Bids Officer

Role overview

The Education People, part of Commercial Services Group, is seeking a proactive Bids Officer to join its expanding team. This permanent full-time position offers the chance to strengthen bid expertise, work across different teams, and help drive growth for a broad and ambitious organisation.

The role is based in Aylesford, Kent, with a hybrid working pattern. It is a 37-hour per week position and carries a salary of £28,000 per year.

About the organisation

The Education People provides specialist services that support children, education settings and wider public sector needs. Its work spans areas such as early years and childcare, equality and inclusion, school improvement, and professional development, delivering practical support to education-focused institutions.

Commercial Services Group is a UK-based local authority-owned trading company with significant scale across education and public-sector services. Its activities cover education, IT, HR, legal, energy, procurement and other service areas, with profits reinvested into frontline services.

Key purpose of the role

This role sits at the heart of the bid process. The successful candidate will help identify bid opportunities, support end-to-end tender activity, and ensure submissions are accurate, persuasive and aligned to client needs and business priorities. Strong judgement, close coordination and a detail-oriented approach will be central to success.

What you will do

• Spot suitable tender, framework and bid opportunities that support business development.
• Monitor upcoming procurement activity and maintain constructive relationships with procurement contacts.
• Help manage the complete bid journey, from initial assessment through to final handover.
• Gather and coordinate input from subject matter experts across multiple brands.
• Support ongoing improvements in bid quality, workflow and related processes.
• Develop bid plans and assist colleagues in producing timely, high-quality responses.
• Contribute to CPD activity for business and content specialists.
• Record and monitor risks, assumptions and opportunities during the tender process.
• Escalate staffing or resource gaps and challenge proposed solutions with the client’s needs in mind.
• Compile, publish and submit tender documents within agreed deadlines.
• Work alongside Platform Account Managers to make effective use of systems such as Tussell.

What we are looking for

• Previous project management experience with the ability to coordinate multiple steps and stakeholders.
• Experience with bids and tender submissions across different business areas is useful, though not mandatory.
• The ability to develop productive working relationships with colleagues, customers and external partners.
• Confident IT ability, especially with Microsoft Office applications.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Excellent attention to detail and commercial awareness.

Benefits

• Annual salary of £28,000.
• 25 days of annual leave, increasing to 27 days after four years of service.
• Birthday day off.
• One concessionary day during the Christmas period.
• Pension scheme with a 4% employer contribution.
• Life assurance cover.

Inclusion and accessibility

The employer is committed to building a diverse, inclusive and respectful workplace. Applications are encouraged from suitably qualified candidates of all backgrounds. The organisation is also a member of Inclusive Employers and a Working Families Employer, reflecting its focus on flexibility, belonging and inclusion.

Additional information

Contract type: permanent. Working pattern: full-time, 37 hours per week. Location: hybrid in Aylesford, Kent.