Proposal Specialist: Client Solutions at Nedbank

Job Purpose

• To own, manage and deliver on all CIB Transactional Services (TS) proposal and tender requirements. This includes both formal RFP/RFI submissions and presentations as well as content generation for proactive pitches.
• TS Tenders must be managed from commencement to completion, ensuring correct product responses to client requests, achieving agreed milestones for completion and delivering on an overall well-polished tender submission. Tenders could be associated with any discipline within TS e.g. payments, collections, debt, trade, cash, liquidity, fleet, emerging payments etc., in line with the business strategy. The Proposal Specialist will take ownership of the tender, populate the majority of the response referencing product content libraries, whilst also ensuring the holistic client service team is working on the right tasks at the right time. The Proposal Specialist will play a leading role within TS to build out the standard operating procedures and requirements for a mature TS Tender business while referencing best practices within industry.
• TS proactive pitch generation involves crafting bespoke, product and solution-specific presentations that are positioned for a senior executive and client target audience.

Job Responsibilities

• Establish and build out a mature CIB TS RFP/RFI/Tender/Proposal franchise, based on international best practices and industry benchmarks.
• Establish and maintain a well-functioning and relevant TS product content library in collaboration with respective product houses.
• Hold product houses accountable for ensuring content libraries are up to date, accurate and efficiently documented.
• Work closely with key stakeholders within CIB such as Tender Managers, Marketing, Client Coverage, Risk & Compliance, Legal, Credit, Pricing and TS Product Houses to ensure a well-coordinated, smoothly executed and professionally worded document is submitted on time.
• Be at a proficient level of competence in understanding all TS products, which means the successful candidate should possess a solid understanding and practical experience beyond the foundational level, but not necessarily at an expert level in all TS Products and how these are applied to a client’s request for their business.
• Populate a base document with relevant content based on the client question/request.
• Perform the task of a wordsmith and proofreader to ensure a document for submission is uniform, accurate and consistent from start to finish.
• Create client presentations based on tender submissions as well as complex proactive proposals.
• Demonstrate outside the box thinking relating to creativity and ingenuity on the format, method or medium used to submit a tender or proposal.
• Manage multiple submissions simultaneously as well as various workstreams in parallel.
• Mobilise multiple stakeholders and hold the deal team accountable to agreed timelines.
• Setup debrief sessions post submission to reflect and grow as a collective team
• Build professional relationships across the franchise though engagement and regular communication and feedback with all stakeholders using quality metrics and project status reports as drivers.

Essential Qualifications - NQF Level

• Matric / Grade 12 / National Senior Certificate
• Professional Qualifications/Honour’s Degree

Preferred Qualification

• Relevant NQF level 7 qualification or other relevant professional qualifications

Preferred Certifications

• Project Management or Business Management

Minimum Experience Level

• 8 – 10 years working experience in tender or proposal compilation and submissions, of which 3 – 5 years must be within a Transactional Services franchise at a bank.

Technical / Professional Knowledge

• Industry trends
• Relevant software and systems knowledge
• Principles of financial management
• Cluster Specific Operational Knowledge
• Principles of project management
• Communication Strategies
• Decision-making process
• Governance, Risk and Controls
• Financial management
• Information Technology concepts

Behavioural Competencies

• Influencing
• Customer Orientation
• Earning Trust
• Continuous Learning
• Monitoring Information
• Leveraging Feedback
• Planning and Organizing