About Complete Tenders

Tony Murphy

Tender Writer

My career has mostly involved negotiating and bidding for commercial contracts in telecoms, IT and facilities management. I’ve always been in commercial roles, on both the buying and selling side. My early career was in the oil industry, but I moved into telecoms when I started working for BT shortly after it was privatised. After a few operational roles, I managed commercial and contractual support to a wide range of business units within BT, from broadcasting, to videoconferencing, and satellite to submarine cables. That’s where I learned how to pick up new technologies and lines of business in double-quick time – a skill I’m still using at Complete Tenders, where our clients come from so many different sectors.

I left BT for a move into mobile and Wi-Fi, with T-Mobile and later, a tech start-up in the rail industry who pioneered Wi-Fi on trains. There, I worked on both sides of the fence, we won two company-transforming bids, worth €135million and I evaluated tender responses from people who wanted our business.

A few years later I set up my own company. After a pivot or two, we were writing bids for clients and coaching them to be fit to compete. This meant winning new business by writing knockout tender responses, developing clients’ value propositions and reinvigorating content to make it persuasive and compelling. That’s exactly what we do at Complete Tenders - and now I get to work with outstanding people who I learn from every day.

Having moved around a lot in my youth, I lived in London for most of my post-University life, moving to Hertfordshire ten years ago. I still think of myself as a Londoner, but have set down roots here. As a passionate supporter of social justice, I’m chair/trustee at East Herts Citizens Advice, where I also bring my tender writing skills to bear in fundraising. I’m also a coach and treasurer at the Hertford Company of Archers, where I (uncharacteristically) made my own longbow a few years ago.

Steve Smith

Tender Writer

I started my career in the early 2000s writing facilities management bids for school and hospital PFI projects. Since then my career has been wide and varied, including stints in senior operational and transformation roles for a FTSE 100 business process outsourcer, a few years as Chief Executive of a local youth work charity where I live in Bristol and six years in the NHS working in and around general practice.

All of these roles over twenty years have involved writing and managing bids of one sort or another so a few years ago I took the plunge into working full time in bidding. Since then I’ve led bids in health, social care, imports, telecoms, training, catering and FM among others. I enjoy the challenge of dropping into new business and sectors and learning as I go.

Outside work I’m an elected Councillor on Bristol City Councillor, as well as a Magistrate and a Scout Leader specialising in training teenagers for the annual Ten Tors challenge on Dartmoor. When I’m not doing any of that, I’m probably watching Bristol Bears rugby.

James Irvin

Graduate Bid Writer

Having graduated from the University of Hertfordshire in 2020, I am now beginning my career working with Complete Tenders. I spent three years at University completing a degree in English Language & Communication with English Language Teaching. During my studies I prepared reports on a wide range of subjects, investigating how language is used in many different fields, from sports commentary to police work. Such work has given me a lot of the writing and communication skills necessary to produce compelling material and succeed with tenders and winning contracts. I have previous experience working in retail and I am looking forward to developing my career with the great team at Complete Tenders.

When I’m not working, I am more often than not found watching my beloved West Ham United lose (again!).

Leanne Elia

Bid Coordinator

Since 2019 I co-owned an installation company in Hertfordshire who carried out physical security installations on behalf of manufacturers before selling it this year. When I first joined the business, I was operating out of a room at the bottom of the garden with just the one client and two engineers.

For us to grow we needed to implement internal processes and policies to compete against the bigger companies. Within 6 months we moved into our very own premises in Hertfordshire and took on more engineers and support staff.

We gained various accreditations including ISO 9001 and 14001 and as a result our client base and sales increased. I know first hand what it is like to run a small business and how each win is personal and can make a huge difference to the success of the company. I am now looking forward to using what I have learned to help other smaller businesses; supporting them to get tender ready and of course helping them win contracts.

Philip Laughlin

Tender Writer

I have enjoyed a successful career working within the private sector for a range of businesses from privately owned SMEs to Global Corporations, managing procurement functions, sales and marketing teams, customer service call-centres and multi-country operations.

Tendering has always been a necessary feature of my work, on both sides of the table. I know from experience that regardless of the size of your business, responding to an ITT is always a challenge, and I now put this knowledge to good use, supporting the broad customer base at Complete Tenders.

The winning of new and retention of existing customers is the life blood of every business, and helping our SME customers achieve successful, profitable sales growth is what drives me.

Outside work, I enjoy extensive travel in UK & Europe in our caravan (sorry to all of those who we’ve held up!) and sing/perform with an award-winning mixed voice choir.