Deal Manager - ICT Bid Management

Role Overview and Key Responsibilities

This position is responsible for ensuring that all bids are submitted timely, complete, and strictly aligned with client specifications while maintaining business and delivery compliance. The role demands ownership of the entire bid process, including decision making on bid submissions early on and assuring no commitments are made that cannot be fulfilled by du's technical teams.

Accountability and Governance

• Ensure all bid submissions are comprehensive and punctual according to client requirements.
• Establish and record a firm bid or no-bid decision before architectural involvement.
• Achieve annual win rate targets for bid submissions.
• Reject any bid including unsupported commitments from the technical team.
• Withhold submission if critical documents like internal estimates or partner proposals are missing or incomplete;
• Escalate issues where price reductions compromise delivery scope or client profitability.
• Verify completeness and accuracy of estimates at Delivery Assurance Reviews.
• Ensure no sales stage progresses without meeting exit gate criteria.
• Use only approved proposal content and guarantee closing documentation standards prior to submission.

Bid Management and Team Leadership

• Own bid planning, timelines, and escalate delays rather than compress review schedules.
• Lead coordination among cross-functional teams including Sales, Architecture, Pricing, Finance, Legal, Contract Management, Product, and Delivery.
• Support overarching account strategies regarding propositions, competitive positioning, and pricing tactics.
• Apply a rigorous bid/no-bid evaluation based on six mandatory criteria, facilitating the Lead Qualification Forum.
• Schedule and manage key review meetings per established processes.
• Monitor related tender portals for relevant opportunities and ensure timely registration.

Bonds, Contracts, and Compliance

• Manage bid, tender, and performance bonds—handling approvals, Treasury timelines, retrievals, and cancellations.
• Register all Master Services Agreements and contracts requiring legal review prior to signing.
• Lead credit verification procedures adhering to published service standards.
• Ensure incorporation of mandatory ICT terms and conditions in all commercial proposals.
• Record demand in the Demand Portal at order handover and follow up on missing documents.
• Maintain bid archives and keep procurement portals updated.

Innovation and Continuous Improvement

• Employ artificial intelligence to optimize bid production through requirement extraction, compliance matrices, and initial drafts.
• Concentrate available time on enhancing arguments rather than increasing documentation volume.
• Contribute reusable assets like proposal modules, response libraries, and compliance matrices for each cycle.
• Lead monthly analyses of wins and losses for the top deals to identify root causes.
• Complete all compliance trainings, surveys, and reviews punctually before deadlines.

Performance Metrics

• Manage the percentage of du Tech bids personally led relative to annual targets.
• Maintain target bid win rates across all submissions.
• Ensure timely client-compliant submissions with documented action logs.
• Adhere to risk mitigation, compliance, and governance standards across client requirements.
• Follow through end-to-end governance from bid decisions through submission and handover.
• Support revenue security for renewals and change requests with ongoing bid assistance.
• Achieve completeness of estimates in every pursuit managed.
• Contribute to team success through knowledge sharing and reuse of assets.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in business, engineering, or a related discipline.
• Certifications such as APMP, PMP, or PRINCE2 are advantageous.
• At least 5 years of experience managing bids, proposals, or deals for enterprise and government contracts.
• Proven expertise with public sector tender processes, including portal submissions.
• Demonstrated ability to withhold submissions due to commercial or delivery risks successfully.
• Strong commercial awareness concerning margins, contracts, bonds, and associated risks.
• Practical experience utilizing artificial intelligence tools in proposal creation.
• Competence in directing cross-functional teams to meet fixed deadlines without formal authority.
• Advanced writing and editing skills focused on winning proposals.
• Ability to detect unpriced obligations and non-standard terms prior to contract sign off.
• Maintain quality standards even under tight timelines.