Bid Manager

Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

In fast changing markets, customers worldwide rely on Thales. Thales is a business where brilliant people from all over the world come together to share ideas and inspire each other. In aerospace, transportation, defence, security and space, our architects design innovative solutions that make our tomorrow's possible.

We have been present in Saudi Arabia for 40 years and with over 600 employees to date, we are growing rapidly. Together we are delivering our signalling, control and train protection systems for the North South Railway (NSR), the longest system of its kind in the world. Together we are key suppliers of In-flight entertainment and connectivity systems as well as air traffic management solutions in Saudi. We are making Saudi Arabia a safer place by securing the country's critical infrastructure and e-security solutions that secure the country's electronic payment systems. Thales has been selected to supply major electronic systems for air defence and the Group also supplied communication and optronic systems for the Army, the Saudi Arabia National Guards and the Air Force.

JOB OBJECTIVE:

• Manage the complete bids lifecycle and ensuring the bids activities are accomplished as per the bids standards.
• Create a winning and profitable bid with a viable solution for the Customer in accordance with the objectives fixed.
• Make sure that the bid relies on validated commitments for description of the work, costs, performance and scheduling for supplies internal or external to the Group.
• Support and prepare necessary artifacts for Bid/No Bid Review.
• Ensure transition to the project for successful handover.
  
  

ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Ensure the coordination of all Work Package Manager (WPM) activities for the preparation of the bid and the initial project baseline which will be transferred to the Project Manager:
• Source Data for the future project (Proposal, Contract...)
• Requirements Baseline for the future project (Technical and Non-Technical Requirements)
• Execution Baseline for the future project (WBS, OBS, PBS, RAM, Master schedule, Resource planning, Estimate Pack and cash profile, Risks and Opportunities Register, Initial Plan(s) ..)
• Justification for the future project (Compliance Matrix, Solution Justification)
• Identify the supply chain to set up for the project.
• Identify, define and organize all cost elements to be considered in the Project Lifecycle.
• Coordinate with various internal and external stakeholders, organize meetings, MOM and manage the open items for successful closure.
• Contribute to the assessment of alternative solutions.
• Contribute to the identification of customer selection criteria and hot buttons.
• Contribute to the definition of the Make/Team/Buy strategy and for the involvement of KIP, the Industrial & contractual strategy.
• Manage the creation of the bid deliverables, shaping a compelling offer and ensuring review and governance, leading to the creation of a high-quality proposal.
• The role will also involve occasional ad-hoc duties that are not listed above but are necessary to respond to the needs of the business. These ad-hoc duties will be consistent with the nature of a position within Thales.
  
  

WORK EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS:

• 5+ years of experience in Bid Management or in a similar role within the industry.
• Experience in defining the bids winning strategy, winning price and the target costs by work packages.
• Assessment of cost drivers: technical solution, choices of material & suppliers, planning, workload, opex, etc.
• Preparation of Gate Business Cases.
• Management of high-quality customer deliverables.
• Experience in smooth transition from bids to projects.
• Compilation of lesson learnt and applying in future bids.
  
  

Qualification, Certification & Educational Requirements:

• Bachelors in Electrical / Electronic / Computer / IT or relevant Engineering certified by Saudi Engineering of Council (SEC)
  
  

Preferred Skills:

• Association of Proposal Management Professionals Certified.
• Certified associate in project management.
• Ability to adapt personal style of management and communication to achieve the desired results from interactions with team members and stakeholders.
• Ability to drive the right bid solutions to conclusion across complex multi-faceted organizational and stakeholder boundaries.
• Ability to successfully manage change.
• Excellent professional bid management skills.
• Negotiation skills with the ability to deal with customers, partners, suppliers and other parts of the business (stakeholder management skills).
• Strong organizational, managerial and team working skills.
• Excellent Analytical skills.
• Commercial, financial and business acumen.
• Estimation and cost benchmarking methods.
• A positive attitude combined with excellent interpersonal and motivational skills.
• Able to work under tight schedule, technical and operational constraints.
• Flexibility on work as project or company needs.
• High sense of responsibilities and ownership.
• Able to use engineering tools and processes.
  
  

At Thales we provide CAREERS and not only jobs. With Thales employing 80,000 employees in 68 countries our mobility policy enables thousands of employees each year to develop their careers at home and abroad, in their existing areas of expertise or by branching out into new fields. Together we believe that embracing flexibility is a smarter way of working. Great journeys start here, apply now!