The Bid Manager will provide the business with relevant service / product / business knowledge required to prepare a winning bid, whilst taking ownership of the end-to-end bid process. The role is typically responsible for managing an opportunity from qualification through to contract award, including proposition development, solution review, commercial considerations, partner engagement and risk management. Responsibilities include introduction and following / the running of all necessary bid procedures, governance and processes. This is a highly networked role that requires an ability to work under pressure and to challenging deadlines. It will require strong people management and commercial skills. The Bid Manager is specifically aligned to Large/Complex or High Potential Opportunities with a view to providing focus for acquisition or high potential opportunities within the area. They will be aligned to the regional Sales Managers and Solution Managers in order to support key deals and engagements. The role is not limited to just the Bid and Proposal management, it is responsible for bringing thought leadership, industry best practice and experience to the team allowing the region to grow. The role will be responsible for initiatives and development of the function, as well as development of strong relationships with global peers.
Career Level Summary
- Requires in-depth conceptual and practical knowledge in own job discipline and basic knowledge of related job disciplines
- Solves complex problems.
- Works independently, receives minimal guidance
- May lead projects or project steps within a broader project or may have accountability for on going activities or objectives
- Acts as a resource for colleagues with less experience.
- Level at which career may stabilize for many years or until retirement
Critical Competencies
- Excellence: Exceeds expectations by consistently demonstrating accountability, discipline, high performance, and a proven track record of exceptional results.
- Customer-driven: Prioritizes customer needs and satisfaction through collaborative and proactive problem-solving, and an unwavering commitment to customer success.
- Expertise: Possesses deep understanding of customer needs and continually grows and enhances skills to provide customer-focused solutions.
- Agility: Quickly adapts and responds to dynamic customer needs and expectations through innovative solutions.
- Compassion: Cultivates a positive and supportive environment to effectively work together towards a common goal, fostering trust within Rackspace and with external stakeholders.
Key Responsibilities
- End-to-end management of the entire bid process from initial qualification through to contract signature, ensuring bids run to schedule, and in line with the Rackspace bid process.
- Understand the problem statement (RFP/ RFI) and ensure identification of missing information jointly with the pursuit team and support the framing of appropriate queries to capture the missing information.
- Validate the service lines and information needed for completion of proposal response.
- Work with multi-discipline teams to ensure all relevant proposal inputs are delivered on time and to the desired quality.
- Support the PreSales team in creation of deal solutions and pricing.
- Own elements of presales support function (Deal analytics, prospect list, BD assets etc).
- Support compliance initiatves strict adherence to Bid Management process in line with laid down templates, tools and approval matrices.
- Assist Bid Solution teams in detailing and articulation of solutions (response to RFPs/ RFIs/ unsolicited bids etc) and ensure completeness of the same with regard to content and form.
- Support and manage bids for New Business, Contract Renewals and Account Growth opportunities.
- Assist in industry research, market study to arrive at gaps to be plugged by Rackspace expertise.
- Template Management : Ensure usage of Rackspace brand guidelines
- Create and update reusable artefacts.
Knowledge
- Intermediate knowledge of sales principles and proposal development
- Intermediate knowledge of the company, products, services and customers
- Intermediate knowledge of operations, sales, marketing, and the services and activities of contract negotiations
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Business or related field of study or equivalent education, training, and experience.
- Minimum 4 years of experience in end-to-end RFI/RFP management in any technology or IT services firm
- Experience in writing and developing compelling proposals
- Expert in Microsoft office (Powerpoint, Word, Excel)
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Open to work flexible schedule during day, night, and weekend shifts (when required*)
Experience
- 5 - 7 years of experience in the field of role required
Physical Demands
- General office environment: no special physical demands required.
Disclaimer
- The above information has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees in this classification.
- It is not designed to contain or to be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of the employee assigned to this job.
