Bid & Estimating Manager

Humber Recruitment are resourcing a Bid & Estimating Manager for one of our high-value clients based in Grimsby on a full-time basis.

Role Purpose

The Bid & Estimating Manager is responsible for providing full ownership of the bids and tenders process and for strengthening commercial and delivery control across the business. The role leads bid coordination, ensures the bid / no-bid process is followed, supports estimating, drives cost control discipline, and manages document control standards so that information is accurate, current, and properly governed.

The role reports to the General Manager and works closely with the Operations Managers to support project selection, tender quality, cost visibility, and controlled execution. The role is also expected to actively support the desired culture of the client through continuous improvement, clear accountability, strong collaboration, high professional standards, customer focus, and disciplined financial control.

Reporting line – Reports to the General Manager.

Working relationships – Works closely with the Operations Managers, financial controller, project managers, and other functional leads to support bid decisions, tender submissions, estimating input, project cost reporting, and document control.

Key responsibilities

• Take full ownership of all bids and tenders from initial enquiry through to submission, ensuring deadlines, quality standards, and internal approvals are met
• Lead and enforce the bid / no-bid process so that opportunities are reviewed consistently, risks are understood, and decisions are made with the right internal input and accountability
• Coordinate tender responses by gathering technical, operational, commercial, and delivery information from the relevant managers and subject matter experts
• Support and develop estimating activities, ensuring cost estimates are robust, complete, commercially sensible, and aligned with the proposed delivery model
• Work with Operations Managers and project leaders to build accurate pricing assumptions, labour plans, equipment allowances, subcontract costs, and risk provisions
• Drive cost control discipline by supporting budget set-up, cost tracking, variance reporting, and early identification of commercial risks or overspend
• Produce clear project controls information to support management decisions, including tender status, estimated versus actual cost visibility, and key commercial observations
• Own document control standards for tenders and project controls documentation, ensuring version control, accuracy, traceability, and secure handling of controlled documents
• Ensure bid files, tender submissions, supporting calculations, pricing schedules, clarifications, and approval records are maintained in an organised and auditable manner
• Support handover from tender stage to operational delivery so that scope, assumptions, exclusions, risks, and commercial commitments are clearly understood
• Identify opportunities to improve bidding, estimating, cost reporting, and document control processes through standardisation, lessons learned, and continuous improvement
• Work collaboratively with the Operations Managers and wider business to support shared success across divisions rather than silo working
• Maintain a strong customer focus by ensuring tenders are professional, well-structured, commercially sound, and aligned to client requirements and delivery capability
• Promote high standards, professionalism, and disciplined governance in all bidding, cost control, and document control activities

Key success factors (KSFs)

Leadership behaviours aligned to the desired culture

• Takes clear ownership of bids, governance, cost information, and document control standards
• Promotes accountability by ensuring decisions, approvals, assumptions, and actions are visible and followed through
• Drives continuous improvement by standardising processes, capturing lessons learned, and improving commercial control methods
• Works collaboratively with Operations Managers and support functions to strengthen business performance across divisions
• Maintains strong customer focus by supporting high-quality, professional, and competitive tender submissions
• Acts with professionalism, integrity, and discipline when handling commercially sensitive information and controlled documents
• Supports safe, disciplined operations by ensuring tender assumptions, cost information, and handovers are accurate and well-controlled
• Reinforces financial focus through accurate estimating, timely reporting, and early visibility of commercial risk
• Bids and tenders are managed in a controlled, timely, and professional way with clear ownership and strong internal coordination
• The bid / no-bid process is followed consistently, with decisions made using the right information and governance
• Estimates are accurate, well-structured, and reflect realistic delivery assumptions and commercial risk
• Cost control reporting gives management timely visibility of budget position, forecast risk, and commercial performance
• Tender and project documents are current, traceable, and properly controlled
• Tender handovers to operations are clear, reducing the risk of missed scope, incorrect assumptions, or poor commercial understanding
• Processes improve over time through standard templates, lessons learned, and better commercial discipline

Key performance indicators (KPIs)

• Percentage of bids and tenders submitted on time
• Percentage of opportunities passing through the formal bid / no-bid process before tendering
• Tender win rate on approved bids
• Estimate accuracy measured against the actual project outcome or the approved baseline
• Percentage of projects with cost reports issued on time
• Number of significant cost variances identified early and escalated appropriately
• Percentage of tender and project documents under correct version control
• Number of document control errors, missing approvals, or outdated documents in circulation
• Percentage of tender-to-project handovers completed with documented scope, assumptions, risks, and commercial summary

Person specification

• Experience – Strong experience in project controls, tendering, estimating, commercial coordination, or a similar project support role in an industrial or project-based environment
• Bid management – Able to coordinate and manage bids and tenders from enquiry to submission with strong organisation and attention to detail
• Commercial awareness – Good understanding of estimating, pricing build-up, cost control, margin awareness, and commercial risk
• Governance – Able to apply structure and discipline to bid / no-bid decisions, approvals, and controlled processes
• Document control – Strong understanding of version control, document accuracy, filing discipline, and auditability
• Communication – Clear and confident communicator who can work across operational, commercial, and management teams
• Analytical ability – Able to review data, challenge assumptions, and highlight cost or delivery risks clearly
• Professionalism – Demonstrates high standards, reliability, ownership, and the ability to manage confidential and commercially sensitive information appropriately

This role is central to improving commercial discipline and control across the business. Success in the role will come from bringing structure to bids and tenders, improving estimate quality, strengthening cost visibility, and ensuring document control and governance are consistently applied from the opportunity stage through to project delivery.

It should also help reinforce the desired culture by embedding continuous improvement, clear accountability, strong collaboration, customer focus, high professional standards, and disciplined financial control into the way opportunities are selected, priced, documented, and handed over.

To apply for the position, click the apply button below or at the top of the page and complete the form. For more information on the role, call our team on 01472 729768 and we will be happy to assist. You can visit our jobs page to see our full list of available vacancies.

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