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More info
- This role is ideal for someone with excellent research, writing, IT, and checking skills
- With experience you could progress to team leader, senior bid writer, or bids and proposals manager
- You may often travel to site meetings
DAY-TO-DAY DUTIES
- Finding out about possible business opportunities
- Finding out about the industry or service you'll be writing the bid for
- Talking and listening to clients
- Gathering evidence to answer PQQ (Pre Qualification Questionnaire) questions
- Collecting data for bids like financial records
- Checking the rules the bid must follow
- Working closely with planning teams
- Presenting technical information in easy-to-understand ways
- Designing, writing, editing and checking bid documents
- Keeping accurate records
- Saving material to a 'bid library' for future use and submitting bids
DAY-TO-DAY ENVIRONMENT
You could work at a client's business or in an office.
You'll need
Some employers will expect you to have a degree in a relevant subject such as English, business management or sales and marketing.
You could also study a subject relevant to an industry you want to specialise in, like IT, civil engineering or housing.
Alternatively, you can work towards this role by completing a bid and proposal coordinator advanced apprenticeship.
You could start as a trainee or junior bid writer. For this, you'll usually need a minimum of five GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), including English and maths and many employers will prefer you to have at least A levels.
You may also be able to work your way up through administrative jobs, especially in bid writing companies.
The Association of Bid & Proposal Management Professionals offers certification qualifications for people working in bid and proposal writing. The Institute of Sales Management also offers short courses like the Level 4 Award In Writing and Delivering a Sales Proposal and Level 5 Award in Bid and Tender Management for Account Managers.
A professional marketing qualification may help you find work.
If you're preparing bids for international funding, the ability to speak other languages can help.
CAREER PROSPECTS
With experience you could become a team leader, senior bid writer, or bids and proposals manager.
You could also transfer your skills to other kinds of technical writing or contract management.