Senior Bid & Commercial Manager

North Yorkshire

A globally recognised engineering and technology organisation operating within defence and safety-critical markets is seeking a Senior Bid & Commercial Manager to join its Defence Business Unit.

You will take ownership of the full bid lifecycle for high-value defence opportunities, leading cross-functional teams to deliver compliant, compelling and commercially robust submissions.

Alongside bid leadership, you will play a key role in contract negotiation, commercial risk management and post-award compliance.

• Lead complex, high-value defence bids (e.g. UK MoD, NATO, defence primes)

• Develop winning strategies and coordinate cross-functional bid teams

• Manage bid governance processes (Bid/No-Bid, solution reviews, pricing reviews, Red Team)

• Ensure compliant, high-quality submissions delivered on time

• Maintain and develop reusable bid content and continuous improvement processes

• Support and lead contract negotiations (terms & conditions, pricing, SLAs)

• Manage commercial risk and contractual obligations across the project lifecycle

• Ensure compliance with defence procurement regulations (e.g. DEFCONs, ITAR, DSPCR, SSRO)

• Flow down contractual requirements to suppliers and subcontractors

• Lead contract review and ensure post-award compliance

We are seeking an experienced bid and commercial leader with a strong track record in defence or complex engineering environments.

• 5+ years' experience in bid management, commercial or contract negotiation roles within defence, aerospace or similar regulated industries

• Proven delivery of end-to-end bids for projects valued £1M+

• Strong understanding of defence procurement regulations (e.g. DEFCONs, ITAR, DSPCR, SSRO)

• Experience negotiating and managing contracts in regulated environments

• Excellent project management skills with ability to manage multiple concurrent bids

• Strong commercial awareness including risk, liability, pricing and SLAs

• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills

• Ability to obtain Security Clearance

• Degree in Business, Law, Engineering, Procurement, Project Management or related field

• Legal/commercial contract qualification or background

• APMP Practitioner or Professional certification

• Experience with NATO or international defence tenders

• Familiarity with CRM or tender tracking tools (e.g. Salesforce)