leading the bid management team in driving complex, high-value, and strategic opportunities through the structured bid lifecycle. The successful candidate will be responsible for producing compelling, client-focused proposals that align with the growth objectives of the organization.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Bid Management

  • Lead, manage, and mentor the bid team, ensuring adherence to robust bid processes and governance.
  • Oversee the full bid lifecycle, from qualification to contract award, for high-value and strategic opportunities.
  • Develop and articulate bespoke solutions, value propositions, and win strategies that align with client requirements and organizational objectives.
  • Ensure the timely delivery of high-quality, compliant, and commercially competitive bid submissions.
  • Facilitate bid qualification (bid/no-bid) processes.
  • Conduct bid reviews, provide mentorship to team members, and drive continuous improvement in proposal quality and effectiveness.
  • Participate in contract negotiations, with the support of legal and commercial teams, ensuring alignment with the organization’s risk profile and business objectives.

• Strategic Capture

  • Support the Director of Capture, Government Services International, in developing and executing capture strategies, including conducting competitive analysis and implementing client engagement strategies.
  • Collaborate with internal teams, including operations, pricing, and subject matter experts, to create innovative and commercially viable solutions.
  • Build and maintain strong relationships with clients, partners, and stakeholders to influence decision-making and align solutions with client needs.

• Bid Writing

  • In close collaboration with Sales Distribution, Commercial Teams, Subject Matter Experts, and all relevant internal stakeholders, draft bid narratives, concept notes, and outreach products in alignment with customer guidelines.
  • Ensure proposals are coherent, persuasive, technically sound, and responsive to evaluation criteria and client-specific requirements.
  • Collate a high volume of information from various business lines and articulate complex customer solutions within proposals.
  • Incorporate reviewer feedback and make revisions before bid submission.
  • Clearly articulate all agreed bespoke solutions, value propositions, and win strategies in bids that align with client requirements and organizational objectives.

• Leadership and Stakeholder Engagement

  • Act as a trusted deputy to the Director of Capture, Government Services International, providing leadership across multiple capture teams and ensuring alignment with strategic priorities.
  • Manage the development of partnerships with subcontractors and other key partners, forming strategically relevant consortia for project design.
  • Collaborate with internal business development, operational, and commercial teams to create and manage a robust pipeline of qualified opportunities.
  • Represent the organization in high-level client engagements and industry forums, promoting capabilities and fostering strong, trusted relationships.
  • Ensure effective utilization of tools like Salesforce for sales management, opportunity tracking, and business intelligence.

• Process and Continuous Improvement

  • Identify areas for improvement within bid and capture processes, driving innovation and efficiency in systems, tools, and procedures.
  • Maintain an up-to-date bid library, ensuring access to high-quality templates, supporting materials, and best practices.
  • Champion a culture of excellence, ensuring the bid team operates at the highest professional standards.

This list is non-exhaustive, and the role holder may be required to undertake additional duties that are not specifically listed above.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field is required; a master’s degree is preferred.
• A minimum of six years of demonstrated experience leading and coordinating complex bid and proposal activities for military, defense, government, NATO, or international security sector clients.
• Strong understanding of military procurement, defense acquisition processes, and operational requirements associated with deployed, expeditionary, medical, logistics, aviation, or mission-support services.
• Experience serving in the capacity of a bid writer.
• Proven ability to manage high-value strategic pursuits and lower-value, high-volume opportunities, maintaining quality, compliance, and competitiveness across multiple concurrent bids.
• Experience delivering rapid-turnaround responses to RFPs, ITTs, RFIs, EOIs, and other time-critical procurement activities.
• Ability to assess opportunities rapidly, support bid/no-bid decision-making, identify risks, and develop pragmatic solutions within compressed procurement timelines.
• Exceptional organizational and project management skills, with the ability to prioritize multiple competing deadlines while maintaining meticulous attention to detail.
• Experience supporting opportunities ranging from short-notice operational requirements to large-scale, multi-year framework agreements and strategic defense and health programs.
• Ability to quickly mobilize cross-functional teams, coordinate subject matter experts, and drive proposal development under demanding deadlines.
• Minimum of four years of experience providing comprehensive line management to bid teams.
• Knowledge of government contracting processes, acquisition trends, and client buying behaviors.
• Experience in leading and managing the development of partnerships with subcontractors and stakeholders, including participation in commercial contract negotiations.
• Strong network and relationships within the government, military procurement, and defense acquisition contracting markets.
• Willingness to travel domestically and internationally as required.
• Training in bid and capture best practices with expertise in program and project management is an advantage.
• Fluency in English is required; knowledge of other languages (German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Arabic) is an advantage but not required.