Commercial & Tender Manager

Commercial & Tender Manager
Location: Liverpool, L5
Salary: £45,000k - £55,000k per annum + company car or car allowance
Working arrangement: Office-based, with customer travel as required

Freight Force Recruitment Ltd are acting as an Employment Agency in relation to this permanent vacancy.

Overview

Freight Force Recruitment are proud to be working in partnership with an established, multi-award-winning logistics provider with a fleet of approximately 2,000 vehicles and a team of around 900 employees. The business delivers tailored transport and supply chain solutions to customers across a range of sectors.

We are looking for a commercially minded Commercial & Tender Manager to support the continued growth of its transport, warehousing and logistics operations. This is an opportunity for an individual who understands the commercial demands of contract logistics and enjoys building long-term customer relationships, managing tenders and identifying opportunities to develop existing accounts.

The role is not solely focused on new business development. We are particularly interested in candidates who have gained experience in business development, commercial management or account development within contract logistics and are looking to move into a more relationship-led role, with responsibility for managing customer accounts, supporting tender activity and driving sustainable commercial growth.

You will play an important role in developing customer partnerships, preparing and presenting commercial proposals, attending tender meetings and working closely with internal teams to ensure solutions are both commercially competitive and operationally deliverable.

Key Responsibilities

Account Management & Customer Development

- Build and maintain strong, long-term relationships with existing customers, acting as a key commercial point of contact.
- Develop a thorough understanding of customer operations, logistics requirements and future business needs.
- Identify opportunities to grow existing accounts through additional services, contract extensions and cross-selling across transport, warehousing, customs and other relevant logistics solutions.
- Conduct regular customer meetings and business reviews to assess performance, strengthen relationships and identify areas for improvement.
- Work collaboratively with operational teams to ensure customer expectations are met and service issues are addressed effectively.
- Support customer retention by delivering a proactive, consultative and commercially focused account management approach.

Tender Management & Commercial Proposals

- Take ownership of the tender process, coordinating submissions from initial enquiry through to presentation, negotiation and contract award.
- Attend and lead tender meetings, customer presentations and commercial negotiations, confidently representing the business and its service capabilities.
- Develop tailored proposals that reflect customer requirements, operational capabilities and commercial objectives.
- Work closely with transport, warehousing, finance and operational teams to gather the information required for accurate and competitive tender submissions.
- Ensure tender responses are professionally presented, commercially sound and submitted within agreed deadlines.
- Manage tender pipelines, maintain visibility of upcoming opportunities and ensure appropriate follow-up with prospective and existing customers.
- Evaluate customer requirements and tender opportunities to establish commercial viability and identify potential risks.

Commercial Growth & Business Development

- Identify opportunities to secure new contracts and develop existing customer relationships across relevant sectors, including retail, FMCG, manufacturing, ports and logistics.
- Build on existing industry relationships and develop new contacts through networking, customer meetings and targeted commercial engagement.
- Support the development of new business opportunities, with an emphasis on securing sustainable, profitable contracts rather than pursuing volume alone.
- Maintain an understanding of the competitive landscape and identify opportunities where the business can differentiate its offering.
- Develop a strong pipeline of potential opportunities while balancing new business activity with existing account responsibilities.

Pricing & Commercial Strategy

- Work alongside finance and operational stakeholders to develop accurate, competitive and profitable pricing structures.
- Assess transport, warehousing and wider logistics requirements to ensure proposals reflect the true cost of service delivery.
- Negotiate commercial terms and ensure agreements align with agreed margin expectations and business objectives.
- Monitor contract performance, pricing arrangements and changing customer requirements, identifying opportunities to improve profitability.
- Keep abreast of market conditions, industry developments and cost pressures that may influence customer requirements and commercial decisions.

Internal Stakeholder Collaboration

- Build effective working relationships across transport planning, operations, warehousing, finance and compliance.
- Ensure customer commitments made during the sales and tender process can be delivered operationally.
- Support the smooth onboarding of new customers and contracts, ensuring requirements are clearly communicated to relevant teams.
- Provide commercial input into service development and customer solutions.
- Maintain accurate records of customer activity, tender progress, commercial proposals and account development opportunities.

Skills & Experience

Essential

- Experience in a commercial, business development, account management or tender-focused role within logistics, transport, freight or contract logistics.
- A strong understanding of contract logistics and the commercial considerations involved in delivering customer-specific solutions.
- Proven experience managing or contributing to tender submissions, including preparing proposals, developing pricing and coordinating internal input.
- Confidence in attending and participating in tender meetings, customer presentations and commercial negotiations.
- Demonstrable ability to build and maintain effective customer relationships.
- Experience identifying opportunities to develop existing accounts, improve customer retention and generate additional revenue.
- Strong commercial acumen, with the ability to balance customer requirements against operational feasibility and profitability.
- Excellent communication, presentation, negotiation and stakeholder management skills.
- Strong organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple accounts, tenders and deadlines simultaneously.
- A full UK driving licence and willingness to travel to customer sites and meetings as required.

Desirable

- Knowledge of UK and Ireland freight markets and associated transport networks.
- Experience in temperature-controlled transport, groupage, container transport, customs or specialist logistics services.
- Existing relationships within relevant customer sectors, such as retail, FMCG, manufacturing or ports.
- Experience working with complex customer requirements and multi-stakeholder tender processes.

Personal Attributes

- Commercially astute, with a focus on sustainable growth and profitability.
- Relationship-driven, with the ability to build trust and credibility with customers.
- Confident presenting solutions and representing the business in customer and tender meetings.
- Proactive in identifying opportunities to develop accounts and improve commercial performance.
- Collaborative, with the ability to bring internal stakeholders together to deliver customer solutions.
- Organised and detail-oriented, particularly when managing tenders, pricing and contractual requirements.
- Adaptable and resilient, with the confidence to manage competing priorities in a fast-paced commercial environment.

What Success Looks Like

- Strong retention and development of existing customer accounts.
- Successful tender submissions and conversion of commercially viable opportunities into contracts.
- Growth in account revenue and the introduction of additional services where appropriate.
- Profitable pricing and achievement of agreed gross margin targets.
- Positive customer feedback and effective management of key commercial relationships.
- Strong collaboration between commercial and operational teams, ensuring customer commitments are delivered effectively.

Salary & Benefits

- Salary of up to £55,000 per annum, depending on experience.
- Company car or car allowance
- Company pension.
- Private medical insurance.
- Company sick pay.
- Health and wellbeing programme.
- On-site parking.

Ready to Take the Next Step?

If you have a background in logistics business development, account development or tender management and are looking for a role that combines commercial responsibility with long-term customer relationship management, we would welcome your application.

Join our client and play a key role in developing customer partnerships, winning and retaining contracts, and delivering commercially successful logistics solutions