Bid Writer

About IN2

IN2 is an award-winning specialist communications, development, and research company dedicated to creating positive change for communities in rapidly changing environments. We use innovative and engaging two-way communications to create impact across the full spectrum of geo-political and socio-economic issues, including global security, international development, business transformation, and climate change.

IN2 combines a global geopolitical outlook with a rich understanding of local grassroots sentiment to help clients develop, deliver, and measure engagement campaigns that connect our clients with their intended audiences in a language, manner, and medium that feels natural to them.

With our track record of delivering culturally sensitive campaigns in challenging and higher-risk environments around the world, IN2 has become a trusted partner and advisor to a range of clients from national governments and transnational institutions to global brands and international NGOs.

IN2 has offices in the UK, UAE, Jordan, Iraq, Poland, and Kenya.

IN2’s professionally and culturally diverse 180-strong staff hail from 20 countries. We are committed to diversity in our workplace.

Bid Writer

About the role

IN2 is looking for an experienced Bid Writer to lead the development of strong technical narratives and translate complex programme designs into clear, persuasive and evaluator-focused proposals. The role owns the quality of the written technical response and plays a central part in shaping the solution, win themes and overall bid narrative.

You will work closely with the Proposal Manager, who owns the bid plan, timetable, coordination, document control and submission process. You will work with programme, commercial and technical colleagues to ensure the proposed solution is credible, deliverable, differentiated and fully reflected in the written response. The role operates within IN2’s modified Shipley gate and colour-review process.

Key responsibilities

Proposal strategy and technical design

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  Lead the technical design and written development of priority bids, from early capture and storyboarding through to final proposal drafts.
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  Analyse tender documentation, evaluation criteria and client requirements to determine what evaluators need to see and how the response should be structured to maximise scoring.
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  Develop the core proposal narrative, including win themes, discriminators, value propositions, key messages and evidence, ensuring these are carried consistently across the response.
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  Work with programme and technical teams to design credible delivery approaches, including defined outputs and outcomes, phasing, milestones, deliverables, mobilisation and inception, governance, risk management, safeguarding, duty of care and value for money.
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  Where required, develop or refine theories of change, results frameworks, monitoring, evaluation and learning approaches, and other programme-design elements needed to demonstrate a coherent and measurable solution.

Writing and content development

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  Draft, edit and refine clear, concise and compelling responses across technical, management, quality, mobilisation, staffing, risk and past-performance sections, as required by each procurement.
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  Turn inputs from subject-matter experts, programme teams and partners into a single, coherent narrative rather than relying on contributors to provide proposal-ready text.
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  Write for the evaluator: answer the question directly, link the solution to stated requirements and evaluation criteria, demonstrate benefits and outcomes, and support claims with relevant evidence and past performance.
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  Develop executive summaries, response outlines, storyboards and section structures that make complex solutions easy to understand and reinforce the agreed win strategy.
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  Maintain consistency of voice, terminology, messages and evidence across sections drafted by multiple contributors, while managing word and page limits without losing substance.

Bid team collaboration and review

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  Work in close coordination with the Proposal Manager and treat the agreed bid timetable as a firm delivery commitment, providing first drafts, revised drafts, technical inputs and final sections by the dates set in the page plan and proposal schedule so that each review can take place as planned.
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  Brief and interview subject-matter experts, programme leads and partners to elicit the information needed to develop strong responses, identify gaps early and drive timely resolution.
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  Work with the programmes team to design staffing and delivery structures, including organograms, roles and responsibilities, mobilisation arrangements and inception plans, and source and tailor CVs where required.
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  Work with the commercial team to ensure the technical approach, resource model, pricing logic and value-for-money narrative are aligned and mutually reinforcing.
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  Participate in and support IN2’s gate and colour-team reviews, ensuring sections are sufficiently mature and submitted by the agreed review deadlines. Respond constructively to reviewer feedback and turn revisions around within the allocated window so that subsequent reviews and final submission remain on schedule.

