Technical Bid Manager in Power Plant Sales, Vestas Northern Europe, Sweden
My role
I work as a technical bid manager in the Vestas Northern Europe sales organisation. We are responsible for coordinating a team of engineers to put together the technical offer that best meets our customers’ needs. Both Vestas and our customers have a lot of specialist knowledge of our industry, so there are high expectations on both sides. The customer is looking for creative solutions to their technical problems whilst simultaneously trying to shift risk on to Vestas and push our prices down. I enjoy being part of this negotiation process and working with engineers to find the solution that gives us the best chance of winning the customer’s project at a fair price.
Recently I was working as part of a team on a very large wind park in the UK. The timeline was tight and the contract was complex. We were spending days at a time sitting down with the client to resolve technical challenges in the contract. For me, it is very satisfying to be getting involved in the practical realities of a project of such a size.
My everyday work life
My daily work revolves around the wind parks that I am working on. I enjoy the whole range of work from the first review of a newly received tender to the last minute rush to resolve outstanding points before signing. The varying level of intensity is something that I like about my job. There is a great atmosphere in Vestas. Many of the people I work with really care about wind energy. I find this motivating, since the ultimate reason I come to work every morning is because I strongly believe that wind energy is the best way we have to make electricity with today’s technology.
Vestas is full of opportunities. The company is young and has grown fast. This means that despite being an international organisation, it is still not bound by ridged procedures that might stifle creativity. For Vestas, this is a weakness as much as it is a strength. But for a young person shaping a career it creates an environment where, if you are globally flexible, you are only limited by your own ingenuity and innovation.
My path in Vestas
I was very fortunate to see three completely different sides of the sales unit in my three rotations: technology in Denmark, service in China and senior management in Hamburg. In this time, I experienced huge variety in my daily tasks, from developing a model for energy production uncertainty to working as an executive assistant in finance.
My role after the graduate programme marks a step in another new direction: technical sales. I am very pleased to have moved through the company in this way; often the times when I think I am doing my job best are the times when I can use my experience from several parts of the organisation. For me this is the value of the Graduate Programme and it is a value that I think will continue to help my progress in my career for many years.
My opportunities
I am very optimistic about my future in Vestas. I enjoy my current position a lot, but one day I will want to look for the next challenge. When that time comes, I feel confident that there will be many doors open for me. When I look at the knowledge level of the experienced people in my department, I can see how useful that would be in other parts of the organisation.
My team from the Graduate Programme finished at a time when the company had stopped new recruitments. Jobs were scarce. But I have seen all of my follow Graduates being offered jobs and doing very well. It demonstrates to me that Vestas is a place that keeps good people and provides potential for development.
My life
The two years I spent in the graduate programme were great fun. I met lots of talented and dedicated people, travelled to dozens of places and learned new languages. I had worked in China before I came to Vestas, so the fantastic 8 months I spent there combined my interests and job. Now working in Sweden, I have started learning to sail and enjoy taking advantage of my generous holiday allowance to continue travelling and experiencing new things.
