Industry News and Jobs from Bid Solutions

2017 APMP UK Conference

The 2017 APMP UK Conference is now only 1 week away and with both Martin Smith and Ben Hannon presenting, be sure to come along and take advantage of what should be a highly informative couple of days. Book your ticket here.

In other news, congratulations to Strategic Proposals on their 30th Anniversary last week.

Our latest Permanent Opportunities this week include:

EMEA Bids & Proposals Manager Role to work for our client, a leading office supplier in Chippenham. Salary is competitive– Vacancy reference 16792.

Bid Writer Opportunity with our client, a leading HR software provider in London. Salary up to £40k – Vacancy reference 16774.

Proposal Writer / Editor Opportunity to work for a leading catering firm based in Egham, Surrey. Salary up to £35k – Vacancy reference 16783.

Proposal Assistant Manager Role for one of the UK’s largest providers of social welfare based in London. Salary up to £33k plus London Weighting Allowance – Vacancy reference 16787.

Bid Executive / Writer Vacancy with our client, a social care provider based in Widnes. Salary up £33k – Vacancy reference 16791

For more information on these roles please contact the team on 020 8158 3952 / recruitment@bidsolutions.co.uk or for a full list of vacancies please visit – https://bidsolutions.co.uk/jobs

Martin Smith from Bid Solutions at the APMP UK Symposium on the 6th June 2017

Bid Solutions at the APMP UK Symposium

‘Wanting it More’ by Martin Smith and Simon Wellstead

The session run by Martin and Simon at the AMPM Symposium discussed a ‘want it more’ attitude and showed you how to smash through the barriers to being extraordinary and achieving ‘bid’ greatness

In this session, Martin and Simon explored key phases in the bid lifecycle and showed you how to capitalise on your differentiators, how to motivate your people to ‘want it more’ and how to put forward visually engaging bids that consistently scream ‘we really want your business!’ More importantly, they showed you how to place a significant distance between you and your nearest competition. They aimed to give you the extra percentage points that push you across the line in the winning position.

The full slide can be viewed here.

To view and download all the slides from the day – click here.

Diversity and Inequality: The Unspoken Truth in the Bid and Proposal Profession

Bids & Proposals and the Gender Pay Gap

Having recently taken part in the APMP Diversity Interest Group discussions, it was apparent that there are real issues regarding equality within our profession. The main topic of conversation was around gender imbalance within the bid / proposal workforce and perceived differences in how male and female workers are treated. To shine a light on the topic, it seemed prudent to review some of the findings of the Bid Solutions 2015 Salary Survey to examine the gender pay gap. As the largest survey of its kind, with 1,200 respondents in a profession that employs an estimated 7,000 in the UK, it provided useful insight into trends and issues with real data to back it up.

Key Findings of the Survey

Firstly it should be mentioned that the profession as a whole is reasonably gender-balanced, with male respondents accounting for 52% in 2015, compared to 58% in 2012. However, men held the majority of senior roles, with Head of Bid Management positions being dominated by men (71%). Even the second highest paid role of Bid Manager was male-heavy at 57%. The overall balance comes from women occupying more positions in Document Management (81%), Graphic Design (75%) and Knowledgebase Management (58%).

When we compared the differences in individual roles, there was a greater cause for concern. Men in Head of Proposal Management roles earned on average £21,250 (45%) more than their female equivalents and men in Head of Bid Management roles earned on average £11,808 (19%) more. The only positions where the gender pay gap was reversed were Graphic Designers (earning 11% more) and Knowledgebase Managers (7% more).

Unfortunately, the findings were similar across sectors. Only within the Public Sector and Healthcare did women earn more than men within a bid management role and only within Professional Services, Finance, and Telecommunications for a proposal management role.

Interestingly, the average industry salary for women was £43,099, which represented a 4% increase from 2012, whereas the average male salary was £53,339, which was a 0.3% increase from 2012. So, while female salaries increased at a greater rate and kept track with inflation, men still earned 23% more than their female counterparts. This suggests that while salaries are moving towards a balance, they are doing so at a snail’s pace.

Job Satisfaction and Flexibility

One of the points raised in the initial APMP Diversity Group meeting was the need for flexibility in relation to working hours and remote working. There is typically a sense that it needs to be earned as a reward over time, rather than provided from day one. This is a factor that can heavily influence decision-making when offered a new position. A question for the organisation offering the role should be ‘if this is the right person for you, don’t you want to be the right organisation for them?’

