Head of Bid Management & Commercial Operations

About the role

Destinus, a provider of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for defense, is looking for a Head of Bid Management to lead its bid function. Reporting to the Head of Commercial Operations, you will own the end-to-end bid approach, from opportunity qualification and bid strategy through submission, negotiation support and post-bid analysis. You will build and lead a Bid Management team and work closely with Business Development, Sales, Engineering, Finance, Legal, Operations and senior leadership.

Key responsibilities

• Own and continuously improve the bid management strategy, processes, governance and tools
• Lead the full bid lifecycle, from opportunity assessment and go/no-go decisions through proposal development, submission, clarification, negotiation support and post-bid review
• Build, lead and develop a Bid Management team, initially 2 to 3 people, and coordinate cross-functional bid teams
• Turn customer requirements and tender documentation into clear bid strategies, timelines and deliverables
• Ensure proposals are accurate, compliant, commercially sound and aligned with customer needs and Destinus objectives
• Set up quality control across submissions and manage resources across concurrent bids
• Prepare bids for internal review and bidding committee approval, and run structured reviews of unsuccessful tenders
• Analyze competitor positioning and tender outcomes, and manage external suppliers supporting proposals while controlling the bid budget
• Create scalable processes, templates and documentation standards, and report on the bid pipeline and performance to senior stakeholders

Required profile

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business, Aerospace or a related field; a Master's or MBA is a plus
• 10+ years of experience in bid management, proposal management, business development or commercial operations in defense, aerospace or a highly regulated technical industry
• Proven track record of leading complex, high-value bids and building bid or proposal teams
• Strong commercial awareness, including pricing, contractual requirements, risk assessments and bid economics
• Excellent written and verbal English; additional European languages and experience with government agencies and defense organizations are a plus
• Willingness to travel when required

Required skills

• Understanding of defense procurement processes and tender frameworks (RFPs, RFQs, RFIs, government procurement)
• Ability to translate complex technical products into clear customer value propositions
• Experience coordinating cross-functional teams under demanding deadlines
• Use of bid data, competitor intelligence and tender outcomes to improve performance