Senior Bids Manager

Permanent employee, Full-time · London

Key points

Contract Type: Full-time, Permanent contract
Working Pattern: Monday to Friday (with flexible start/finish times between 8 am–10 am and 5 pm–7 pm)
Hours: 40 hours per week

Occasional international travel may be required to support bid presentations or stakeholder workshops

Overview

As a Senior Bids Manager, you will report directly to the Head of New Business and be a key member of the wider new business and marketing team. You will be responsible for the end-to-end management of bids and tenders across international markets (EMEA / USA) and will collaborate closely with the Bids team responsible for the Asia region.
This is a pivotal role ensuring all proposals align with our strategic objectives, brand standards, and client expectations—positioning the practice to win high-profile projects worldwide.

Why This Role is Key

Lead efforts to secure transformative architectural commissions globally by shaping the strategy, quality, and delivery of bids.
Directly impact the future pipeline of projects for the practice.
Use your strategic thinking, creativity, and coordination skills to drive growth and elevate ZHA’s international reputation.

Main responsibilities

Bid Strategy & Leadership

Lead the bid process from opportunity identification to submission and post-tender feedback
Develop and refine winning strategies
Coordinate a team of 3+ bid coordinators and identify key resources to maximise success
Foster accountability, collaboration, and high performance within the team

Bid Management & Execution

Oversee the preparation of EOIs, RFPs, pre-qualifications, and final submissions
Ensure compliance with client requirements, procurement policies, and internal branding standards
Manage bid timelines, meetings, documentation, and version control across platforms

Cross-functional Collaboration

Work closely with sector leads, design teams, marketing, finance, and external consultants to gather relevant content and technical input

Quality Control & Continuous Improvement

Implement and maintain a robust quality control process for submissions
Document lessons learned, analyse feedback, and evolve bidding strategies and practices for continuous improvement

Personal skills

Self-motivated, goal-oriented, and deadline-driven.
Organised and detail focused.
Strong communication skills—both written and verbal.
Collaborative team player with excellent interpersonal skills.
Able to build strong relationships across all levels, internally and externally.
Professional, discreet, and able to handle confidential information.
Interest in architecture and the built environment.

Required experience

Minimum 5 years’ experience in bid management, ideally within architecture, construction, or the built environment.
Deep understanding of international bid processes, procurement regulations, and multi-disciplinary coordination.
Proven ability to build and maintain strong relationships with internal stakeholders and external clients.
Experience leading and mentoring a small team.
High level of accuracy and ability to manage multiple complex submissions simultaneously.
Strong strategic thinking and content development capabilities.
Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (especially InDesign), asset management systems (e.g. OpenAsset), and bid portals.
Strong Microsoft Office skills (especially Word and PowerPoint); excellent writing, editing, and proofreading abilities.
Degree (or equivalent) in Architecture, Business, Marketing, Communications, or a related field.
Professional certifications (e.g. CIM, APMP) preferred.
Experience in international markets (e.g. Middle East, Europe).

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About us

Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) redefined architecture for the 21st century with a repertoire of projects that have captured imaginations across the globe. Creating buildings uniquely tailored to the communities they serve, ZHA has been awarded the highest honours from professional and academic institutions worldwide. Founded by Zaha Hadid in 1979, ZHA is one of the world’s most consistently inventive architectural studios—and has been for four decades. These decades of pioneering research are inscribed within our architecture to become more spatially inventive, more structurally efficient, more technologically advanced, and more environmentally considerate with every new design. Combining innovative architectural solutions with ecologically sound materials and sustainable construction practices, we do not look at the disparate parts, but work to understand them as a whole to meet the aspirations of each new generation. As an employee-owned business, we reinvest all profits back into our people and our company; continually enhancing our multidisciplinary research to address the challenges impacting communities around the world.

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We are looking forward to hearing from you!

Thank you for your interest in Zaha Hadid Architects. Please fill out the following short form. Should you have difficulties with the upload of your data, please send an email to people@zaha-hadid.com