Project Manager, Commercial and Bids

Licensed sponsor Manchester Full-time Posted 1 day ago

You will own CONDUCTR's bids from first read of the tender to signed contract: the estimate, the commercial position, the documents and the deadline.

Today the CEO fronts almost every bid. This role takes that over. It suits an estimator, assistant commercial manager, quantity surveyor or bid manager who is ready to step up and run the whole thing, and who picks up new tools and technologies quickly.

About Us

CONDUCTR is a dynamic collective of designers, technologists, media experts, producers & engineers. The vision is simple - fuse the creativity of a design studio, with the innovation of a tech lab, to create a one-stop shop for extraordinary guest-centric, 360 attraction experiences.

Key Responsibilities:

Own the commercial side of every bid

Run the estimate workbook as the single source of truth: chase the discipline leads for days, hardware and rates, and challenge what comes back.
Read the contract review for each tender and recommend which terms to accept, which to price in and which to push back on.
Turn contract risk into numbers: payment terms, liquidated damages, bonds, retention, warranty scope and exchange-rate exposure.
Keep the price, the client's pricing form and the written proposal consistent, at submission and at every revised round.
Know the margin at any point, and what a proposed concession would do to it.
Support clarifications, negotiation rounds and best-and-final offers after submission.

Run the bid process

Plan each bid backwards from the deadline and hold the team to it.
Manage the tender pack: portal registration, pre-qualification, declarations, compliance matrices, signatures and file naming.
Help qualify opportunities, and say so when a bid is not worth pursuing.
Maintain the bid library, rate card and lessons learned so each bid is faster than the last.

Bring new tools and technology into how we bid

Run and improve our bid workflow and tooling, which already covers estimating, writing, contract review, negotiation and release.
Check every number, claim and reference before it leaves the building.
Make sure everything we submit reads as CONDUCTR's own voice and meets each client's submission rules.

Shape the story

Set the win themes for each bid and make sure the client's, the operator's and the guest's perspectives are all covered.
Edit hard: cut what is too long, generic or unsupported.
Choose the right format for the job, whether a formal proposal, a short quote or a deck.

What You Decide

You make the first commercial call on every bid, and the directors are often not available when the deadline is.

You decide

Bid plan, timetable and who provides what
Estimate structure and challenge to inputs
Standard contract deviations to raise
Document format, content and final edit
Day-to-day clarification responses

You recommend, a director decides

Whether to bid
Final price and margin
Liability caps, IP terms and anything unusual
Concessions in negotiation
Contract signature

(this section will grow as you learn our clients and we learn your judgement)

You should have

Three or more years in estimating, commercial management, quantity surveying or bid management for a contractor, integrator or project-based business.
Strong with numbers and Excel: you can build, audit and explain a multi-sheet estimate.
You have read contracts and understand how payment terms, damages, bonds and warranties change the risk in a price.
Confident with emerging technologies, including AI and automation tools: you adopt them early, build repeatable workflows with them and know their limits.
Clear, economical writing and a sharp editorial eye.
Organised under deadline and comfortable chasing senior people for what you need
Discreet with confidential client and pricing information.

It would be great if you have

Experience in AV, themed entertainment, attractions, exhibitions, fit-out or media and software delivery.
Formal tenders through procurement portals such as SAP Ariba, including pre-qualification.
Experience bidding to clients in the Gulf or the US.
Familiarity with multi-currency pricing.

You do not need to be an expert in our technical disciplines. You need to understand them well enough to ask the right questions and spot a gap in scope.

What We Offer

A competitive benefits package, plus win-linked bonus
A vibrant, inclusive, and dynamic work environment.
Opportunities for personal and professional growth.
A chance to be part of a forward-thinking team making a real difference.

What it's like working at CONDUCTR

CONDUCTR is proud to be recognised as a Great Place to Work®, officially certified for our outstanding workplace culture and employee satisfaction. We’ve also been named on the UK’s Best Workplaces™ 2026 list, recognised as a top 50 company to work for in the UK. We’re also honoured to be placed on UK’s Best Workplaces™ lists for: Wellbeing, Development, Women, and Tech, ranking highly among the top 100 companies for employee support, growth and career development - and we’re just getting started!

On top of that, we’re one of the UK’s fastest growing companies - recently ranked 5th nationwide - creating exciting opportunities for our team to grow as fast as the business.

Our 5 core values articulate this best, and we are looking for people who can demonstrate them:

We go above and #beyond
We work as a #team & make it fun
We creatively #kick-ass
We #do it efficiently, on time & on budget
We deliver work that makes us #proud

Does this sound like the job for you?

Apply via this post with your CV and share your linked in profile. If you sound like you are a good fit, we will reach out for an initial, informal chat.