Tender and Contracts Manager

Job Description

At Hft, our vision is to create a future where learning disabled people can live the best life possible. We do this by coming together to campaign for positive change, provide personalised support and create solutions that enable people to live independently.

We’re looking for an experienced Tender and Contracts Manager to join our Business Development team and play a key role in helping Hft win new business, retain existing contracts and grow our income.

This is a key role for an exceptionally strong bid writer with proven experience within the social care sector. You’ll need to be able to develop compelling, persuasive and high-quality tender responses that demonstrate a clear understanding of commissioners’ requirements and position Hft strongly against the competition.

This is a fantastic opportunity for someone who enjoys bringing together commercial thinking, exceptional writing, project management and stakeholder engagement. You’ll take ownership of the end-to-end tender process, from identifying opportunities and making go/no-go recommendations through to submission and post-tender review. You’ll also manage the income contract lifecycle, ensuring our contracts are well governed, compliant and effectively managed from award through to renewal.

What you'll be doing

You’ll be the central point of contact for tendering and contract management activity across Hft, working with colleagues across finance, operations, legal, governance, marketing and communications, as well as external partners.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Managing the full tender lifecycle, from opportunity identification and go/no-go decisions through to contract award.
• Monitoring procurement portals and relevant platforms to identify new business opportunities.
• Coordinating internal and external contributors to ensure high-quality, timely submissions.
• Leading the writing, editing and quality assurance of compelling, high-scoring tender responses that directly address evaluation criteria and maximise our chances of success.
• Using exceptional bid writing skills to develop persuasive responses that clearly articulate Hft’s value proposition, demonstrate our social care expertise and differentiate us from competitors.
• Translating complex operational, technical and commercial information into clear and persuasive narratives.
• Developing strong value propositions, win themes, case studies and supporting evidence.
• Maintaining a central bid content library and ensuring our tender materials remain accurate, current and effective.
• Developing supporting tender documentation, including methodologies, pricing narratives, mobilisation plans and social value commitments.
• Managing the full income contract lifecycle, including awards, variations, amendments, renewals and change control.
• Maintaining an accurate contract register and monitoring key dates, obligations, risks and milestones.
• Working closely with finance and governance colleagues to ensure appropriate oversight, approval and risk management.
• Providing clear reporting and insight to senior leaders on the tender pipeline, contract portfolio, risks and commercial commitments.
• Leading post-tender debriefs and using feedback and lessons learned to continually improve our approach.
• Helping to build Hft’s organisational capability through training, guidance and support for colleagues involved in bid and tender activity.

What we're looking for

This role is not simply a contract management position. We are looking for an exceptional bid writer who understands social care and can turn complex information into compelling, high-scoring tender submissions.

Essential experience

You must have:

• Significant experience working within the social care sector, with a strong understanding of the sector, commissioning environment and the needs of social care providers.
• Exceptional bid/tender writing skills, with a proven ability to write persuasive, compelling and high-quality responses that meet evaluation criteria and demonstrate clear value.
• At least 3 years' experience in a bid, tender or proposal management role.
• A proven track record of managing end-to-end tender processes and producing successful submissions.
• Experience of managing contract variations, renewals and change control.
• Experience managing multiple bids and live contracts against demanding deadlines.
• Outstanding written, editing and proofreading skills, with an exceptional eye for detail.
• The ability to understand complex procurement, contractual and service information and translate it into clear, persuasive and engaging written responses.
• Strong stakeholder management skills and the confidence to influence and coordinate colleagues at all levels.
• Sound commercial judgement and the ability to identify and escalate contractual and financial risks.
• Strong organisational and project management skills, with the ability to remain calm while managing competing priorities.
• An understanding of governance, delegated authority, risk and audit requirements.
• Knowledge of UK public procurement legislation, including the Procurement Act 2023.

The person we're looking for

We're looking for someone who is an outstanding communicator and writer, with the ability to take information from multiple stakeholders and turn it into a coherent, persuasive bid that tells a compelling story.

You’ll be confident challenging and influencing contributors, asking the right questions to draw out the strongest content and ensuring every response is targeted towards what the commissioner is looking for.

Most importantly, you'll understand social care. You’ll be able to draw on your sector knowledge and experience to demonstrate how Hft can deliver high-quality services, achieve positive outcomes for people and provide commissioners with confidence in our ability to deliver.

We are seeking both strong social care experience and significant bid/tender writing experience

If you're an experienced bid and contract professional looking for a role where you can make a real difference, influence strategic decisions and help shape how an organisation approaches growth and commercial opportunities, we'd love to hear from you.