Ventro- Level 3 Business Admin Apprenticeship

Ventro Ltd are currently looking for a Business Admin Apprentice to join the bid team. This role is primarily focused on tender administration and reviewing/proofreading bids to ensure a quality submission.

The Apprentice’s Role

This role will be based at Ventro’s head office in Estover, Plymouth working within the Bid Team and involves co-ordinating administrative activity vital to a successful bid. A bid coordinator role is a critical bid-related function and a good, confident coordinator is a highly valued member of our bid team.

Public Sector bodies typically use online portals to publish their tenders. A Business Admin Apprentice monitors these portals, downloads tender documents and manages communications between Ventro and the prospective client. This could include asking any clarification questions (CQs) and responding to mandatory questions (such as requests for policies).

Business Admin Apprentices also attends market engagement sessions and review meetings to take minutes and update action logs.

The key function of this role is to project manage the smooth running of the bid process from the first identification of a bidding opportunity through to submission. It is a support position to the Bid relevant Writer/Manager and bid team generally. A bid coordinator role, while administrative in nature, is often an interim post to gain experience before moving to a bid writer role.

Duties include

This role requires the highest levels of attention to detail and an ability to work under pressure and to demanding deadlines.

Reports to: Bid Team Leader

Experience

Ideally proven ability in planning, producing and delivering compliant proposal documents within a complex business environment.

• Responsibilities*

• Respond to pre-qualification questionnaires

• Register on and manage the customer tender portals

• Communicate tender queries and respond to tender clarifications throughout the bid process. Ensure that clarification questions are posted in good time and responses are communicated to the relevant persons

• Liaise with the Sales Team to arrange site visits

• Conduct Bid/No Bid checks and follow up actions

• On identification of a ‘go’ bid, in discussion with the Bid Writer/Manager, organise the setup of a bid kick-off meeting and provide summaries/Kick Off slides of tender documentation

• Set up, populate, update and publish a bid tracker to ensure the bid team are aware of the schedule

• Follow up with the Bid Writers and SMEs – prompting with updates where timelines are lagging

• Coordinate all the bid related activities with the entire bid team from kick off to bid delivery

• Collate requested information to support the Bid Team and relevant Sales Consultant

• Provide reviews of each bid prior to submission, checking for clarity of response, quality of offerings in relation to the specification, tailoring of response to question phrasing andcorrection of typos. Ensure proposal documents follow corporate branding guidelines, standard formatting and quality standards. Provide advice on flow, language and grammar

• Keep accurate historic bid records (outcomes, win, losses)

Ventro provides a full range of fire safety services to building owners, from initial consultancy, surveying and auditing, through to installation, and ongoing maintenance. These services are across multiple disciplines, from fire compartmentation works such as Fire Doors and Fire Stopping, through to Fire Alarms, Fire Sprinklers and Emergency Lighting. This joined-up approach to fire safety means complete audit trails for building owners, and delivers the principles of the Golden Thread of information, as detailed in the Hackitt Report.

A full-time job may be offered to the right candidate on completion of their apprenticeship for either an administrator or should the candidate wish they can do further training.

Skills Required

• Advanced level MS Office skills (particularly MS Word). Professional understanding of document templates, macros and styles. APMP Apprenticeship or Foundation desirable.

• You will need to be:

• Articulate and have an excellent grasp of written English

• Organised

• Detail-orientated

• Adaptable

• Able to manage tight deadlines

• Computer literate

• A team player, but able to use your own initiative

The Apprenticeship consists of:

• Level 3 Business Administration Standard
• Functional Skills in Maths and English

You will attend sessions as part of your off the job training throughout your apprenticeship. Most aspects of your training will be delivered on site by the employer, where you will gain all the skills, knowledge and experience to assist you in this role. Your duties will vary from day to day, and throughout your on site learning process you will work closely with experienced members of staff.

You will have regular visits every six to eight weeks from your designated assessor, who will help you and monitor your progress throughout your apprenticeship programme