Of course, the ability to offer flexible working can often depend on a number of variables: the culture of the organisation; how well established their bid team is; and the self-sufficiency of the individuals that make up the team. There will always be the need for collaboration in war rooms, a meeting of minds in strategy sessions and a need to get face time with subject matter experts. However, for large periods of the bid lifecycle, the role of a bid manager or writer can theoretically be completed from a remote location. Often, it is beneficial for a writer to have the flexibility to shut themselves away while they produce content for the response document. Indeed, many remote workers state that they actually get more work done (and often work longer hours) when they don’t have to travel into the office. Coupled with the ability to manage home and family life, it seems like a win-win situation. And yet, despite all this, flexible working is still very rarely offered from day one and is typically provided on an ad hoc basis.

The Salary Survey supported the view that salaries are not the sole factor for being happy in the workplace. Indeed, only 6% of respondents cited financial reward as the most important consideration, with 73% stating that a mixture of work-life balance and financial reward was key to job satisfaction. While statistics around job satisfaction can be viewed as somewhat subjective, they are useful for looking beyond the numbers and providing insight into the mindset of participants.

Interestingly, it was found that while job satisfaction was balanced across gender, it advised that women typically exit the profession earlier than men. The balance of gender is approximately 50-50 up until the age of 40, at which point men outweigh women nearly 3:1. While there were no specific reasons provided to explain this trend, it does raise questions as to why women elect to leave the profession at this point. One can merely speculate whether this could be related to a lack of development opportunities or a lack of perceived flexibility / support.

Next Steps

So what can the proposal profession do? Making people aware of the situation is a good start. To really facilitate change, there must first be an acknowledgment that something needs to change. These issues are deeply embedded not just in our profession, but in wider society. In the vast majority of instances, these discrepancies do not occur as a result of deliberate discrimination and as such the more people are aware of them, the greater chance there is of equality being achieved. The APMP Diversity Interest Group is a newly formed assembly of professionals looking to shine a light on diversity and equality issues within the bid and proposal profession, not limited to gender disparity.

With the first two meetings having already taken place, there are a number of ideas that have been brought to the table to help address these issues, including implementing a Code of Ethics, developing mentoring schemes and providing a forum where professionals can voice their concerns. This is an open group that is actively seeking more members that can provide insight, share experiences, or provide support to the bid / proposal community. If you would like to find out more about the APMP Diversity Interest Group and how you can help, please contact Chloe Dillon by emailing chloe.dillon@pwc.com

Author Ben Hannon, Bid Solutions – linkedin.com/in/benhannon

Bid Solutions MD Martin Smith speaking at the APMP UK One-Day Symposium

Join Martin Smith from Bid Solutions at the APMP UK One-Day Symposium on the 6th June 2017.

The session at the APMP UK Symposium, run by Martin Smith and Simon Wellstead, will be discussing a ‘want it more’ attitude and shows you how to smash through the barriers to being extraordinary and achieving ‘bid’ greatness.

In this session, Martin and Simon will explore key phases in the bid lifecycle and show you how to capitalise on your differentiators, how to motivate your people to ‘want it more’ and how to put forward visually engaging bids that consistently scream ‘we really want your business!’ More importantly, we will show you how to place a significant distance between you and your nearest competition. We aim to give you the extra percentage points that push you across the line in the winning position.

For more information on the full event or to book your ticket visit – https://bidsolutions.co.uk/event/apmp-uk-symposium/

Creating unexpected value through outcome-based procurement – webinar

APM Specific Interest Groups (SIGs) offer a forum for collaboration and knowledge development in all areas of project, programme and portfolio management. They have a panel-based webinar scheduled on the 4th May from 12.40 to 13.45 to discuss practical lessons for project managers, bidders and those involved in the procurement process.

The purpose of projects is to enable or deliver benefits. The measure of benefits is value. So shouldn’t Project Managers, the Procurement function and the market (bidders) be partners in a process whose objective is to identify, quantify, and maximize Value? But how can this work?
This panel-based webinar explores how a collaborative approach to the procurement process based on contracting for outcomes, can deliver and quantify value. The three protagonists represent:

Project managers who are now measured just as much on the value they deliver, as well as against the traditional time, cost and quality.
The Procurement function, who have to demonstrate value and compliance. This becomes harder when using outcome-based procurement approaches instead of just the best economic value (lowest cost) for a given specification.
Business development who need to demonstrate value in proposals. Winning bidders are those who show superior value and can quantify the benefits supported by proofs.

The panelists are all experienced practitioners and thought leaders in their field.

Benefits of attending.

Attendees will:
• Learn about the state of the art and limitations on outcomes-based procurement.
• Hear examples of good practice from real-world practitioners.
• Learn proven techniques to identify, and quantify the value of benefits.
• Be able to recognise pitfalls and issues to address when applying these techniques at work.

