Job Description

Change your job, change your workplace, change your future...

Ricoh are currently recruiting for a Senior Global Bid & Proposal Manager based in London.

Ricoh transforms organisations, using innovative technologies and services enabling you as an individual to work smarter. This is what we call \xe2\x80\x9cempowering digital workplaces\xe2\x80\x9d.

In fact the entire Ricoh workforce enjoys our pioneering and innovative ways of working. We like to call it: imagine. change., it\xe2\x80\x99s the ethos of our brand and how we drive positive change for ourselves and others. Our teams are embracing change, fostering new ways of working and we have never been more resolute in our mission - "you work for us, and we`ll work for you".

The purpose of the RGS Deal & Contract Management team is to win and retain profitable business with Ricoh\xe2\x80\x99s largest global clients, through the creation and successful negotiation of commercial proposals across all lines of Ricoh\xe2\x80\x99s business. This requires a deep knowledge and understanding of the client, the competitive landscape and Ricoh\xe2\x80\x99s delivery capabilities. The D&CM team creates competitive and well-crafted proposal packages including commercial pricing models and commercial terms and conditions using standards and best practice developed by our team.

The Senior Global Bid & Proposal Manager (SGBPM) is responsible for leading a virtual team through the bid phase (from pursuit decision to verbal award) to deliver well-constructed, complex, winning bids and proactive proposals. The role is instrumental in supporting revenue creation and profitability through retention and expansion of current global accounts and specifically securing new clients for Ricoh globally. What you will be doing

• Supports the Global Deal Manager in completing deal qualifications (\xe2\x80\x9cgo/no-go\xe2\x80\x9d decision), summarizing the detail of the tender, level of effort (LoE) in responding, flagging key risks, and formally recording the decision with meeting minutes.
• Gathers SMEs to form bid teams. Chairs bid kick off calls and regular checkpoint calls with the virtual team, publishing agendas and minutes at all calls and ensuring all actions are followed up.
• Fully reviews tenders to assess clients\xe2\x80\x99 technical, operational, commercial and legal requirements and identify risks, ensuring a clear definition and allocation of client requirements and win themes to SMEs (including Ricoh Operating Companies (\xe2\x80\x9cOpCos\xe2\x80\x9d)) to enable completion of properly considered responses.
• Completes specific proposal response sections from boilerplate material and (where no boilerplate exists) drafts compelling and well-constructed bespoke material. Completes, vets and submits bid questions to clients and distributes answers to virtual bid team.
• Collates SMEs\xe2\x80\x99 and stakeholder tender responses into clients\xe2\x80\x99 required formats. Copy-edits final written proposals, including all inputs, to achieve well-constructed, consistent, coherent and compelling documents for clients, permeated by the win themes articulated by the Global Deal Manager.
• Completes and submits complete proposals to clients in the required timescales, managed via regular updating of the Bid Plan, tracking SME task completion against milestones and prompt escalation where timescales seem in jeopardy. This role is responsible for driving team member deliverables and managing them to the required Bid Timeline.
• Acts as client point of contact in bid correspondence and, where necessary, present elements of the proposal to clients, espousing the key elements of Ricoh\xe2\x80\x99s value proposition.
• Ensures adherence to appropriate deal governance, including (i) completion of key bid artefacts (including OAA, Channel Selection, Risk Register, Bid Caveats, Global Bid Tracker), (ii) sign off by the necessary stakeholders and (iii) correct closeout of bids (including handover to CNM, lessons learned and win/loss reviews), ensuring all SMEs contribute, documents are accurate and complete, and actions are followed up.
• Proactively advances the standards and best practices by initiating and leading improvement projects such as (i) updating the Bid Library with professional, creative and current collateral for use within global proposals and (ii) updating bid processes and methodologies to improve efficiency and governance.

Key Performance Measures:

• Agreed annual bid win rate
• Written proposals submitted to clients on time, to a high level of quality and elucidating the appropriate win themes.
• Clear bid team leadership with prompt resource assignment and follow up. Conflicts and issues resolved quickly.
• Bid process governance (including milestones, risk management, sign-off and win/loss close out) followed consistently for all opportunities. Ensure action owner accountability through clear communication and management of deadlines.
• Client communications made promptly, accurately and courteously.
• Internal and external calls chaired with clear agendas and minutes and actions, followed up promptly.
• Projects delivered to improve efficiency and governance and improve/share best practice.

