Bid Specialist

Looking for a role where you can make a real impact? Help us win the work that sets new standards and drives change that matters.   Join us and be part of a team where your bids will help determine the projects we take on next.   Read on!   (this will be a long write up but we like to give you all the details before you spend your time applying) _____________________________________________________________________________________  We are Laminar Projects!    If you’ve already heard about us, you’re probably reading this because you’re tired of the typical, chaotic ways of doing things in construction. But in case you haven’t, we’re a high-end project management consultancy and tech developer with a focus on upgrading the way construction projects are delivered. Improving construction strengthens the very foundation of human civilisation. (Check out our short film about it.)    We bring transparency and control to projects through a pragmatic mix of the latest tech, our own processes, and a big dose of common sense. We then take our deep understanding of these projects and we invest heavily into developing the digital solutions that anyone can use to deliver their projects better. (Check out Shape, our construction management tech, to see what we’re doing.)    The core of all this is our true secret sauce: our people. We only recruit the very best, both in capability and personality. We’re deeply focused on designing a new type of organisation that’s optimised for the flourishing of the people in the team first and foremost. People who join us develop fast as a whole person in ways they never imagined. (Read more about our vision and missions.)    This approach has allowed us to grow from just two people in 2017 to over 220 today. We have a stable, repeat client base across data centres, major infrastructure schemes, and complex building projects in the UK and internationally, and we’re still growing fast. Joining us isn’t just some “job”. It’s a transformative educational experience. We challenge you to be your best self in all aspects of life. There are many diverse and interesting challenges available. It’s up to you to guide yourself into whichever areas you’re most interested – we’ll enable it.     (Get to know us better by watching a few more of our videos.)    Core values for a good life    A life of human flourishing is all about meaningful relationships and challenging yourself to create a positive impact, so our values reflect the four levels of relationships that each of us has:

• Grow yourself – your relationship with yourself  
• Care about people – your relationship with others around you  
• Execute to greatness – your relationship with your team  
• Build civilisation – your relationship with humanity and the world  

   We enshrined our values in our vision:    We exist so that everyone in our team can flourish in a high-impact community that:

• Connects us with meaningful relationships
• Inspires us to develop ourselves to become better humans
• Empowers us to pursue our own learning adventures

   By first doing this, we can achieve the highest levels of value for the world.    And enable the achievement of our vision through our two missions:

1. To fully digitalise the construction of human civilisation
2. To create a new type of organisation that enables human flourishing while delivering a huge positive impact on society

_____________________________________________________________________________________ The Role   Purpose of the role   This role is for someone who will own Laminar's bid function end to end. You will run every pursuit from market sounding through submission and lessons learned, and you will build the bid capability of colleagues across the wider business, not just within your own function. To do this effectively, you will understand what Laminar delivers, how we do it, and our unique selling point.   You will assess opportunities for eligibility before go/no-go, prepare and facilitate go/no-go review, and present a clear recommendation to the relevant sector Director. Final go/no-go authority will sit with the sector Director; you will own the process, the papers, and the argument.   Writing will sit at the center of this role. You will break down complex questions, interrogate what the customer actually wants and needs, and write or edit responses that are compliant and compelling rather than literal by steering a group of collaborative Laminar Subject Matter Experts.   Team   This role takes on the entire bid function by inheriting two years of working infrastructure: a bid library, a case study repository, Confluence-based process documentation, and a set of Claude-powered bid tools built specifically for Laminar's bid process. You are not starting from a blank page. You will work closely with Laminar’s Leaders always be backed the support of Laminar’sSubject Matter Experts and the wider organisation.   You will work across four sectors: Data Centres, Major Infrastructure, High-tech, and Buildings. Across all four, you will be positioning Laminar's consultancy services in project management, project controls, cost and commercial, and data and digital. The rhythm is fast and reactive. You will work closely with sector directors and consultants when a bid is live and work on process improvements between bids.   Your top three objectives:

1. Deliver excellent bids by owning and running Laminar’s bid process end-to-end.
2. Build bid capability across the wider business, so bid quality does not depend on one person or function.
3. Continuously improve Laminar's bid infrastructure and processes, including the bid library, case study repository, and Claude-powered bid tools.

Your top five responsibilities:

1. Write Excellent Bids: You will develop and write excellent bids by breaking down complex questions, interrogate what the customer actually wants and needs, to ensure responses are compliant and compelling.
2. Own bid management end-to-end: You will run an initial eligibility assessment before any opportunity reaches go/no-go, checking Laminar holds the required accreditations, experience, and capacity to bid competitively. Where an opportunity passes initial assessment, you will prepare go/no-go papers and facilitate the go/no-go meeting, presenting a clear recommendation to the relevant Director. You will run all live bids end-to-end, coordinating subject matter experts and reviewers against the submission deadline. You will work with Laminar's internal design team, where graphics or diagrams strengthen a submission.
3. Drive review and continuous improvement: You will chair and run bid reviews using Laminar's existing review frameworks, lead client debriefs after submission, and run lessons learned at the close of each bid. You will identify, propose, and implement improvements to bid processes and systems.
4. Build and maintain bid infrastructure: You will maintain the bid library, case study repository, and Confluence-based process documentation, keeping all three current and usable by the wider team. You will manage the six-monthly consultant resume refresh cycle and use Laminar's Claude-powered bid tools in day-to-day bid management.
5. Support wider business development: You will monitor procurement portals and framework notifications, support market sounding activity, and respond to PQQs and RFIs. You will represent Laminar at client clarification sessions and market engagement events, and coach colleagues across the wider business who contribute to bids. You will use PandaDoc to support proposal development and production. 

