Job spotlight: Bid writer, Higgins Construction

Claire Franklin talks about her role as bid writer at Higgins Construction.

Vital stats

• Name: Claire Franklin
• Company: Higgins Construction
• Job: Bid writer
• Key qualifications: Organisation skills, persistence, communication skills

What's it like making a fresh career move to construction for such a specialist job role?

Obviously moving to such a specialist role was daunting at first, but I'm convinced such a fresh career challenge helps to keep the brain young. The required writing skills have actually proved to be quite similar to those in my various previous jobs in the IT sector. In fact, my previous work for a software company's pre-sales department required me to spend much of my time writing replies to tenders before presenting them personally at interview stage.

What has been the biggest challenge?

Adapting to some of the technical industry jargon. While, like most people, I was familiar with the brand name JCB, the initials 'RSL' and the likes previously meant nothing to me. Fine-tuning bid applications in a language that is digestible both by a regeneration project's housing estate residents, and by the potential clients, remains a day-to-day challenge. Bear in mind, the residents themselves may require translations. Thankfully, I've always been interested in languages.

What is the best thing about your job?

I appreciate working for a family-orientated company and one that can have such an influence on how communities can be reshaped for the better by regeneration projects. It's great living so near to the office for me, too, but that means I can never have any excuse for being late when it really matters. I'm also appreciating the mental challenge of my job compared with the physical challenge of running around after a 22-month-old monster at home! I'm also looking forward to applying my presentation skills developed over the past 10 years.

And what is the worst thing about your job?

Some of the self-inflicted pressure whenever I think about how much influence my writing of the bids can have upon business development.

What sort of person do you think is best suited to this job?

A good organiser with a full charge of energy when persistence is required to obtain specialist information from colleagues for a more complex bid, such as for a framework partnership. However, the individual Decent Homes projects can require as much, and sometimes even more, work to tender.

Describe a typical day.

This week began at the deep end with a brief from the head of business development for a four-year framework bid. After clarifying a query with the employer's agent, the rest of my day was spent gathering material from the company intranet and arranging more briefs from other colleagues, such as the community development manager, to cover the input needed about our resident liaison teams. While the bids are driven by strict deadlines, I am fortunate that my working hours can be flexible to help my husband and I with childcare. I ended the day conducting this interview, which was a real pleasure, although I always prefer to stand behind the camera.

What's a typical career path?

I aim to make a move into management within three to five years.