Jobs at Callen-Lenz (Now Hiring) — 15 open

Bid Writer

Vacancy Reference: CLA- 433

Position: Full-time

Location: London (with occasional visits to Salisbury, Wiltshire)

Salary: £40,000 - £55,000

At Callen-Lenz, we are expanding the limits of what is possible. We specialise in crewed and uncrewed aircraft operations and technology and having recently received investment into the business we are going through a period of rapid growth and development and are looking for key roles to assist with these changes. Callen-Lenz offers innovative and customer-focused UAS solutions through our 4 key business strands: technical services, products, platforms and operational services. We are looking for individuals to help drive forward our expansion, placing you at forefront of UAS development in the UK.

Our Values

• Innovation

• Integrity

• Collaboration

• Excellence

Why Work for Us

Our headquarters are located in the heart of rural Wiltshire, close to the historic city of Salisbury, with an additional satellite office in London that supports our continued growth and collaboration. You will join our rapidly growing, friendly and multi-disciplined team, working on a range of diverse and interesting projects, leading the way in this exciting field and witnessing the full lifecycle of our products. The Callen-Lenz team are passionate about what we do, and we are searching for individuals to grow with us as we expand into the aerospace industry.

Our benefits include:

• 25 days annual leave per year (plus bank holidays)

• Buy/Sell holiday policy up to 5 days either way

• Pension Scheme via Royal London

• Company contributed Share Incentive Plan.

• Green Car Scheme

• Life assurance scheme (6x basic salary)

• Income protection policy (75% of basic salary)

• Private Health Insurance via Bupa

• Private Dental insurance via Bupa

• Enhanced Maternity and paternity

• 1 Professional membership reimbursed per year

• 1 paid volunteering day per year

• Access to an independent financial advisor year round

• Training & development opportunities

About the role

In the role of Bid Writer, you will be responsible for producing high-quality written responses for bids and proposals. You will work closely with subject matter experts within the business as well as working closely with the wider business development team. You will ensure all written content is clear, concise, persuasive, and tailored to meet the specific requirements of the client and tendering authority.

Responsibilities

Proposal Writing and Development:

• Proposal Writing: Develop high-quality proposal responses, white papers and supporting customer documentation.

• Tailoring Content: Work with technical experts to tailor responses that align with customer needs while emphasising the company's unique selling points (USPs) and value proposition(s).

• Proposal planning: Familiarity with process of story boarding through to the development of structured proposals.

Bid Planning and Coordination:

• Team Coordination: Coordinate contributions from cross-functional teams including Engineering, Commercial, Programmes, Supply Chain, Finance and Quality.

• Document structure: Ensure that all parts of the bid, including supporting documents, appendices, and pricing, are compiled in a structured and coherent manner.

• Bid Planning: Support bid manager in the coordination of bid and proposal activities from opportunity qualification through proposal submission.

• Governance Reviews: Support bid and proposal manager in the preparation of governance reviews including opportunity reviews, gate reviews and coloured team reviews.

Compliance and Quality Assurance:

• Compliance Checks: Verify that all legal, financial, and technical requirements are met in the submission.

• Quality control: Check the accuracy of bids by proofreading and editing proposals to maintain high standards of presentation and content clarity.

• Scoring matrix check: If applicable review bids against tender evaluation criteria to maximise scoring opportunities and ensure bid alignment with client expectations.

Stakeholder Engagement:

• Internal Stakeholder Management: Build and maintain strong relationships with internal stakeholders (management, commercial, engineering, finance teams) and external stakeholders (clients, suppliers).

• Internal communication: Facilitate internal meetings and discussions to clarify bid strategies, responsibilities, and deliverables within the team.

• Communication skills: Communicate technical details in a clear and persuasive way to non-technical stakeholders.

Bid Strategy and Development:

• Solution development: Contribute to the development of bid strategies by identifying strengths and weaknesses in the bid process and suggesting improvements.

• Support the development of win themes: Identify opportunities for differentiating the bid from competitors through innovation, cost-effective solutions, or superior service offerings.

Documentation and Content Management:

• Process Improvement: Maintain a repository of standard bid documents, templates, and case studies to support future bids.

• Knowledge repository: Develop and update a library of standardised bid responses for efficiency in future bids, reducing time for research and content creation.

• Best practice: Document lessons learned from past bids to inform and improve future submissions.

Health & Safety:

• Demonstrate in daily activities a commitment to health and safety in the workplace by always ensuring tasks are performed in the safest possible manner.

• Report all hazards and incidents that the individual is party to, or observes, in the correct manner.

• When required or directed, participate in any health and safety training.

• Perform other related duties as required

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, or a related field.

Skills and Experience

Essential:

• Experience in a similar role.

• Strong experience in technical documentation.

• Familiar with the Shipley business winning process, or equivalent.

• Ability to deliver high quality documentation under tight deadlines with changing requirements.

• Strong Writing and Communication Skills.

• Ability to craft clear, concise, and persuasive proposals.

• Aptitude for gathering and analysing relevant information to enhance bid content.

• Ability to manage multiple bids at once, with strong organisational and time-management skills.

• Strong attention to detail, ensuring high standards of accuracy and compliance in every submission.

• Ability to work with multiple stakeholders across different departments.

• Strong attention to detail and creativity when creating proposals.

Desirable:

• Knowledge in Uncrewed Air Systems.

• Experience of creating CONOPS.

• Familiarity with public and private sector tendering procedures, often including frameworks like OJEU (Official Journal of the European Union).

• A background in engineering or aerospace is a plus.

Personal Attributes

• Must be a British Citizen or have an existing right to work in the UK.

• Ability to commit to occasional national and international travel.

• Excellent communicator.

• Team player and a quick learner with the ability to learn independently.

• Enthusiasm for their work and self-motivated.

• A full valid UK driving license.

• Ability to hold Security Clearance – 5 years residence in the UK.

Callen-Lenz is an equal opportunities employer, committed to building an inclusive working environment. We welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of their race, sex, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation, or age. It is essential that the successful candidate must, by the start of their employment have permission to work in the UK. Proof of identity and eligibility to work in the UK will be required prior to commencement of employment.

Please be aware that many roles at BAE Systems are subject to both security and export control restrictions. These restrictions mean that factors such as your nationality, any nationalities you may have previously held, and your place of birth can restrict the roles you are eligible to perform within the organisation. All applicants must as a minimum achieve Baseline Personnel Security Standard. Many roles also require higher levels of National Security Vetting where applicants must typically have 5 to 10 years of continuous residency in the UK depending on the vetting level required for the role, to allow for meaningful security vetting checks.