Satellite Applications Catapult
Senior Bid Manager
How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
Senior Bid Manager
Senior Bid Manager – Satellite Applications Catapult
The Challenge
Are you passionate about leveraging satellite technology to address UK and global societal challenges? Do you thrive in a fast-paced environment where your bidding expertise can drive growth in the UK space sector? If so, this opportunity could be your next move.
The Senior Bid Manager plays a pivotal role in managing complex bid opportunities, collaborating with technical and business development teams, and delivering high-impact, customer-centric proposals.
About the Role
This role requires end-to-end bid management expertise, from opportunity identification to contract award. You’ll:
- Develop compelling value propositions and innovative solutions
- Lead virtual and in-person bid teams, integrating inputs from stakeholders across technical, commercial, financial, legal, and delivery domains
- Drive best-practice bidding processes, balancing structure with agility to ensure excellence in delivery
The position demands strong commercial acumen, clear stakeholder management, and the ability to navigate fast-paced environments. While experience with grant funding/C&R&D opportunities is advantageous, it’s not mandatory.
Key Responsibilities
Capture & Bid Management
- Coordinate bid teams, ensuring alignment among opportunity leads, technical specialists, partners, finance, commercial, legal, and delivery teams
- Oversee the entire bid lifecycle—from capture planning to contract signoff—collaborating with business development and bidding specialists
- Develop and manage bid programmes, including scoping, storyboard creation, and high-level proposals
- Monitor bid progress, address risks, and maintain adherence to plans and deadlines (with support from opportunity owners, peers, and Head of Work Winning Services)
- Build and manage bid budgets, translating into funder-compliant formats
- Ensure financial accuracy, compliance, and executed signoffs on project delivery costs
- Facilitate bid reviews (approval meetings, red reviews, financial/operational evaluations) and manage client feedback
- Lead lessons-learned sessions to elevate future bidding success
Reasons to use Rodeo
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
It searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
Reporting & Governance
- Report bid progress to stakeholders at regular intervals
- Facilitate a smooth handover from bid to Service Delivery Manager/Project Manager
- Mentor junior bid managers and cover responsibilities for the Head of Work Winning Services
Stakeholder Management
- Forge strong relationships with clients, SMEs, funding agencies, and consortium partners
- Represent the company at client meetings, industry events, conferences, and workshops
- Support external partners in producing high-quality bids
- Encourage proactive knowledge sharing across the business
Skills & Experience Required
Core Competencies
- Proven ability to lead and execute complex, high-stakes bids using industry best practices
- Deep understanding of the full bid lifecycle, from qualification to project handover
- Strategic & agile thinking—able to adapt in fast-paced R&D and innovation environments
- Creative problem-solving & solution design, with the ability to inspire teams and stakeholders
- Robust political & interpersonal skills for navigating stakeholder dynamics
- Exceptional communication skills—clear, confident, and adaptable for SMEs, academics, partners, and funders
- Strong commercial awareness and risk management expertise
- Experience with high-value, multi-workstream opportunities
- Familiarity with governance frameworks and bid compliance standards
- Collaborative spirit with a focus on cross-team capability growth
Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
Technical Qualifications
- Essential: APMP Foundation certification (or equivalent)
- Desired: APMP Practitioner or additional bid management accreditation
About Us
We foster a high-trust, inclusive, and innovative workplace where collaboration drives results beyond individual contributions. Our core principles:
- "We care"—for people, partners, and the planet
- "We connect"—to grow people and ideas
- "We learn"—as individuals and as an industry
Our belief in world-class teams propels us forward. Together, we thrive through honest debate, experimentation, growth, and shared purpose.
Kind Phrase of Ours
"This job description outlines our criteria for success—if you believe you can deliver, we’d love to hear from you."
We offer a hybrid policy: one anchor day in the office collaborating with your core team, plus a flexible day for cross-unit collaboration.
Important Note for Applicants: Successful candidates must demonstrate authentic, personal contributions to their application. Plagiarism, AI-generated content, or third-party tools will disqualify you from the process.
Diversity Matters
At the Satellite Applications Catapult, we promote inclusion and diversity, welcoming applicants from all backgrounds. Visa sponsorship eligibility may vary depending on role interest and salary level. For further assistance, contact our recruitment team or provide feedback via the applied platform.
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London
Skills
Location