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About the Role
Zenith is looking for an organised, proactive and detail-focused Bid Assistant to support opportunity identification, tender coordination, client follow-up, compliance and submission activity across our specialist engineering and construction business.
You will help identify suitable opportunities, coordinate bids from enquiry through submission, maintain accurate tender and compliance records, and proactively follow up submitted bids and prospective enquiries with clients to confirm progress, obtain feedback and identify future opportunities. You will work closely with Estimators, Commercial, HSEQ, Technical and Business Development colleagues, following up actions and helping the team meet client deadlines.
This is a varied, hands-on role for someone who enjoys structured coordination, professional document preparation and constructive client contact. It offers exposure to the full pre-contract process and scope to progress towards bid coordination, bid management, estimating, commercial or business development roles.
Key Responsibilities
Opportunity Identification and Pipeline Support
- Monitor tender portals, client notifications and relevant frameworks for suitable opportunities.
- Review opportunity information, capture essential details and flag priority opportunities to the Estimating and Business Development teams.
- Maintain accurate opportunity, bid and outcome records, including deadlines, clarifications, decisions and feedback.
- Support follow-up activity relating to known client assets, inspection cycles and future requirements.
Bid Coordination and Submission Management
- Coordinate bid and PQQ activity from initial review through to final submission, maintaining deadlines, action owners and progress updates.
- Arrange bid kick-off meetings where required, issue action lists and follow up outstanding inputs.
- Prepare, format and assemble professional tender, proposal, presentation and pre-qualification documents.
- Complete compliance checks against tender instructions and submission requirements, highlighting gaps and risks promptly.
- Maintain clarification trackers and coordinate responses with Estimating, Technical, HSEQ and Commercial colleagues.
- Upload approved submissions to client portals, record confirmations and maintain complete, auditable submission files.
Client Follow-Up and Opportunity Development
- Follow up submitted quotations, tenders and PQQs with clients to confirm receipt, understand decision timescales and obtain progress updates.
- Maintain appropriate contact with clients regarding potential enquiries, developing requirements and outstanding opportunities.
- Request and record win/loss feedback, lessons learned and relevant competitor information where clients are able to provide it.
- Identify potential future works, inspections, outages, shutdowns and project requirements during follow-up discussions, and ensure these are captured within company systems.
- Support business development activity by maintaining constructive client contact and highlighting relevant Zenith capabilities where appropriate.
- Escalate significant opportunities, client concerns and feedback to the relevant Estimator, Estimating Manager or Business Development colleague.
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Compliance, Portals and Company Information
- Maintain tender and compliance portal profiles, credentials and supporting company information.
- Coordinate PQQs, supplier questionnaires, HSEQ questionnaires and client-specific pre-qualification requirements.
- Monitor certification, accreditation, insurance and policy expiry dates, requesting updated evidence from internal owners.
- Liaise with subject matter experts to obtain technical, safety, quality, environmental and commercial information required for submissions.
- Escalate missing, expired or non-compliant information in sufficient time for corrective action.
Bid Library, Reporting and Team Coordination
- Maintain structured libraries of case studies, CVs, capability statements, methodologies, standard responses, certificates and evidence.
- Ensure content is current, consistent, approved and easy to retrieve, and archive final submissions and feedback correctly.
- Maintain visibility of live bids, upcoming deadlines, missing inputs, submission status and win/loss outcomes.
- Support reporting on opportunities, pipeline value, submission activity, outcomes and feedback.
- Request supplier quotations and supporting information where required for estimates and bids.
About You
You will be comfortable taking ownership of deadlines, coordinating inputs from several people and maintaining accurate records. You do not need to be an expert in every technical subject, but you should be confident asking questions, speaking professionally with clients, following up actions and ensuring submissions are complete, clear and professionally presented.
Essential Skills and Qualities
- Strong organisation, attention to detail and deadline management.
- Clear, professional written and verbal communication skills, including confidence speaking with clients.
- Confidence using Microsoft Outlook, Word and Excel, with the ability to learn SharePoint, CRM systems and client portals.
- Ability to coordinate information from multiple colleagues and follow up actions constructively.
- Good document formatting, proofreading and information-handling skills.
- A proactive, reliable approach and the judgement to escalate opportunities, risks or missing information early.
- Ability to handle commercial and client information professionally and confidentially.
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Desirable Experience
- Experience in bidding, tender coordination, pre-qualification, sales support, marketing, estimating, commercial administration or client follow-up.
- Experience using tender portals, CRM systems, SharePoint, controlled document libraries or workflow trackers.
- Exposure to construction, engineering, industrial services or another regulated business-to-business environment.
- Experience preparing PQQs, compliance questionnaires, capability documents, presentations or formal submissions.
Training and Development
Training will be tailored to the successful candidate’s experience and may include:
- Zenith services, sectors, clients and pre-contract processes.
- Tender portals, opportunity tracking, CRM and SharePoint.
- Bid planning, compliance checking, PQQs, submission coordination and client follow-up.
- Professional document preparation, bid libraries and evidence management.
- Introduction to estimating, commercial risk, HSEQ and technical inputs.
As experience develops, the role may progress towards Bid Coordinator, Bid Manager, Estimating, Commercial, Business Development or related pre-contract roles.
What This Role Offers
- A central role in identifying opportunities and supporting high-quality, compliant submissions.
- Direct involvement in client follow-up, bid feedback and development of future enquiries.
- Exposure to the full journey from opportunity identification through tendering, submission, feedback and future opportunity development.
- Practical experience across estimating, commercial, technical, HSEQ and business development activities.
- Structured support, meaningful responsibility and a genuine development pathway.
Hiring Process
Zenith aims to keep the recruitment process straightforward. Suitable candidates will typically be invited to a single-stage interview at our Loanhead office, providing an opportunity to learn more about the role, the team and the business. Where appropriate, interviews may be conducted via Microsoft Teams.
READY TO HELP ZENITH WIN ITS NEXT OPPORTUNITY?
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