  Your capabilities   You will combine deep bid craft with the judgment to help Laminar submit successful bids. You will move fluidly between detail (interrogating a single question) and system (improving the process that produces every answer), and you will hold your own with senior stakeholders without needing to be managed closely. You must have: 

• Mastery: An excellent bid writer with strong written English, and a track record of running competitive bids for project management, project controls, cost and commercial, or data and digital consultancy; ideally within construction, infrastructure, data centre delivery, UK public sector or framework procurement. You can interrogate a brief to find what a client actually wants rather than what they've literally asked for and turn that into responses that are both compliant and compelling. You've built or materially improved bid infrastructure (library, case study repository) rather than only used one, and you have worked with PandaDoc or a similar proposal platform.
• Communication: Confident enough to challenge a director's recommendation with evidence, without needing the final call. You can facilitate storyboarding and answer-planning workshops with SMEs to structure a response before drafting begins, and you're comfortable being the only bid specialist in the room; translating bid strategy for consultants and sector directors who don't think in bid language day to day.
• Leadership: A self-starter who has built something, be it a process, a tool, a library rather than only used one, and who can drive urgency from contributors while prioritising across multiple live bids at once.
• Impact: A demonstrated record of winning bids across both the public and private sectors.

  Nice to have (if you don't have it now, you will after joining):

• Mastery: Comfort using AI tools in a working capacity, Claude in particular, including building or adapting bid-specific tools rather than only using off-the-shelf ones.
• Communication: Experience presenting bid strategy or go/no-go recommendations directly to a board or senior leadership audience.
• Leadership: Experience running a function solo, rather than always inside a larger team. 
• Impact: Familiarity with private sector bidding and frameworks across EMEA, with a particular focus on data centres. 

Laminar isn’t the place for you if any of the following is true:  

• You want an easy, chilled-out role without much challenge  
• You like to be the smartest person in the room  
• You don’t like regularly receiving structured and honest feedback to support your development
• You prefer to do your own thing rather than work with a team  

_____________________________________________________________________________________  Frequently Asked Questions     What kind of bids would I be working on? 
You'll work on some of the most complex and interesting schemes in the world. We've delivered over 100 data centres internationally, supported flagship infrastructure programmes like HS2, and contributed to over $30bn in power generation and transmission projects. You will help shape the bids that win work like these. You might find yourself writing responses across sectors such as data centres, infrastructure (including defence, rail, nuclear, and highways), high tech (advanced manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and semiconductors), or complex building projects. These aren't hands-off assignments, but instead, they're dynamic environments designed for people who want to be challenged, and we bring back the lessons from every bid to help the team grow and win more. (Check out our case stories.)      Who are our clients?  Government agencies, major owners/operators, and main contractors, with project values between £1m and £1bn+ globally.     Where would I be working?  This is a hybrid role. Most weeks you'll work from home, and during peak bid periods you'll spend more time in our London office pulling a response together with the team, running a workshop, or just catching up over a beer. We're very considerate of everyone's personal life, and we'll work with you to secure arrangements that support a healthy work/life balance. _____________________________________________________________________________________  Benefits    The standard stuff:     - Health Insurance Scheme. Comprehensive private health coverage - for you and your family. Because your well-being is our priority   - Pension Scheme. A competitive plan to help you plan for the long term - plus salary sacrifice options available to maximize your savings   - Bonus Scheme. As a permanent member of the team, you’ll share in our success. Our annual bonus is designed to reward both the now and the future - with a flexible mix of cash and high-growth equity that you choose. Bonuses are discretionary and based on performance   - Professional body membership. One fee covered per year - so you can stay connected to your field and develop your craft   - Cycle to Work Scheme. A tax-efficient way to get wheels - and do your bit for the environment     The life-changing stuff:    - In-house coaching. Regular 1:1 coaching sessions, fully confidential, to help you navigate challenges, build self-awareness, and grow intentionally - professionally and as a human being  - Equity upside. As we grow, you grow. Our generous equity scheme is especially powerful for those who stay with us on our journey. You help us build the future - and own a piece of it   Work where it makes sense - most of our team works from home, visiting sites or clients regularly. We care about outcomes, not clock-ins   Our goal is for every year here to be worth five years of development anywhere else. You’ll get a coach, a mentor, honest feedback, and a culture that challenges you to keep levelling up  _____________________________________________________________________________________      We get thousands of applications so please write us a letter as part of your application explaining: 

• Why do you want to join us?
• If you joined, where do you think you could make the most impact and how?
• Your approach to writing compelling bids

  We aren't a giant, faceless corporation; we really care about the people who want to join our team, so your letter will be read carefully. After that, we’ll reach out to you to schedule a casual conversation to help you get to know us a bit better and tell us a bit about yourself. A couple of technical and personal assessments follow to understand your capability based on our own development matrix.      This is to ensure that when you join, you’re starting at the right level of responsibility.