The Development Manager

Helping Adult Learning providers to prosper with free software and people development

Using technology, The Development Manager helps you to grow your business.

Derrin will lead your team to write a tender, he will not just write any old tender for you:

"A leader is best when people barely know he exists.
Not so good when people obey and acclaim him.
Worse when they despise him.
But of a good leader who talks little,
When his work is done, his aim fulfilled,
They will say "We did it ourselves."
Lao Tse

Practical support for training providers:

The Development Manager, Derrin Kent, has a strong track-record as a tender-writer and project manager for Work-Based Learning and other training provision. His aim will not only be to win you your tender, but also to build the capacity of your staff to win future contracts and successfully deliver them for themselves.

Do you need someone who can show you how to "hit the buttons"...
...as well as set up your team to deliver a high quality contract?

Derrin will also build the capacity of your team to repeat the tendering process for themselves in the future.

Have you had a nightmare with the bravosolution tendering portal?
Derrin is highly competent in using and understands this online tendering service. Further than that, he can systematically guide your staff through the tendering process, and the initial project set-up phase for any tender to any funding body.

Derrin says: "No, I'm afraid I won't just go out and win that tender for you... but I certainly can and will dramatically increase your chances of winning it for yourselves."

Rather than charge you excessive amounts to simply write the tender for you, for a reasonable fee, Derrin will encourage, guide and manage your self-selected "Bid-Team", through the following broad stages:

Read and respond to Derrin's brief, easy-to-read synopsis of the tender specification package (sent with full documentation for those who do enjoy ploughing through it all.)
Respond to actions/questions specified for you on a tender tracking Document by the specified date(s)
Read and actively feed into and improve Derrin's first draft of your tender. Even though Derrin knows how to write tenders which win, we will only win the contract you really want to win with your active involvement and input.
Proof-read Derrin's final draft of your tender before submission

...and then... as soon as the delivery contract has been awarded:

Reflect on how we grew through the tendering process and recognise and applaud the stars of the tendering team
Review and improve Derrin's project implementation plan and agree to complete all actions set for you by the stipulated dates.

Since 2004, Derrin has led the Training for Tomorrow team to be successfully awarded 83% of tenders they have bid for: with delivery values ranging from £5K to £400K and cumulatively adding up to a value of over £3m within 3 years. Derrin has successfully submitted numerous tenders to a wide range of funding bodies, including: the LSC, JCP, learndirect, ESF, Connexions, local councils, grant-awarding bodies and neighbourhood regeneration schemes.

Derrin has gained considerable experience in interpreting tender specifications and documentation and explaining it all in a way your staff members can practically understand. You will, though, get far more than a systematic tender-tracking process out of taking on Derrin to lead your tender. Derrin will confidently and comfortably elicit all of your staff teams' local knowledge - needed to appropriately and realistically personalise your tender application - and, more importantly still, Derrin will develop expansion ambitions, delivery confidence and practical tender-writing skills in your individual team members all along the way.