Research Bids Manager

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Research Bids Manager

Summary

Reports to:

Director Research Business Development

Team:
Business Development

Salary range: £60,000 per annum

Location:

61 Whitehall, London

Contract:

Full-time Permanent

About RUSI

The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) is one of the world’s leading research think-tanks in the field of defence, security, and geopolitics. The Research Business Development team was established in 2023 to support RUSI’s nine research groups to meet their annual funding targets by responding to competitive bids, proactively identifying new funding opportunities, and sharing best practice across the organisation.

Main purpose of the post

We are seeking to appoint a Bids Manager with experience in managing the development and submissions process for successful research bids, to be an integral part of a wider team that spearheads RUSI’s research fundraising efforts. Reporting to the Director, Research Business Development, the successful candidate will lead the process for preparing select strategic bids, provide high-quality contributions to other research bids, including providing quality assurance on content and budgets against scoring criteria, and be responsible for building central resources to improve and facilitate effective bids to key funders.

Key tasks

1. Strategic Bid Management and Ownership

The post-holder will have end-to-end ownership of the bid lifecycle for select strategically important, high-value, and complex institutional bids. This includes those that are cross-programmatic and/or involve multi-office coordination (RUSI UK and RUSI Europe) targeting major funders such as the UK FCDO and the European Commission. Strategic bids will be decided by Senior Leadership and/or Research Directors, who will make the final go/no-go decision and give approval for final submission.

• Strategic Bid Leadership: Lead the full lifecycle management of selected major tender responses, complex funding applications, and large-scale requests to participate (e.g. consortium bids).
• Contractual & Partnership Negotiation: Manage early-stage contractual and legal work, including the negotiation and finalisation of teaming agreements, pre-bid agreements, and prime contractor partnerships.
• Informed Decision-Making & Intelligence: Maintain and proactively disseminate a comprehensive, centralised knowledge base detailing funder practices, key deadlines, bid cycles, preferences, and relevant institutional data (e.g., outcomes, impact statistics) to underpin evidence-based bid strategies.

2. Bid and Proposal Coordination, Compliance, and Collaboration

The post-holder is the central resource providing reliable and timely strategic input, quality assurance, and compliance oversight for research bids, working closely with research and finance teams. This post-holder will be a trusted partner for Research Directors and Senior Leadership, who make the ultimate go/no-go decision and give final approval for submission on all bids.

• Tender Analysis and Strategic Positioning: For all strategic bids and other research bids as required, conduct a thorough initial review of all tender documentation to extract critical requirements, evaluation criteria, and key risks. Use this analysis to inform go/no-go decisions and determine the optimal competitive positioning and alignment with institutional strategy.
• Process Coordination & Communication: For research bids as required, provide expert information and administrative support, detailed templates to facilitate a smooth drafting process, and quality assurance support. Coordinate internal and external communications to clearly define roles, responsibilities, and timelines for all stakeholders, ensuring absolute clarity on evaluation criteria.
• Budget review and approval:
• Review project budgets for accuracy, competitiveness, cost recovery, and adherence to RUSI policies and funder requirements.
• Act as the official liaison to secure necessary sign-off from the Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
• Content Development Support: Collaborate with research leads to translate complex technical…