About SercoAt Serco, not only is the nature of the work we do important, everyone has an important role to play, from caring for vulnerable people to managing complex public services. We are a team of 50,000 people responsible for delivering essential public services around the world in areas including defence, transport, justice, immigration, healthcare and citizen services. We are innovators, committed to redesigning and improving public services for the benefit of everyone.
By joining Serco you will have unlimited access to our Global Employee Networks – SercoInspire (Gender), SercoEmbrace (Multicultural), SercoUnlimited (Disability) and In@Serco (LGBT & Networks). Serco Employee Networks, led by colleagues who are passionate about diversity, inclusion and belonging.
Principal Bid Lead – DefenceHome Based (with UK travel)Full Time, Permanent £75,000+ per annum plus benefits (depending on experience)
Company Car + Bonus
Here at Serco, we are seeking a Principal Bid Lead to join our Growth team with proven experience of Capture and Bids of significant complexity and scale, with specific focus on bidding and winning work with Public Sector bodies. You will take on a key role in driving our success within the Defence sector. This is a fantastic opportunity to lead on large, complex bids and play a pivotal part in shaping the future of Serco’s Defence services – a significant growth area for the business.
We’re looking for a proactive and innovative individual with the ability to develop and sell tailored solutions and consistently deliver results. You will possess both capture and bid management leadership skills, as well as recognising the importance of creating and sustaining bid teams within the capability and capacity to produce winning results.
Serco’s purpose is to impact a better future
- we bring together the right people, the right technology, and the right partners to create innovative solutions that deliver positive impact and address some of the most urgent and complex challenges facing governments globally. Our services are powered by more than 50,000 colleagues working across multiple sectors including defence, space, migration, justice, healthcare, transport, and customer services in four regions: UK & Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East.As part of this you’ll:
- Bid Leadership: Manage end-to-end bid processes on high-value, complex opportunities, from pre-qualification through to post-submission, ensuring delivery of compelling, winning bids that align with Serco’s strategic goals.
- Capture Strategy: Develop and execute comprehensive capture plans, integrating insights and customer intelligence to maximise win probabilities.
- Collaboration: Work closely with Business Development, Operational Teams, and other stakeholders to ensure seamless capture and bid execution and effective use of Serco’s capabilities.
- Customer Engagement: Lead key customer interactions, including presentations, negotiations, and stakeholder management, ensuring the voice of the customer is embedded throughout the bid lifecycle.
- Team Leadership: Build, mentor, and sustain high-performing bid teams, fostering a collaborative and innovative environment that drives success.
What you’ll need to do the role:
- Proven success in winning highly complex, large, competitively tendered Defence bids.
- Experience in structured methodologies such as APMP, Prince2, Shipley, Miller Heiman would be advantageous.
- Ability to assess capture performance to measure effectiveness, anticipate and resolve problems.
- Strong commercial and financial understanding to enable optimum balance of risk, reward, and price to embed within qualified opportunities.
- High performance, goal-orientated, and creative problem-solving skills.
- Ability to operate successfully in a challenging, changeable, and high-profile role, within a volatile and dynamic market environment.
- Proficiency in bidding methodologies, and ability to flex and adapt to ensure excellence of execution over tick box compliance.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills – active listening, ability to articulate customers’ environment and needs to all management levels.
- Demonstrate ability to self-motivate and self-manage whilst providing leadership to a diverse team.
Why Serco:
In this position, your work is vital to the business, in terms of decisions and growth. You will gain a world of opportunity working for a globally operating business delivering essential services across 5 vital sectors, personal growth, achievement, and development won’t be hard to find. You'll also work with great people. You’ll find yourself working in a highly motivated, supportive environment where no two days are the same, with experienced colleagues who strive for excellence.
Serco Defence has been delivering services in the UK since our first contract with RAF Fylingdales in 1964 and we currently service 70+ military contracts with the Ministry of Defence. In Maritime, we work with the Royal Navy for all afloat services, providing critical support to assets, infrastructure, and operations. In Aviation, we provide a range of critical technical, airfield and airport support services for the armed services, OEMs, and civilian airport operators around the world. In Space and Security, we operate in military satellite communication support services, air defence radar, ballistic missile early warning and space support as well as space data handling and have a strong heritage, expertise and skills in the whole space and security environment. In Land, we deliver asset and facilities management services to the Ministry of Defence built estate, as well as repairs and maintenance work for Service Family Accommodation through a 50:50 Joint Venture between Serco and EQUANS).
What we offer:
- Company car / £4200 cash allowance.
- Bonus – 10% on target, 20% max.
- Private medical insurance.
- 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays.
- Annual leave purchase scheme.
- Up to 6% contributory pension scheme
- Flexible working options.
- A Serco benefits portal offering a wide range of discounts for major high street brands in Retail, Leisure & Hospitality.
- A range of benefits to support the health and wellbeing of you and your family such as Employee Assistance Programme, Health Cash Plans, free flu jabs and more.
- A wealth of career development training to suit your future aspirations. These range from role specific training, leadership coaching, formal study and much more to support you to build your career with Serco.
- A safe and supportive culture.
- A company passionate about diversity and inclusion.
ApplyPlease click on the apply button to complete your application. Occasionally we receive a large volume of applications for our roles and when that happens we sometimes bring the closing date forward, so please apply promptly to avoid disappointment.
At Serco, we see people first and foremost for their performance and potential. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organisation that supports the needs of all. As such we will make reasonable adjustments at interview through to employment for our candidates and strongly encourage applications from a diverse candidate pool. We are open to discussions around flexibility and flexible working. We operate a hybrid work structure in many of our business areas. We are proudly Disability Confident Leader employers and holder of the Gold Inclusive Employer Standard. Disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the job will be given the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities at an interview. For help with your application please contact 0345 010 4000.
At Serco we support fair access to employment for those with unspent criminal convictions through the ‘Ban the Box’ pledge (some may be exempt due to the nature of the role and the security clearance required). Please contact our recruitment team directly on 0345 010 4000 to discuss.
Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme
Disability Confident
About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to
Disability Confident.
