Graduate - Business Development / Bid Writer

Graduate - Business Development / Bid Writer

Hybrid (2 days per week in Farringdon)

About us

Are you ready to embark on a career that places purpose at the heart of your career? Commonplace (powered by Zencity) has a vital role in improving our planet and our communities. Join an award-winning team in #techforgood and #bcorp platform Commonplace, a fast-growing Series B tech scaleup in the digital engagement space.

We're on the look-out for a Graduate Bid Writer to join our SaaS Go To Market Team. Reporting to the UK Managing Director, this role will provide unique commercial experience and an in-depth understanding of product-led value creation.

Commonplace connects people with the places where they live, work or play. Our customers, typically working in the built environment or in place-making: local & central government, police forces, real estate developers, housing associations, rail & energy companies, architects and planners. In the UK alone, we've launched over 16,500 Commonplaces and reached 12 million people; across the US and UK we're currently working with over 350 customers.

We provide our customers with social media monitoring, census-level representative community surveys and a web platform for hosting inclusive conversations and co-design activities. Our goal is to build trust and improve the quality of life and fabric of neighbourhoods.

In order to unlock our next phase of growth, this role will develop proposals, bid responses and procurement framework listings to support our business development efforts. We're super excited about this opportunity to scale and ready to power-up our team.

About you

We're looking for a graduate to join the business who has a keen interest in local government, place-making and the built environment. You'll receive expert training and support from an expert bid writer and you'll work directly with our Managing Director on a daily basis.

Your role

• Ensure that we are notified of all published business opportunities by reviewing our listings and subscriptions
• Manage the tender pipeline: assigning, monitoring, reporting, and fast-tracking tasks for RFP projects, escalating as necessary
• Qualify published bids and tenders, recommend whether to proceed or not
• Collaborate with colleagues around the company to assemble a winning proposal
• Respond to procurement questionnaires and requests
• Prepare teams for proposal-related presentations and demonstrations
• Develop a library of resources for easy incorporation in upcoming bids, establish AI capability to power a larger volume of high quality bids in future
• Track our tender history and performance to feed learnings and enhancements into future bids
• Continuously adjust our proposal strategy based on new product releases developed by our in-house tech team

Skills and experience

• 2:1 or 1st class degree from a leading university
• Minimum of AAB at A Level (or equivalent UCAS points)
• Keen interest in local government / built environment / place-making
• Exceptional written communication and presentation skills, attention to detail
• Ability to articulate complex concepts in a concise, yet simple manner
• Comfortable collaborating with a varied group of people across the company
• Curious about product and technology, ready to learn our product inside out
• Proactive and eager to learn
• Ready to work in a fast paced environment, with the ambiguity and change inherent of a scale-up
• Previous placement, marketing, or writing experience (desirable but not essential)

Compensation and benefits

• Competitive salary range £30k-£35k
• Potential to earn commission after six months initial period
• Share options on our discounted and tax-friendly EMI scheme
• 33 days holiday including bank holidays, plus discretionary December closure days
• 20 days fully paid company sick leave
• Flexibility in working hours to help you maintain work / life balance that suits you
• Confidential mental health support for employees through Spill
• Family friendly practices, such as enhanced maternity and paternity leave
• Season ticket loan to help offset the upfront cost of public transport
• Cycle to work scheme

Our Culture

Our team is proud of our supportive and inclusive culture, and we're committed to making Commonplace welcoming to everyone who comes to work with us. We're an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

We're also proud to be B Corp certified. B Corps are businesses that live the highest social and environmental standards for people and the planet. It's how we've always done business and now we have the stamp to prove it.

Our Core Values

• Collaborating to make better decisions, faster
• Accelerating growth in sales, customer value and community impact
• Acting with integrity to make fair decisions and be kind to each other
• Being brave in the way that we shape the future

Keywords – Graduate / Trainee / Junior / Bid Writer / Tech Bid Writer / Bid Writing / Bid and Proposal Manager / RFP Response Specialist / Tender and Proposal Coordinator / Commercial Proposal Manager / Bid Content Lead / Proposal Writer and Editor / Business Development Proposal Manager / Strategic Bid Coordinator / Proposal and Content Manager / Bid Project Manager / BSc / MSc / BA / MA / Ph.D. / Built Environment / Place-making / Local government / Geography / Town Planning / Technical Author / Technical Writer