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Who are we?
We’re Avance Clinical a Contract Research Organisation. We offer specialised services supporting drug development for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. We have a rich history in this area with our founding roots dating back to the 1980’s. If you already work in this industry you’ll know that we are experts in our field.

Why should you join Avance Clinical?
We appreciate that our most important asset is our people. We offer a fun, friendly work environment and a culture that values honesty and respect. We have a strong sense of team. We genuinely appreciate each individual but recognise the collective when achieving success.
We are committed to creating a flexible work environment for our people by supporting them to balance their work commitments and personal needs, both now and into the future.

Broad Purpose
Avance Clinical is a Contract Research Organisation which offers specialised services supporting drug development for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry.
 
The Proposals Manager is a subject matter expert (SME)-level role responsible for leading RFPs (Request for Proposals). This role serves as a critical partner to Sales, Finance, Legal, and both Operational & Executive leadership, providing strategic oversight, driving cross-functional alignment, and enabling commercial scalability. The Proposals Manager will lead the end-to-end development of core RFP deliverables, oversee high-impact client engagements, and guide transformational initiatives that elevate the function's performance and visibility across the organization
 
The primary role of the Proposals Manager is to support the Avance Clinical Business Development department with the business growth objectives of the organisation, including preparation of study budgets, development of compelling and client-centric proposals, third party vendor requests and request for information (RFI) responses, bringing all components together in a high quality, client ready formal. The role ensures seamless integration across the business development lifecycle — from lead generation to proposal submission, contract execution, and project handover.
 
Core Responsibilities

• Proposal Development: Serve as the central point of contact for Requests for Proposals (RFPs) and Requests for Information (RFIs), ensuring alignment with client expectations and operational input. Coordinate and lead internal strategy review meetings for opportunities, ensuring clarity on roles, win strategy, timelines, and strategic positioning. Lead the preparation, direct overall process strategy inclusive of leading initial RFP kick-off strategy call with bid team, and development of complex RFPs/RFIs), ensuring alignment with client requirements and internal Avance value proposition capabilities.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with internal stakeholders, including project managers, clinical operations, feasibility, regulatory affairs, and finance teams, to gather necessary information and ensure accurate and competitive proposals, resource assumptions and timelines.
• Budgeting and Costing: Act as a strategic advisor on bid positioning, pricing logic, and commercial risk during the RFP stage.
• Deliverable Finalization: Write and edit proposal content to clearly articulate Avance Clinical's value proposition, differentiators, and alignment with client needs. Provide oversight and guidance on budget assumptions, pricing strategy, and bid risk assessment, collaborating closely with finance and operational leads. Ensure timely delivery of proposals in line with client deadlines, maintaining version control and adherence to brand and content standards. Drive and finalize strategic RFP/RFI text in both Word & PPT format as required along with overall finalization of both Avance format budget grids and detailed sponsor format client grids when required.
• Client Engagement: Participate in client meetings and presentations to understand project needs, address queries, and build strong relationships.
• Quality Assurance: Ensure all proposals are compliant with regulatory requirements, company standards, and client specifications.
• Continuous Improvement: Contribute to the development and enhancement of proposal templates, processes, and best practices to improve team and individual efficiency and effectiveness. Track and report proposal metrics including turnaround times, win/loss data, average deal size, and root cause analysis for lost opportunities to inform continuous improvement.
• Identify and coordinate third party vendor proposals, relevant to the respective RFP.
• Adhere to Avance Clinical's relevant policies and SOPs.

Other duties as directed by Line Management or delegate in line with skills, experience, and/or qualifications.
Departmental Responsibilities

• Lead or support initiatives to enhance proposal workflows, tools, and systems, driving efficiency and scalability across the proposal function. Actively provide industry intelligence from vendors, clients, competitors to contribute to the organization's competitiveness and positioning.
• Assist with the development of departmental SOPs as required.
• Collaborate with Business Development and Marketing to refine positioning statements, value propositions, and proposal messaging aligned to client profiles and market trends.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience

• Minimum of 3 years of experience in proposal development within the CRO industry.
• Proven ability working within a business development team within a CRO or associated clinical trials industry environment including experience in client meetings, cost and proposal development, project award and contract management;
• Ability to communicate effectively with clients, senior management and other stakeholders;
• Excellent written communications skills including the ability to write SOPs and reports;
• Excellent organisational and time management skills with the ability to set priorities, analyse problems, formulate clear and effective solutions and coordinate tasks;
• Ability to work on multiple tasks under pressure in a fast-paced and multi-disciplinary team environment;
• Ability to take initiative in problem solving and in exercising judgment;
• Ability to work harmoniously and cooperatively with other people and to work independently without supervision;
• Willingness to work in, and be supportive of, a positive and dynamic team culture;
• Possess excellent interpersonal and communication skills;
• Can build and maintain positive relationships with management, peers, and subordinates;
• Ability to work independently or in a team environment as needed;
• Display strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Strong understanding of clinical trial operations, cost drivers, and service models for early- and late-phase clinical trials.
• Experience supporting global proposals and working with cross-regional teams is highly desirable.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with a high level of attention to detail.
• Proven ability to manage multiple priorities and deliver high-quality work under tight deadlines.
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (especially Excel, Word, PowerPoint); experience with Salesforce or proposal automation tools is a plus.
• Collaborative and solutions-oriented mindset with the ability to influence and engage stakeholders across functions and seniority levels.

Key Competencies

• Strategic Thinking and Client Focus
• Project Management and Organisational Skills
• Communication and Storytelling
• Quality Orientation and Attention to Detail
• Commercial Acumen
• Collaboration and Cross-Functional Engagement

What we offer

• Stimulating work
• Project diversity
• An intellectual challenge
• An agile & flexible workplace
• Opportunity to progress
• Stability
• Sense of community
• A leadership team that are working together on a common goal
• Flexible work options
• Great tools / tech to do your job

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