2027 Bid Management Apprentice - Crawley

What you'll do

Bid Management is a key and fast paced role within Thales UK – we deliver proposals to customers to win business by securing new projects which is vital to our success and growth. Bid Managers take responsibility for leading bids and work with other business functions to ensure business strategy is in line with the business goals and targets. As a Bid Management Apprentice, you will take on real responsibility and learn how to lead cross-functional teams to deliver successful bids. You will bring together the right people, information and ideas, manage activities and deadlines and help ensure our proposals demonstrate why customers should choose Thales.

You will gain experience in:

• Understanding and responding to customer requests
• Knowledge in structuring and estimating new projects
• Developing compelling and competitive proposals
• Supporting negotiations and working towards winning new contracts
• Understanding the commercial considerations behind winning business

Bid Apprentices will join a Thales UK domain bid team, you will be encouraged to contribute ideas, build relationships and take increasing ownership as your experience develops. Bid Apprentices will be supported in their learning journey, you will gain hands-on experience across the full bid lifecycle from understanding an opportunity and developing the strategy, through to coordinating and delivering the proposal, supporting negotiations and handing a successful contract over to the project delivery team. No two bids are quite the same, so you will get exposure to different bids/projects/products, customers and challenges while building valuable skills in communication, organisation, project management and business writing.

Responsibilities Include:

• Support the coordination of bids, tenders, proposals and other customer submissions
• Maintain bid plans, action trackers and submission schedules coordinating information and contributions from colleagues across different teams
• Assist with drafting, editing and formatting written responses to help ensure submissions are accurate, consistent, professional and completed on time
• Maintain bid libraries, case studies, standard responses, policies and supporting documentation
• Carry out research into customers, markets and competitors to support bid development
• Assist with preparing presentations and materials for bid reviews and customer meetings.
• Participate in bid reviews and lessons-learned sessions to identify opportunities for continuous improvement
• Develop an understanding of commercial considerations, procurement processes and how organisations win new business
• Complete the required learning and development activities associated with the apprenticeship programme

Training

Through our apprenticeship you'll be making the most of your talents, getting to understand the Project Management Function from the ground up; and doing so with the help of one of the biggest and best names in the industry.

You'll receive on-the-job training tailored to work alongside your studies, giving you the hands-on experience needed to develop practical skills and knowledge.

The programme will be delivered via a virtual delivery model, combining:

• Live virtual workshops
• 1-2-1 coaching calls
• Self-directed learning activities

Upon successful completion of your End Point Assessment, you will roll off into the Thales UK Bid and Project Management job family into a Project Planner or Project Controller role.

We are looking for enthusiastic individuals who are motivated, committed and keen to learn. A self-starter who can manage their time, show initiative and have a genuine interest in bids and Thales UK. Successful candidates will show self-discipline and an aspiration to achieve the qualification.

This is a 2-year programme, working towards the Level 4 Project Manager Associate Apprenticeship standard, with our training provider, The Apprentice Academy.

After the apprenticeship

Upon successful completion of your End Point Assessment, you will roll off into the Thales UK Bid and Project Management job family into a bid role.

Skills

• Communication skills
• IT skills
• Attention to detail
• Organisation skills
• Problem solving skills
• Presentation skills
• Number skills
• Analytical skills
• Logical
• Team working

Qualifications

• Essential: GCSE, 3 subjects (grade 9-4 or A*-C)
• Essential: GCSE, English (grade 9-4 or A*-C)
• Essential: GCSE, Maths (grade 9-4 or A*-C)
• Essential: A Level, 2 x subjects (grade C or above)

Things to consider

To be considered for this position, you must have the permanent right to work in the UK and be able to successfully complete and maintain UK Government security checks, including Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) screening and Security Clearance (SC), which is a government background check, before starting employment.

To be eligible for SC clearance, you will typically need to have lived in the UK continuously for the last five years. As part of the vetting process, you will be asked to provide evidence of your identity, right to work in the UK, any time spent overseas during the last five years, and your employment and/or education history.

For further details of the evidence required to apply for security clearance please follow this link - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/united-kingdom-security-vetting-clearance-levels/national-security-vetting-clearance-levels

Benefits

• Health care cash plan
• Hybrid/flexible working options
• Employee assistance programme
• Learning and development support
• Employee discounts and wellbeing initiatives
• Life Cover
• 80 hours volunteering per year (first two years)

About the employer

Together, we create the ingenious technological systems and innovations that impact and improve people's lives every single day. Even if you haven't heard the name Thales before, you've definitely benefited from our inventiveness. We reinvest 20% of our sales in Research & Development in the UK. Together we supply invention across 4 core areas: Aerospace, Space, Defence and Security, Digital Identity and Security.

Apprenticeship details

• Course: Associate project manager (level 4), Business and administration
• Apprenticeship level: Higher (level 4)
• Training provider: THE APPRENTICE ACADEMY LIMITED
• Expected duration: 2 Years
• Hours: 37 hours a week. Working week: Monday - Friday, 37 hours a week (8 hours Monday – Thursday, 5 hours Friday). Shifts to be confirmed.
• Start date: 6 September 2027
• Positions available: 2
• Wage: £24,000 a year