A bid writer requires many skills, that's for sure. A project coordinator, policy interpreter, compliance focused sales guru, procurement driven solution maker, business content creating superhero... And they write proposals (RFPs) - they respond to tenders.
A bid writer develops convincing content to maximise the chances of winning new business. They often work hand-in-hand with sales and marketing managers, as well as operational and technical departments. 'Sales' focusing on relationship building, the operations team explaining how it will be delivered, and the bid writer, staying well-back but absorbing every key piece of information. Allowing them to craft a document which fully meets the buyers needs, adds value and makes it very clear why they should win the tender.
A bid writer, proposal writer or tender writer all typically provide the same role. They create persuasive and compelling content on behalf of their customer or employer to help secure a tender, contract or business opportunity.
The ‘bid’ or offer they put forward can be within a formal quality response document, like completing a questionnaire, which is often associated with ‘bidding’ for Public Sector contracts. Or from a more informal ‘brief’ (scope of requirements) whereby they have the flexibility to provide a written proposal, which is often designed and looks more like a marketing document, though developed for the specific opportunity. This is often associated with private sector contracts, though there is overall across the two.
A bid writer creates persuasive and compelling content on behalf of their customer or employer to help secure a tender, contract or business opportunity.
At Thornton & Lowe, we have developed our business, structure and team to be exclusively focused on the role and benefits of a bid writer. We offer bid writing services across the UK.
If you are looking to recruit a freelance bid writer contact us today! Hello@thorntonandlowe.com / 01204 238046.
Bid Writer Job Description
At Thornton & Lowe, we employ bid writers more than any other role. We have a directly employed bid team, so many of our clients don't have to.
This is our bid writer job description:
Bid Writer
What we do
We write winning bids for companies across a diverse range of sectors - from Accountancy to Workwear we’ve got it covered. We’ve been helping businesses to grow since 2009 and have since grown in numbers to have a large, directly employed bid team split across our 3 key divisions - Bid Writing, Bid Resource and Bid Training. We’re the full package.
Our people
We’ve got a diverse team of bid writers but more than that, we are readers, bikers, climbers, amateur chefs, dog lovers, film lovers, linguists, sports fans, volunteers, and lots more! We have Family people, Single people, Happy people. We like to socialise. You’ll find a friend here.
Our bid writing hiring process
• You find or get sent this job advert • You read the ad and we have your attention • You tell us you’re interested (apply, email, call, shout) • If your CV fits what we’re looking for, we’ll invite you for a chat (video call) • If we think you’d be a good fit, we’ll introduce you to our Directors • If we’re all on the same page, we’ll make you an offer • You accept the offer and tell everyone how amazing your life has become
Advice
If you’re excited by this opportunity, please apply! Don’t be scared of change. Don’t worry about your current employer - sometimes you need to move on. If you have questions don’t be afraid to ask. There’s no need to dress up, smart/business casual is fine.
About You
What you’ve done so far: • Ideally, you’ll be educated to NVQ Level 4, HND, Degree qualified or equivalent. • You have at least 2 years’ experience of bid writing within a similar business to business or work winning environment • You have experience of project management, working under pressure and delivering documents of an exceptionally high standard whilst working to challenging deadlines
What you’re good at • Thinking creatively and using your initiative • Communication - you have excellent written and proofreading skills • Working effectively as part of a team and independently
What you’ll be doing • Drafting, reviewing, writing and submitting creative and persuasive tender responses • Building effective working relationships and communicating with clients • Supporting the development of bid strategy including storyboarding, identifying USPs and win themes • Completing bid planning documents including bid summaries, project plans, gap analysis and other documents • Researching and summarising markets, competitors and other bid related topics • Working to Thornton & Lowe’s House Style.
Is Bid Writing A Good Career?
Yes, a bid writer can be an amazing career. It offers opportunities for creativity, strategic thinking, and contributing to the success of organisations by winning contracts. It can also provide a rewarding career path with options for management, freelancing or consultancy.
How Much Do Bid Writers Get Paid
The cost of outsourced bid writing can depend on the role and complexity of the project. As a guide a bid writer or consultant working on a day rate in the UK will charge between £450 and £750.
As a bid writing consultancy, we quote on a fixed fee or via our monthly contracted tender subscriptions. Also, offering specialised bid recruitment services for both temp and perm bid writers, our fees will depend on the role.
