(HQ) Manager, Commercial & Bid Management

Own ocean pricing and the global ocean RFQ bid.
Translate buy rates and market conditions into selling-rate guidance that protects yield by lane and customer, and lead RFQ and tender responses end to end so that the company wins profitable volume and grows its ocean business.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Pricing strategy & selling-rate guidance

• Set and publish selling-rate guidance and minimum-margin rules to regions by trade lane, updated in line with market and buy-rate changes.
• Define pricing governance (approval levels, exceptions) together with the Head of Ocean Product.

Yield management by lane and customer

• Monitor GP per TEU and yield by trade lane, customer and region; identify margin leakage and drive corrective actions.
• Report yield performance to Strategy & Performance (Domain 1) for target-setting and performance review.

RFQ & tender management

• Lead global and key-account RFQs/tenders end to end: intake, timeline, pricing strategy, consolidation of regional and procurement input, submission and post-award rate loading.
• Single point of accountability for bid submissions; maintain bid templates, a bid library and standard turnaround times.

Win/loss analysis & volume growth

• Track bid pipeline, win rate and awarded vs. actual shipped volume; run structured win/loss reviews.
• Identify growth lanes and target customers with sales and regions, and convert awarded business into real volume.

Customer & sales communication

• Partner with global and regional sales on key-account pricing discussions and customer meetings; present ocean market outlook to customers.
• Train and equip sales teams on ocean pricing, market narrative and value-added proposals.
  

End-to-end coordination

• Work with the Manager, Ocean Procurement on buy rates and space for each bid; with operations on service feasibility; with Standards & Governance on contract terms.
• Coordinate and coach regional pricing & bids staff to apply HQ pricing guidance consistently.

ESSENTIAL JOB QUALIFICATIONS

Education/Technical Skills

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Logistics, Supply Chain, Finance or related field.
• Fluent business English (written and spoken); Mandarin is an advantage.
• Advanced Excel (pricing models, pivot, lookups); experience with pricing / tender tools and BI dashboards.

Knowledge/ Work Experience 

• 10+ years in ocean freight forwarding, including 3–5 years in pricing, yield or tender management.
• Proven track record leading large multinational RFQ tenders across multiple regions, from strategy to award.
• Solid understanding of ocean cost build-up (base rate, surcharges, origin/destination charges) and margin analysis.

Key Behavioral Competencies

• Commercial acumen – balances winning volume against protecting yield.
• Analytical, structured and deadline-driven; manages multiple bids under time pressure.
• Strong stakeholder management, communication and presentation skills with customers, sales and regions.