The interactive agenda will include time for questions on topics raised.

Speakers:
Darren Knowd is the Chief Procurement Officer at Durham County Council who were awarded the Cabinet Office first-ever award for Social Value Leadership for an Organisation in 2016.
Darren leads all procurement activity at the County Council who spend over £500m annually in supplies, services, and works. He also represents the North East region on the LGA National Advisory Group for Local Government Procurement.
He was previously Head of Procurement at several District Councils prior to the establishment of the unitary council in 2009 and during this period he completed his MBA at Durham University Business School.

Tony Birch is Managing Director of Shipley Limited, a consultancy that provides organisations and individuals with consulting and training services focused on winning business in highly competitive environments.
He is a Fellow of the APMP and was one of the architects and creators of the APMP Certification scheme.

Hugo Minney Ph.D., is a Registered Project Professional and committee member of the APM Benefits SIG.
Hugo is Chief Executive of TyneHealth, a GP Practice federation serving two million patients. He is a Fellow of the Association for Project Management (APM) and an accredited practitioner of the Social Return on Investment (SROI) Model.

Dr. Jon Broome is the managing consultant for leading-edge projects consulting Ltd and chair of the APM Contracts & Procurement SIG.
He has hands-on experience of contributing to innovative procurements, both on the client and contractor side. Jon co-edited the soon to be released ‘APM’s Guide to the Procurement and Management of Contracts for Projects and Programmes’, which includes the trend towards outcome-based procurements and contracts.

To view our most recent vacancies for bid & proposal professionals, follow this link.

Qvidian Unveils Winners of Annual Customer Excellence Awards

Winners of the Connect17 Awards, including global enterprises Cisco and Verizon, were announced last week at Qvidian’s annual user conference.

Qvidian, the leading provider of cloud-based RFP and proposal automation software, announced the winners of the Connect17 Awards, its annual customer excellence awards. The winning individuals were honored last week at Connect17, Qvidian’s annual user conference, held this year in Tampa, Florida.

Considering five unique categories, the Qvidian management and customer relations teams choose individual users and Qvidian champions who have driven business value and innovation in their enterprises with the help of Qvidian’s RFP and proposal automation software. Two individuals at Cisco and Verizon were repeat winners, having won Connect awards in unique categories two years in a row.

Winners of the Connect17 Awards include:

Innovator of the Year – Honors the person who has driven exceptional innovation within his or her team or organization by seeking out new and creative ways to utilize Qvidian. For the second year in a row, Qvidian honored Darrell Woodward from Verizon with an award.

Business Growth – After 40 years as primarily a provider of specialty assessments, Questar set an ambitious goal to become the premier provider of high-stakes grades 3–8 state-wide assessments. In June of 2015 — and within six months of fully implementing Qvidian — Questar won Mississippi’s state-wide assessment contract. The State of New York awarded Questar its state contract over their incumbent assessment provider shortly thereafter, and less than a year after that, Tennessee followed suit.

Business Transformation – Designed to recognize the individual who played a key role in questioning the status quo and drove transformational change and process improvements in his or her organization as supported by Qvidian. This year, Qvidian chose to award two individuals from ABM with the award, Mike Rembish, and Chloe Degen. ABM implemented Qvidian while aligning the business to different vertical markets. Mike Rembish and his team established a Centre of Excellence to more effectively cross-sell products in the vertical markets, with Qvidian as a key part of that move to a segmented approach.

Qvidian Superstar – Recognises an outstanding advocate for Qvidian, who evangelizes the role of the proposal writer both inside their organization and outside of it. Marcel Schwarz from Cisco was a repeat award winner this year. Schwarz and his group collected business requirements from different units within Cisco to determine how the services layer of the organization could help each one. Based on that research, the team developed a plan and gained buy-in from different product groups and functions across the company to fund an enterprise license. Now all of Cisco shares access to Qvidian, ensuring consistency and accuracy in selling a vast number of complex products.

Value Achievement – A special category for individuals at organizations who have implemented Qvidian within the last 12 months and in that short time have already driven ROI from usage of the software. Qvidian chose Maureen Holtzclaw from FIS for this award. Holtzclaw was part of a team that launched Qvidian to enable the organization to respond to business growth.

To view our most recent vacancies for Bid & Proposal Professionals, click here. To find the perfect bid or proposal writer or manager to join your team, click here.

Qorus Software Moves Up 10 Spots in GeekWire 200

Qorus, the company that helps organisations become more efficient when creating business-critical documents, has once again been listed in GeekWire 200, moving up 10 spots from last year.

Qorus, the Seattle-based company that helps organisations be more efficient when creating business-critical documents, is pleased to announce that it has placed 113th in GeekWire 200.

