We are seeking a talented individual to join our Sales Enablement team at Mercer. This role will be based in Mumbai. This is a hybrid role that has a requirement of working at least three days a week in the office.
Lead Specialist– Proposal Specialist
Bid Management
Sales Enablement CoE supports various Mercer businesses worldwide primarily across Proposal & Bid Management, Client Research and Creative Services. As a part of the Proposal & Bid Management support, the CoE teams are responsible for end-to-end management of bids and winning more business for key Mercer businesses, which includes Ireland: Wealth, Health and Career.
The purpose of this role is to provide end-to-end bid support independently managing production of high quality RFP responses and Pitch presentations for Mercer’s Ireland Wealth, Health and Career business. This also includes pre-sales (prospecting, sales analysis etc).
We will count on you for:
Deliver bids end-to-end, drive the bid strategy and manage communication with all relevant stakeholders. The successful candidate will be a strong collaborator and communicator who will work with the Irish sales team, consultants, and bid teams to aid revenue generation for the Ireland Wealth, Health and Career businesses. You will help define and shape our responses, resulting in impactful and high quality content to communicate winning differentiators. You will utilise technology effectively to streamline the bid management process (i.e. content management system etc.). You will also collaborate with the business on strategic sales initiatives as well as working on operational improvements to benefit the bid management function.
The candidate is expected to demonstrate experience in project managing bids end-to-end independently, preferably for international stakeholders and in Financial Services; delivering high value bids and demonstrating a strong understanding of the bid life cycle. The candidate is also expected to understand cultural sensitivities in country and business needs of the operating companies to deliver high quality bids. You will be required to:
Build knowledge and understanding of the Wealth, Health and Career business, service offerings and strategic priorities
Develop competence and familiarity with the Mercer bid management methodology
Project manage RFI/RFP submissions and other client/ prospect pitch materials – developing and driving project timelines, coordinating with internal/ external stakeholders and facilitating meetings
Review RFPs and other client material to gain complete understanding of client requirements
Assemble a bid team with the relevant knowledge and skills to prepare a winning bid
Manage virtual bid teams and inputs from a variety of stakeholders, ensuring they are fully briefed and understand the client bid requirements/ key deliverables and develop a win plan for each opportunity
Liaise with key members of the project team to obtain the information required to compile the bid to develop unique, compelling client value propositions and proposal messaging as per inputs from sales and delivery teams against agreed timelines
Assess and address the technical and commercial risks relating to the bids
Work closely with the pursuit team to resolve open items during the proposal and pitch presentation development process
Facilitate strategy discussion with the pursuit team to identify client-centered value propositions and supporting Mercer differentiators
Gather and organize information and staff resources necessary to formulate winning executive summaries that speak to “why us”, and not the competition
Ensure that the response reflects the agreed win strategy with clear messaging and play an active role in developing key aspects of the response, including the Executive Summary
Work closely with graphic designers to create optimal visuals and graphics in accordance with Mercer brand guidelines that support messaging, including cover designs and other graphics and illustrations
Hold master drafts of proposals and presentations, incorporating edits and changes and sending out revised drafts to the pursuit team
Perform final reviews of proposals and pitch presentation drafts along with the sales teams
Assist with the development of templates, improved systems and processes for measuring bid success
Carry out content management activities, including collecting and updating content for proposal database and extracting best practice content
Support the sales team in conducting prospect research, sales analytics on MPower (Microsoft Dynamics) etc.
Bid Analysis - evaluate the impact of submitted bids on business performance, including win rates, revenue generation, and market positioning.
Performance Metrics - develop and track key performance indicators (KPIs) related to bidding activities, providing insights and recommendations for improvement.
Process improvement - identify opportunities to streamline and enhance the bid/RFP process, ensuring alignment with best practices and organizational goals.
Leveraging best practice processes and materials from other country bid teams for the Irish business.
What you need to have:
Post Graduate/ Graduate in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics would be preferred. Other postgraduate degrees may also be considered.
4 - 6 years of experience in a pre-sales/ bid management environment
Experience of working as a part of bid teams for asset managers, investment banks or other BFSI companies preferred
Very strong written and verbal communication required
Highly proficient in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel
Exceptional customer service focus
Advanced business writing ability with outstanding grammar and proofreading/ editing skills
What makes you stand out?
Strong project management skills
Experience on sales lifecycle and content management tools like Dynamics, Qorus Docs (proposal management software), SharePoint and other AI tools etc. would be preferred
Demonstrated understanding of financial markets is preferred
Experience of directly dealing with senior internal stakeholders preferred
Strong analytical and problem solving skills
CFA level 1 or similar is preferred
Why join our team:
We help you be your best through professional development opportunities, interesting work and supportive leaders.
We foster a vibrant and inclusive culture where you can work with talented colleagues to create new solutions and have impact for colleagues, clients and communities.
Our scale enables us to provide a range of career opportunities, as well as benefits and rewards to enhance your well-being.
Mercer believes in building brighter futures by redefining the world of work, reshaping retirement and investment outcomes, and unlocking real health and well-being. Mercer’s more than 20,000 employees are based in 43 countries and the firm operates in over 130 countries. Mercer is a business of Marsh McLennan (NYSE: MMC), the world’s leading professional services firm in the areas of risk, strategy and people, with more than 85,000 colleagues and annual revenue of over $23 billion. Through its market-leading businesses including Marsh, Guy Carpenter andOliver Wyman, Marsh McLennan helps clients navigate an increasingly dynamic and complex environment. For more information, visit mercer.com. Follow Mercer on LinkedIn and X.
Marsh McLennan is committed to embracing a diverse, inclusive and flexible work environment. We aim to attract and retain the best people regardless of their sex/gender, marital or parental status, ethnic origin, nationality, age, background, disability, sexual orientation, caste, gender identity or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.
Marsh McLennan is committed to hybrid work, which includes the flexibility of working remotely and the collaboration, connections and professional development benefits of working together in the office. All Marsh McLennan colleagues are expected to be in their local office or working onsite with clients at least three days per week. Office-based teams will identify at least one “anchor day” per week on which their full team will be together in person.
Mercer, a business of Marsh McLennan (NYSE: MMC), is a global leader in helping clients realize their investment objectives, shape the future of work and enhance health and retirement outcomes for their people. Marsh McLennan is a global leader in risk, strategy and people, advising clients in 130 countries across four businesses: Marsh, Guy Carpenter, Mercer and Oliver Wyman. With annual revenue of $24 billion and more than 90,000 colleagues, Marsh McLennan helps build the confidence to thrive through the power of perspective. For more information, visit mercer.com, or follow on LinkedIn and X.
Marsh McLennan is committed to embracing a diverse, inclusive and flexible work environment. We aim to attract and retain the best people and embrace diversity of age, background, caste, disability, ethnic origin, family duties, gender orientation or expression, gender reassignment, marital status, nationality, parental status, personal or social status, political affiliation, race, religion and beliefs, sex/gender, sexual orientation or expression, skin color, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.
Marsh McLennan is committed to hybrid work, which includes the flexibility of working remotely and the collaboration, connections and professional development benefits of working together in the office. All Marsh McLennan colleagues are expected to be in their local office or working onsite with clients at least three days per week. Office-based teams will identify at least one “anchor day” per week on which their full team will be together in person.