Junior Bid Writer

Junior Bid Writer (37 hours per week, Permanent)

Location: Contractual base in Salvus House, Durham with hybrid working opportunities

Salary: £25,733 - £32,165 plus a discretionary bonus potential of up to 8% of annual salary

Job Level: D

Reporting to: Bid Manager

We want our people to have a great work-life balance and support flexible working in terms of a hybrid model and varying start and finish times in some teams where possible. Please discuss this further with the hiring manager during your interview.

About Us
Wave is a leading national business water retailer helping over 300,000 customers across the UK to benefit from the non-household water market. We're dedicated to helping businesses lower water use, be more water efficient and reduce costs – all which helped us earn all which helped us proudly earn the Water Retailer of the Year award in 2021, reclaim the title in 2023. Most recently, we celebrate the win again in 2025, where the judges highlighted our commitment to social value and sustainability as well as our market-leading customer service. Our vision is to be the most customer-focused utility delivering value and efficiency in everything we do, making a positive difference to the environment and society.

The culture at Wave is like nowhere else. We're committed to a happy, healthy place to work, and have a working environment which supports continuous learning and development, one where people can really flourish. Our people are at the centre of everything we do. Joining us means you'd be part of a team of over 300 people working flexibly across two UK based offices. You'll find a real focus on employee wellbeing and some great benefits too. We expect great things from you and we give great things back.

WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU?

Wealth

• Excellent pension scheme - we will double match your contribution, up to a maximum of 5% employee contribution and 10% from Wave
• Bonus potential
• Perkbox membership with a vast range of perks - high street savings (fashion retailers, supermarkets and restaurants), discounted cinema tickets, travel and holiday discounts and online fitness classes
• Income protection scheme
• Personal accident insurance
• 4x salary life assurance
• Free onsite parking

Time off

• 24 days holiday rising to 26 (plus bank holidays)
• A day off for your birthday
• Half a day on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve
• The option to buy holidays
• 1 day paid volunteering

Wellbeing

• Hybrid/Flexible working
• Healthcare cashback and treatment scheme
• Cycle to work scheme
• Annual conference and Christmas party
• 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme
• Free flu shots

Family Friendly

• Enhanced maternity and paternity pay
• Enhanced shared parental and adoption leave
• We care about you as an employee and have a range of resources available to both you and your family

THE ROLE IN A NUTSHELL

The Bid Team are responsible for supporting the Sales Teams and Account Managers in developing bespoke content for bids across Industrial, Commercial and Public Sector customers.

The team is looking for a Junior Bid Writer to support the creation of tailored proposals, as well as helping with the coordination of the end-to-end bid process and bid library management. You will do this in a way which will help us to continue to develop our award-winning culture.

The role will suit you if you are a motivated individual colleague with a flare for writing and excellent organisational skills.

WHAT WILL YOUR TYPICAL DAY LOOK LIKE?

• Maintain and manage the bid library, ensuring it is regularly updated with engaging and relevant business development materials.
• Develop tailored proposals and response content to support successful business outcomes.
• Successfully coordinate and manage bids from when it enters the bid process until submission to the customer, including gathering information from stakeholders across Wave to include in Wave's submission.
• Work with the Sales Team to develop win themes for each opportunity and ensure this is conveyed clearly in the proposal and bid submissions.
• Ability to apply creative design thinking to produce visually engaging written content—using InDesign—to bring proposals to life and capture attention.
• Complete bid-related questionnaires on time and in the correct format.
• Successfully manage multiple tasks with varying deadlines and scales of priority.
• Produce high quality written responses to formal tender enquiries in an efficient, timely and professional manner.
• Proactively manage the bid mailbox, ensuring all new enquiries are addressed promptly and coordinating necessary actions independently.
• Collaborate with various departments and stakeholders to coordinate tasks within the bid process, ensuring all aspects of bid governance are completed effectively and efficiently.
• Build excellent inter-departmental relationships to ensure the successful gathering of bid information where required.
• Arrange and lead kick off calls to establish win themes and agree bid timelines.

WHAT DO WE NEED FROM YOU?

• Excellent written abilities, demonstrating an ability to present information to the reader in a clear, concise, and compelling manner.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office packages, including Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Experienced in the process of gathering and relaying information through the written word in a clear and compelling manner.
• An excellent communicator (both written and verbal).
• A team player.
• An eye for detail and a proven ability to use design skills to make eye-catching written material.
• Organised and motivated with a positive "can do" attitude.
• Keen to learn new things and develop new skills.
• Committed to delivering to deadlines.
• Capable of working within Excel to carry out basic analytical tasks, or a proven ability to adapt to learning within Excel.
• The demonstrated use of InDesign or similar software (Illustrator, Photoshop etc) would be an advantage but not essential.

Please refer to the essential criteria in the job description as this is what you will be shortlisted against.

Wave is committed to making a positive difference to the environment and society in which it operates. If you are excited to join a dynamic growing business which cares about its people, we would love to hear from you.

BE YOURSELF – OUR DIFFERENCES MAKE US STRONGER

Wave is proud to be an inclusive employer and actively encourage applications from all backgrounds. We will take into consideration any adjustments or individual requirements at any stage of your recruitment journey. If you require any additional support related to menopause, neurodiversity, or any other reason, please do let us know by contacting
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Please ensure you attach your CV and a covering letter so we can get to know more about your skills and experience and why you are suitable for this role. We will not be able to consider applications without a covering letter.

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