GeekWire 200 is a ranked index of Pacific Northwest start-ups using publicly available data to identify the tech companies most popular and trending among key online communities. The ranking is generated each month from GeekWire’s Startup List, a comprehensive directory of the region’s tech start-ups.
Qorus offers a range of Microsoft-based solutions that increase productivity when creating and collaborating on business-critical documents like pitches, proposals, RFPs, SoWs, contracts, and more. In 2016, the company released a suite of productivity-boosting add-ins for Office 365: Email Builder, Document Builder and Slide Builder, all of which are available from the Office Store.

Visit the Office store at http://bit.ly/2lIna0b

Ray Meiring, CEO of Qorus Software: “I am delighted that Qorus has been recognized by GeekWire again this year. We have been working hard on our new suite of products, and we’re pleased that this work is creating a buzz among key online communities.”

Meiring was featured on GeekWire’s Startup Spotlight in December 2016. Read the full interview here: http://www.geekwire.com/2016/qorus/

To view our latest vacancies for bid and proposal professionals, follow this link. To help us connect you with a winner to add to your team, follow this link.

Interview Guide for Candidates

Interviewing for a new role can be immensely stressful. A lot of the time, the more you want the role, the more stressful it becomes, as you place added pressure on yourself to secure the position. Being stressed or nervous before an interview, however, is normal – you are not alone. In order to take some of the pressure of your shoulders, you can ensure that you are fully prepared for the meeting. Our interview guide is here to help.

It is the same with any business presentation. You wouldn’t turn up to a client meeting unprepared (I hope not, anyway) and as such you treat your interview the same way. Rather than selling the business, you are selling yourself. Granted, not everyone has conducted client meetings before, so here are some tips to get you through your interview.

Your Interview Guide – Before the Interview

Preparing for an interview takes time. Frantically reading through notes on the train or while you are sat in reception won’t cut it. You will need to research the company extensively to ensure you can confidently communicate what you know about them and to display a real desire to work there. It’s a classic question, ‘what do you know about us?’ or ‘why do you want to work here?’ By reviewing their website and recent news articles, you should be able to answer these questions a lot easier.

Your research shouldn’t stop at the organisation but should extend to who you are meeting. LinkedIn is a powerful tool in this regard and is used by job seekers and hiring managers everywhere – don’t worry about being seen to have viewed someone’s profile, it is almost to be expected.

Know your CV and the job description inside out and bring both with you to the interview. Having to look across the table at your printed CV to understand what the hiring team is referring to will come across as disorganised. Know your career dates and any key achievements stats by heart, so you can quickly roll them out when asked. Being able to articulate how you mirror the job description will go down very well and through asking searching questions, you will demonstrate a real enthusiasm for the role.

During the Interview

Make a good first impression! Ensure you are well presented and dressed smartly. Try on your interview outfit a couple of days before the meeting to check that it still fits – we’ve had an unfortunate situation where a candidate had to attend his interview in casual attire as his suit no longer fit him! Plan your journey beforehand and if possible, do a dry run so you know exactly where you are going. Try to arrive approximately 15 minutes early, as this will allow you time to compose yourself before the meeting.

Smile and make eye contact with everyone you meet. Be personable and attentive throughout. From start to finish, your body language will be scrutinised, so be open! Crossed arms and defensive postures will not serve you well. When answering questions, maintain eye contact with the interviewer, or if it is a panel interview, address each person. I’ve had an interview where I have asked a question and the candidate stared at my colleague while answering. Safe to say, that didn’t go down well with either of us.

If you are offered a drink at the start of the interview, take it, even if you aren’t thirsty. You will be speaking for nearly an hour, so your mouth will likely get dry which could affect your concentration. As well as this, taking a drink will allow you extra time to think of an answer when asked a challenging question.

When answering questions, be sure to be concise and to the point. Waffling will come across as disorganised and displays a lack of focus. Answer the question that you have been asked (like with any bid) and provide examples and evidence to back up your response. Don’t spend time talking about skills or experience that they haven’t asked about. They may well come to these later, at which point you will be repeating yourself. Or, they don’t want to know about those skills as they aren’t relevant to the role. You are likely to be asked about why you are looking to leave your current role. Be constructive in your response and do not criticise your current or previous employers. Instead, do your best to flip it around and talk about the opportunity on offer, how it excites you and what you can bring.

At the end of each interview, you are likely to be given time to ask questions yourself. Ensure you have a list of these prepared, to the point that you have more than you think you need. The interviewer may cover a lot of the topics, so you don’t want to be left with nothing to say. Asking questions about the role, the team and company culture will display real interest. Remember, this is an interview. It’s a two-way meeting and you should treat it as such. Explore the opportunity and ask questions to find out what you need to know to assess if the role and company are right for you.