Bid quality, knowledge and continuous improvement

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  Maintain strong awareness of HMG procurement expectations, donor priorities and relevant market developments, particularly across FCDO, ISF and other conflict, security and international-development opportunities.
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  Develop and maintain high-quality reusable proposal content, case studies, credentials, past-performance examples and other material that can be efficiently tailored for future bids.
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  Use AI and machine-learning tools appropriately to support research, analysis, drafting and quality assurance, while retaining human judgement, accuracy, confidentiality and clear ownership of the final output.
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  Contribute to post-bid reviews and lessons learned, helping improve proposal templates, writing standards, review practices and the wider business-development process.

Essential experience and skills

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  A demonstrable track record as a lead writer on successful, high-value and complex bids, with clear evidence of having personally shaped and drafted core proposal content rather than only coordinating inputs.
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  Substantial experience writing bids for HMG or comparable public-sector clients, including direct experience of FCDO and/or conflict, security and defence-related procurement. Experience with the Integrated Security Fund (ISF) is particularly relevant.
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  Strong technical proposal-writing skills, with the ability to translate complex programme, operational or specialist input into concise, persuasive and evaluator-ready responses.
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  Experience shaping delivery approaches and programme designs, including implementation methodology, governance, staffing, mobilisation, risk, results and value-for-money considerations.
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  Experience developing win themes, discriminators, storyboards, response structures and other proposal-strategy tools that link client needs to the proposed solution.
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  Working knowledge of Shipley, APMP or a comparable structured capture and proposal methodology, including compliance, colour reviews and disciplined adherence to bid schedules, draft deadlines and review gates.
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  Strong stakeholder-management skills and the confidence to challenge, question and improve technical inputs from senior colleagues, subject-matter experts and external partners.
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  Excellent written English, editing and proofreading skills, with strong attention to structure, clarity, consistency and detail.
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  Ability to work calmly and independently under tight deadlines, manage several sections or workstreams at once, and consistently deliver review-ready drafts by agreed internal deadlines without relying on last-minute extensions or compressing downstream review time.
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  Confident use of Microsoft Word and collaborative working tools, together with practical experience using AI/ML tools in a professional research, writing or proposal environment.
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  UK SC clearance is required. Candidates must meet the relevant eligibility and residency requirements.

Desirable experience

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  Experience writing bids for strategic communications, information activities, stabilisation, governance, security-sector, resilience or related conflict-and-security programmes.
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  Delivery or business-development experience with UK, US, EU/European Commission, NATO, UN or other bilateral and multilateral clients and donors.
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  Overseas implementation experience, particularly in fragile and conflict-affected environments, providing first-hand understanding of what makes a delivery model credible and practical.
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  APMP or Shipley certification, or equivalent formal training in proposal development.
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  Existing DV clearance.
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  A second language relevant to IN2’s delivery regions.

What good looks like in this role

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  The Bid Writer develops a demonstrable track record of successful submissions, consistently producing high-quality proposals that strengthen IN2’s win rate and contribute directly to securing new business.
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  Bids are clear, persuasive, compliant and written around the client’s evaluation criteria.
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  Technical solutions are developed early enough to be tested, costed and improved before final drafting, reducing late-stage redesign and rewrite.
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  Drafts and revisions are delivered to the Proposal Manager and reviewers on the dates agreed in the bid plan, with content arriving at each review stage in a mature and usable form. Risks to deadlines are identified and escalated early rather than allowed to create a last-minute drafting or review scramble.
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  The final narrative presents one coherent solution across technical, management, staffing, commercial and past-performance sections.
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  Each bid leaves behind stronger reusable content, evidence and lessons that improve the quality and efficiency of future submissions.

IN2 is committed to hiring the best talent. As a company, it is proud of its diverse and inclusive workforce and so we welcome applications from all professional and cultural backgrounds, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, or religion.