As an employed bid writer, or junior bid writer, salaries typically start at £25,000 but can increase quickly for high performers. It is reported the average salary for a bid writer is around £36,000. Beyond this and like at Thornton & Lowe, there are then career progression opportunities, with senior bid writer and Bid Management roles.
Do Bid Writers Take a Percentage?
In commercial, business to business or business to government tendering, rarely would a bid writer take a win fee or percentage of the contract. This happens more with funding to balance up the risk for smaller charities. When freelance bid writers bid writing companies charge a win fee it is usually at the request of the customer as a further incentive to maximise their performance or commitment to a project.
This is of course different to a bid writer working on a no win no fee basis. A bid writer is of course only part of the puzzle to winning a tender. They rarely price, nor having control of the solution being put forward, or the qualification of the opportunity which is being bid for. Bid writer win rates will also depend on the sector, the size of the client and their market share, whether they are the incumbent or not. There are many variables at play, so it's a rather bold (or questionable) move for a bid writer to work on this basis.
Bid Writer Courses and Qualifications
As detailed within our bid writer job description above, there are not any specific qualifications required to be a bid writer. However, it is an increasingly competitive area and at Thornton & Lowe, we are looking for the best. We offer many bid writing courses.
Once you have been vetted and approved as a freelancer in the industry, Thornton & Lowe will showcase your availability to clients in need of bid support.
Professional Bid Writing Team
Within our bid writing team structure you can see how key areas of the role have been split into departments:
Bid Writing and Tendering
Within Public Sector tendering, a bid writer will often be tasked with responding to the initial shortlisting stage - pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ), Selection Questionnaire (SQs), European Single Procurement Document (ESPD), for example, which is focused on financial stability, insurances, references and accreditations. The invitation to tender (ITT), quality or award questionnaire, which goes alongside the pricing. The bid writer rarely gets involved with the commercial envelope or pricing but instead focuses on creating quality content to respond to questions from within the tender.
To do this effectively, they will need to be an excellent writer with a key eye for details and an effective coordinator who can often manage highly complex technical data quickly. They will need to understand the specification, buyer’s instructions, requirements and the questions they are responding to but also crucially why the business or employer they represent is the best place to win the contract. What are their discriminators and unique selling points specifically related to the tender they are bidding for.
To do this they need to work closely with others, the subject matter experts, who might be the Senior Management Team to understand the solution, or a Contracts Manager, but also HR, Finance and IT, for example. They will deconstruct a question and create a storyboard which they then use as a base to collect the information they need in order to develop the answers. As they are developing a draft for a question or section from within a bid they will share this with the wider team who will review, make comments and challenges, for the bid writer to then assess and amend.
Depending on the size of a business, a bid writer will often be part of a Sales or Marketing Team or within a Bid Team. A typical structure for a Bid Team for a company that is regularly bidding and for higher value contracts is:
Bid Director / Head of Bids
Bid Manager – multiple
Bid Writer / Senior Bid Writer – multiple
Bid Designer
Bid Coordinator / Bid Administrators
Within a smaller company, the bid writer could also cover the Bid Coordinator, Bid Manager and Bid Designer roles, reporting to a Sales or Marketing Manager or Quantity Surveyor, who would often work on the pricing side of the tender document.
How can a Bid Writer Consultancy Help?
A Bid Writer Consultancy helps:
Existing Bid Teams who have reached their own in-house capacity for tenders
By acting as a Bid Partner for businesses who do not employ their own Bid Team or bid writer / Manager. This will be due to their size or the volume of bids does not warrant a full time Bid Professional
Improve win rate performance. Often a bid writing company is asked to review and critique a draft bid or Bid Process due to a lack of performance. They may then take leadership of this division until it improves, which can often involve training the existing team, developing bid strategy and providing additional bid writing services.
The benefit of Thornton & Lowe, a Bid Writing Consultancy, is that you get a consistent and highly performing Bid Team but on an adhoc basis. We directly employ the bid writers and Bid Managers, providing continuity and accountability. Still, we fully appreciate you will not always need us as you may have peaks and troughs in bidding. We need to invest time to understand your solution, to understand what is different about your business so that we can be ready for your next live tender. We also employ Bid Administrators who can monitor tender portals for you, download the documentation and produce an Opportunity Summary to allow you to assess whether it is right for your company quickly.
Have a live tender and need a bid writing quote? Contact us - 01204 238046 / hello@thorntonandlowe.com