More guidance on interview questions can be found here: https://bidsolutions.co.uk/candidates/job-seekers-guide/interview-questions/

After the Interview

As the interview draws to a close, ask about next steps. This will provide you with a feel for timescales and how committed they are to hiring. As well as this, don’t be afraid to ask if they have any concerns about you as a candidate. Knowing this will allow you to allay these fears at the next meeting, or if you have time, at the close of the first meeting.

If you have more questions following the interview – either you forgot to ask or you ran out of time – you can provide these in an email via your recruitment consultant. This will again display interest in the role and the organisation as a whole. Conversations related to salary and benefits are typically easier to go through your recruitment consultant as well. They can remain objective in the negotiation process and can handle any queries diplomatically.

In Summary

Preparation is key to a good interview. The more you know about the company, the role, who you are meeting, and of course yourself, will give you a better chance of success. You will also be able to answer challenging questions more effectively, allowing your personality to shine through. There is no guarantee that even if you have all the right skills that you will secure the role. Team fit is very important, particularly if you are looking to join a small team. So, prepare, research, be personable but most importantly, be yourself!

Author: Ben Hannon
http://www.qorusdocs.com/blog/interview-guide-for-candidates

To view our latest vacancies for bid and proposal professionals, follow this link.

APMP’s Foundation Level exam in Edinburgh, course presented by Strategic Proposals

There’s a chance in May to pass the APMP Foundation Level exam in Edinburgh, at a course presented by our business partners, Strategic Proposals. APMP’s certification syllabus serves two purposes.

It allows bid and proposal specialists to demonstrate to their colleagues that this is indeed a profession – not a glorified admin function – by attaining the recognised international qualification in our area. And, by studying APMP’s view of best practice – based on extensive research worldwide – it allows you to assess what you’re doing well, and to glean new ideas to improve your bidding processes.

Strategic Proposals have helped some 2,000 people through the qualification, and have an exceptional pass rate. Perhaps as importantly, they bring the syllabus to life with numerous examples from successful bids they’ve led, and proposal centres they’ve built. Bookings close at the end of April, and you can register for the event here: https://bidsolutions.co.uk/event/apmp-foundation-workshop-exam-3/

Join the AMPM

If you join up as a member of APMP (the cheapest way to gain the qualification), you’ll then also have free access to a wide range of events across Scotland and further afield – as well as a wealth of online resources. We’d highly recommend the certification programme and this particular course to any bid or proposal staff in Scotland!

To view our latest vacancies for bid and proposal professionals, follow this link. To help us connect you with a winner to add to your team, follow this link.

Happy National Apprenticeship Week 2017 from APMP UK

It’s National Apprenticeship Week, and what better week to update our APMP UK Members with the progress being made with the development of a brand-new Bid and Proposal Coordinator Apprenticeship.

In the last parliament, more than 2.3 million apprenticeships were delivered in the UK and the government is committed to delivering 3 million more by 2020. In July 2015, the UK’s Skills Minister announced that the government had approved 26 new ‘Trailblazer Groups’ to develop new apprenticeship standards.

One of those groups, led by Amanda Nuttall, now CEO, on behalf of the APMP UK Chapter received approval to commence the design of a new apprenticeship for the role of a Bid and Proposal Coordinator. The Group includes employers and professional bodies committed to being involved in the development of the Apprenticeship standards. Supported by the Department for Education, soon to be the Institute for Apprenticeships, and training providers, the group work together to ensure that the standards agreed will be suitable for large and small organisations, across a range of industries and sectors.

Now in the final stages of the Trailblazer process, the Group are designing the “End Point Assessment” methods that will explain how to test the full occupational competence of the Apprentice with a view to launching the scheme officially across the bid and proposal industry later in 2017.

In line with National Apprenticeship Week’s celebration of the positive impact apprenticeships and traineeships have on individuals, businesses and the economy, this week we will be sharing the experiences of two real life Bid and Proposal Apprentices who embarked on the UK’s first Bid and Proposal Apprenticeship pioneered at NG Bailey. We caught up with Vicky Coleman and Charlotte Rees to understand the impact the apprenticeship has had on their personal development and career choices. We will also hear from NG Bailey’s Head of Group Learning and Development, Frank Clayton, to get an employer’s perspective on the benefits of this scheme.

For further article from APMP UK visit their website http://www.apmpuk.co.uk/

To view our latest vacancies for bid and proposal professionals, follow this link. To help us connect you with a winner to add to your team, follow this link.