Senior Bid & Commercial Manager

Senior Bid & Commercial Manager Job Description and Person Specification

Reports To:

Director of Sales & Strategy - Defence

Department:

Defence

Line Management Responsibility

Yes - Contract Management function

Hours of work

Full-Time

Background

Analox is a well established global leader in the research, development and manufacturing of complex gas sensing products and systems. Our equipment is used across a diverse range of markets and applications such as submarines, space, beverage and deep sea diving. We have 116 people across our two sites in North Yorkshire, UK and California, USA, and are currently pursuing expansion plans into France.

Analox is known for its positive and supportive work environment that values teamwork, innovation, and collaboration. We are a world leading provider of gas monitoring solutions, providing employees with an opportunity to work on cutting edge technology in ever-changing environments and make an impact in growing industries.

We truly believe that our people are what makes Analox great. We invest heavily in employee training and development and provide opportunities for career advancement, helping team members to excel and thrive in their chosen path.

Analox has a diverse and talented team of employees who work together to drive success, providing a dynamic and collaborative work environment, if you would like to be a part of this please look at our current vacancies below.

Overall Purpose of the Role This is a senior, high-impact role combining strategic bid leadership, contract negotiation, and commercial management in a regulated, defence-focused environment.

You will own the end-to-end bid lifecycle for major opportunities - from qualification to submission - while also supporting contractual negotiations, risk analysis, and customer engagement. You will work closely with senior stakeholders, engineering, legal, finance, and programme delivery teams to ensure commercial success and compliance.

Main Responsibilities Bid Management

• Lead and coordinate the development of complex, high-value bids (e.g. MoD, NATO, defence primes). Leading a bid team to deliver cost effective winning bids, to achieve a 75% win rate.
• Define winning bid strategies in collaboration with cross-functional stakeholders.
• Produce and oversee the development of high-quality, compliant, and compelling bid documentation, for on time submission.
• Run gate reviews (e.g. bid/no-bid, solution, pricing, red team).
• Ensure adherence to bid governance frameworks.
• Maintain and develop a bid library for reusable content and continuous improvement.

Commercial & Contract Management

• Support or lead negotiation of customer contracts (including terms & conditions, pricing, SLAs).
• Manage contractual risks and obligations across the lifecycle of customer projects.
• Advise internal stakeholders on commercial issues, including compliance with DEFCONs, ITAR, DSPCR, etc.
• Ensure flow-down of contractual requirements to subcontractors and suppliers.
• Responsible for Contract Review and Contract compliance in collaboration with internal cross functional teams.

Stakeholder Engagement & Strategy

• Build strong relationships with senior internal stakeholders, Defence clients and strategic partners. identifying opportunities that align to Analox's strategic direction and capabilities.
• Work with internal stakeholders to prepare the organisation for the compliant delivery of Contracts.
• Act as a key interface between the business and customer commercial/procurement functions.
• Provide commercial input into strategic decision making, pricing, and programme execution.
• Lead input to the Defence Business Unit's pipeline, forecasts and revenue targets.
• Analyse win/loss outcomes and provide insights to improve future bid performance.

Governance & Continuous Improvement

• Champion continuous improvement in bid and commercial processes.
• Support the development of standard templates, playbooks, and best practices.
• Line management responsibility for the Contract Management team, mentor and develop junior bid or commercial staff as the function scales.

General Responsibilities:

• To support other company departments as and when required to enable the company to achieve its objectives.
• Personal training and development to complement Analox's objectives.
• Maintaining awareness of the company Quality, Health and Safety and Environmental policies and procedures.
• Understand the importance of the customer in everything we do and carry out all duties in this role in line with Analox Customer Service Policy.
• An ongoing personal commitment to continuous performance improvement and personal development is required of all Analox employees to enable the company to achieve its mission and to continue to build on its tradition of excellence.
• All candidates must be able to obtain a Security Clearance.

The job description is not intended to be exhaustive, and it is likely that duties may be altered from time to time in the light of changing circumstances and after consultation with the post holder.

All staff are expected to actively participate in annual reviews and set objectives/goals in conjunction with their manager. Performance will be monitored against set objectives/goals.

EHS Health and Safety

Proactively promote a culture of safety by taking ownership and encouraging others to do the same. Lead by example by consistently adhering to and championing safety practices and policies. Support 5S initiatives and maintain high housekeeping standards. Participate in safety audits, incident investigations, and root cause analyses as needed to ensure a safe and organized work environment.

Equality and Diversity Analox is committed to an Equal Opportunities Policy which affirms that all staff should be afforded equality of treatment and opportunity in employment irrespective of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. All staff are required to observe this policy in their behaviour to other employees and service users.

Values Analox Values: Teamwork, Commitment to Excellence, Customer Focus, Pride, Integrity, and Boldness, are at the heart of everything we do, guiding how we work together, innovate, and serve our customers.

Person Specification Job Title Person Specification

Specify detailed requirements for each criteria under 'Essential' or 'Desirable' as appropriate.

Please specify how criteria will be identified (I = Interview, A = Application and R = Reference Asmt= Assessment).

If you have a disability and have any special requirements that impact on your ability to meet any of the essential criteria please contact a member of the HR team.

Education/ Knowledge and Qualifications

• Bachelors Degree (or equivalent) in a relevant field such as; Business, Law/ Commercial Law, Engineering, Procurement/ Supply chain management, Project Management.
• Familiarity with Salesforce or other CRM/tender tracking tools.
• Understanding of gas detection or submarine life-support systems (advantageous but not essential).
• Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP) Practitioner / Professional Certification.
• APMP Certification - A

Skills, & Abilities

• Exceptional project management skills with the ability to manage multiple deadlines.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including technical and persuasive writing.
• Strong understanding of government/defence procurement (e.g. DEFCONs, ITAR, SSRO, DSPCR).
• Excellent commercial awareness, risk management capability and attention to detail.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and influencing skills, including experience working with MoD or major defence primes.
• Familiarity with contract law and legal frameworks.
• Evidence of managing multiple bids to different deadlines (A).
• Strong attention to detail and compliance (no disqualified bids due to admin errors). (I)
• Experience reviewing, negotiating, or managing contracts - ideally MOD/DEFCONs, ITAR, or export-controlled contracts. (A)
• Understands risk , liability , payment terms , and SLAs in a contract context. (I, R)
• Can flag and manage contractual obligations post-award . (I)
• Minimum 5+ years' experience in bid management , contract negotiation , or commercial roles within a defence, aerospace, or complex engineering environment.
• Proven experience leading end-to-end bids for projects >£1M.
• Experience with international defence tenders (e.g. NATO, foreign MODs).
• Experience with cost models, pricing strategy, and financial analysis.
• Has led or significantly contributed to end-to-end tender processes (e.g. MOD, international defence organisations, large B2B tenders). (A)
• Experience with public sector procurement (e.g. Defence Contract Online, Find a Tender, NATO, or equivalent). (A)
• Familiarity with bid lifecycle stages : Bid/No-Bid, strategy, compliance, writing, submission, clarification, and debrief. (I, R?)
• International experience - Y/N (A)

Personal Attributes

• Strategic thinker with a proactive, hands on approach.
• Strong attention to detail with the ability to manage competing priorities.
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