Job Overview

Reporting to the Group Director of Bids, the Head of Bids will lead the development and delivery of an effective bid function that supports Mitie's key Facilities Management divisions. They will shape strategic direction, ensure operational excellence, and embed a high-performing, agile bid lifecycle across all service lines and sectors.

This role combines strategic oversight with hands-on leadership, including direct line management of Bid Managers and Senior Bid Managers. The Head of Bids is accountable for ensuring high-quality submissions that reflect a clear understanding of customer needs and business objectives. Their leadership will reflect Mitie's core values, fostering a collaborative, inclusive, and positively driven team culture that empowers others and delivers shared success

They will champion APMP best practice - embedding structured bid processes and regular, rigorous reviews - while also driving continuous improvement in tools, content, and collaboration. The role includes supporting Sales Leads in refining win strategies and ensuring consistent delivery of compelling, compliant and competitive bids.

Main Duties

• Line management and day-to-day supervision of team of Senior Bid and Bid Managers
• Understanding of workload within bid team, including clear and current knowledge of the key details of each in-flight opportunity
• Oversight and guidance of bid activity, offering support, constructive challenge and feedback to all stakeholders engaged in the bid lifecycle, including bid and sales team members
• Lead and champion of Mitie's bid and governance processes, with ongoing oversight of all bids produced by the Bid Team to ensure these are consistently applied
• Ensure governance compliance, including coordination of financial, legal, and operational approvals prior to bid submission
• Support the Director of Bids in interrogating and improving bid practices across Mitie to build further upon Bid Team success
• Management of internal and external stakeholders, with a focus on building and maintaining strong relationships up to executive management
• Conduct thorough reviews of all bids produced by bid team members, assessing the strength of Mitie's solution and the compelling nature of the bid submission against defined win themes and value propositions
• Provide clear feedback to bid team members and wider colleagues regarding bid quality, offering coaching to foster continuous improvement
• Support Sales Leads to shape and refine win strategies and value propositions ahead of RfP release and throughout the bid lifecycle
• Reporting and feedback to senior leadership and colleagues, including workload tracking, KPIs and updates
• Work alongside senior bid colleagues to manage team resources and capacity effectively
• Where required, support end-to-end bid management of strategic opportunities alongside Senior Bid Managers, Bid Managers, Bid Writers, and matrix team members
• Champion digital tools (e.g. SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, AI platforms) that enable efficient bid delivery and content management
• Own team development, including structured capability uplift, training plans (including APMP certifications), and performance management
• Establish and track KPIs to measure bid success, conversion rates and team performance, reviewing them regularly to inform strategic planning and support individual performance development.

What we are looking for

An inspiring and strong team leader, the Head of Bids should:

• Have extensive experience in end-to-end bid management, preferably including within the FM sector
• Have previous experience of line management and leading a team
• Possess strong written English language skills
• Demonstrate an ability to manage multiple projects and working to deadlines
• Be skilled in stakeholder engagement and management
• Have experience of winning both public and private sector bids
• Be tenacious and results driven with sound business judgement
• Have strong influencing skills, including strong presentation and communication skills
• Be commercially aware and customer focused
• Have strong analytical and problem-solving ability
• Be able to prioritise, demonstrating first class organisational skills and time management skills
• Have experience of implementing change in an organisation
• Have a can-do attitude, able to work with limited supervision under pressure and to tight deadlines
• Be comfortable dealing with ambiguity and ability to work effectively in line with changing priorities
• Have an enquiring mind with desire to challenge the status quo
• Be educated to degree level or equivalent (preferable)
• Hold APMP Practitioner certification (preferable)