You will ideally have

Education (desirable):

Honours degree 2:1 or higher, or equivalent (any discipline)

Skills:

• Project management: Strong project management and team leadership presence. Task-focused and deadline-driven. Establishes a systematic course of action for oneself and the virtual bid team to ensure timely submission of bid activities by setting priorities, goals and timelines to achieve maximum productivity, working calmly under time pressure. Effectively communicates and manages this action plan with bid team members.
• Content creation: Excellent written articulation, attention to detail and document creation/editing skills. Drafts, edits and manages detailed bid documentation to create logically constructed, winning bids which articulate Ricoh\xe2\x80\x99s capability in a clear and compelling manner and are aligned with clients\xe2\x80\x99 business objectives.
• Value proposition: Interest and passion in developing a knowledge of the products and services Ricoh offers (non-print digital services experience preferred). Ability to understand the full range of Ricoh\xe2\x80\x99s latest products and services offerings and relates these to clients\xe2\x80\x99 document environments and business objectives.
• Motivation: A passion for storytelling through creation of exceptional proposals which lucidly and succinctly convince clients that Ricoh is the right choice. A desire for continuous improvement (processes, documentation, etc).
• Affiliative: Ability to build and maintain a network of SMEs across different countries, cultures and hierarchies, in order to contribute to client proposal and bid library construction and operate collaboratively with Ricoh OpCos.
• Future: Shows line management potential, and/or potential to move into a Deal Management / Contracting role.

Knowledge:

• Language: Excellent written and verbal communication skills; fluent in English and ideally another major European language.
• IT: Extensive knowledge and experience of MS Office product suite and document creation and management tools, such as Word, Powerpoint, Sharepoint, Teams, Qvidian (optional), and client tender management software, such as Ariba.
• Product: Familiarity and understanding of a technical product set an advantage, e.g. telecoms, audio-visual, data-centres, IT services, software, IT security.
• Business Tools: Qualification in process improvement or project management techniques an advantage, e.g. PRINCE2, PMP, Six Sigma, Agile.
• Client: Understanding of the IT environment (structure, demands and working methodology) of corporate IT departments and experience in IT services or IT peripherals an advantage.

Experience:

• >3 years\xe2\x80\x99 experience in a bid manager, or similar global/major-enterprise client-facing, deadline-driven role, writing proposals (in English) and leading teams
• Experience working in a digital services company (e.g. telecoms, audio-visual, data-centres, IT services, software, IT security) preferable, demonstrating knowledge of features, benefits and limitations of a technical product/service
• Knowledge of how clients typically evaluate bidders is beneficial
• Experience of leading and delivering change projects to improve best practice, efficiency, and/or corporate governance.

In return for your commitment, you can expect

• A competitive salary package
• Industry leading benefits

Ricoh is an exceptional place to work. A place where there is strong emphasis on career development for the right individuals. This is a role where you can excel within a fast-paced environment and succeed within a thriving organisation.

This is an excellent opportunity to join a global company where you can truly capitalise and build on your own experience.

Ready to make that change? Apply now for a confidential conversation with our Recruitment Team. We are an equal opportunities employer

At Ricoh, we embrace and respect the collective and unique talents, experience, and perspectives of all people. Together we inspire remarkable innovation. That\xe2\x80\x99s how we live the Ricoh Way.

Ricoh have removed the disclosure of convictions box from their application process (ban the box - http://www.bitc.org.uk/programmes/ban-box) offering equal opportunities to all.

For all roles, we will judge each individual on their skills and ability before taking into account their history. However some roles are subject to sensitive and restrictive information and, if successful, you may be required to undertake pre-employment vetting checks which include but are not limited to residency check, credit reference check, financial sanctions` check and a DBS Check. Further information on Employment Vetting can be accessed by contacting the Ricoh Recruitment Team.

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