Important Information and Who We Are

Privacy policy

This privacy policy gives you information about how Bid Solutions Limited collects and uses your personal data in accordance with UK and EU law through your use of this website bidsolutions.com (“the Site”) or other communication with us, including any data you may provide when you use the Match & Compare Service, register as a bid consultant or candidate, apply for jobs, or sign up to our newsletter.

Controller

Bid Solutions Limited is the controller and responsible for your personal data (collectively referred to as “Bid Solutions”, “we”, “us” or “our” in this privacy policy).

If you have any questions about this privacy policy, including any requests to exercise your legal rights, please contact us using the information set out below.

The Types of Personal Data We Collect

Personal data means any information about an individual from which that person can be identified.

We may collect, use, store and transfer different kinds of personal data about you which we have grouped together as follows:

Identifiers – First Name, Last Name, Email address.

CV / Resume Detail – May include name, address, gender, contact details, marital status, date of birth, qualifications, employment history, interests, health information.

Compliance Information – May include proof of right to work, proof of residence, and criminal offence data.

Internet or other electronic network or device activity information

Search history, information on your interactions with a website, application, or advertisement

Geolocation Data

Physical location, generally.

Profile Data

Username and password.

Marketing and Communications Data

Your preferences in receiving marketing from us and our third parties and your communication preferences.

We also collect, use and share aggregated data such as statistical or demographic data which is not personal data as it does not directly (or indirectly) reveal your identity. For example, we may aggregate individuals’ usage data to assist our business partners in understanding their potential customers or current users.

How We Collect Personal Data

Directly from you. When you provide your information electronically to us, we will collect and store that information.

Indirectly from you. When you navigate and interact with our Site, some information is automatically collected by cookies and similar technologies. Not all information collected may be personal information, and some cookies are necessary to use different functionalities of our Site. The personal information collected may include information about your computer and internet connection, like IP address, operating system, and browser type. For more information about the cookies we use, see our Cookie Policy.

From Other Sources. We also may periodically obtain both personal and non-personal information about you from affiliated entities, business partners, and other independent third-party sources (including any CV Sourcing sites such as Total Jobs, Indeed and CV-Library (www.cv-library.co.uk))  and add it to other information about you. For example, if you visit our Site by “clicking-through” from a site operated by one of our business partners and you have registered with that partner, then information about you that you have provided to that partner may be shared with us, such as contact information and demographic information.

How We Use Your Personal Data

We may use personal data as permitted by law, for the following business purposes:

To register you as a customer

When you register on the Site, we store and use the information you provide during that process. This may include your first and last name, your email address, the company you work for, and any other information you may provide during the account creation process. We may, if you consent, publicly display your first name and last initial, as well as any other photo or content you supply as part of your account profile. We also store and use any preferences you provide to personalise your user experience, including the types of software services and products that you use.

Any content that you submit to the Site for inclusion in the Bid Consultant directory is intended for public display and is therefore viewable by the public, including your first name and last initial, and any photos associated with your account. You can limit the public nature of some of this information in your account settings.

To process your order

We will use contact details for the purpose of managing subscriptions, billing and any related correspondence.

To include you in a database of bid consultants

When you register as a bid professional and submit a CV/resume we may use your personal data as follows:

• to provide our job and career services to you;
• to maintain our business relationship, where you are a user of our website, a client or candidate;
• to enable you to submit your CV for general applications, to apply for specific jobs or to subscribe to our job alerts. Please see the separate section on your CV below which outlines additional uses and disclosures;
• to match your details with job vacancies, to assist us in finding a position that is most suitable for you and to send your personal information (including sensitive personal information) to clients in order to apply for jobs;
• to answer your enquiries;
• to direct-market products and services, advise you of news and industry updates, events, promotions and competitions, reports and other information. Where we do so, you will be able to unsubscribe from such communications;
• to fulfil contractual obligations with our clients;
• to trusted third parties where we have retained them to provide services that you or our clients have requested, such as reference, qualification and criminal reference checking services (as required), verification of the details you have provided from third party sources, psychometric evaluations or skills tests. These third parties comply with similar and equally stringent undertakings of privacy and confidentiality as Bid Solutions;

To process job applications

When you register as a candidate and apply for job vacancies on our Site or partner sites on which we advertise we will use your personal data to process your application.

When you authorise us to apply for a job vacancy on your behalf (for example when we have obtained your CV from CV Library and contacted you about suitable job vacancies).

To send you relevant communications

For example if you have subscribed to Bidding Quarterly.

To engage in research and analysis related to the Site.

We store and use information to identify and fix errors, understand how visitors use our Site, research and test different features, and analyse how visitors arrive at and use our Site.

To personalise your experience.

We store and use information provided by you, such as the software products and services you use or have used, or are researching on the Site, to personalize and make recommendations to you based on your provided information.

To improve and understand usage of the Site.

We store and use information about your use of the Site, such as your search activity, pages viewed, and the date, time and duration of your visits, to understand and improve usage of the Site.

To enhance the security of the Site.

We store and use information to ensure the security of our Site. For example, we use the information collected by certain cookies to determine if you are logged in and to detect unauthorised access to your account.

To comply with legal obligations.

We use and share your information as necessary to respond to subpoenas, court orders, or other legal process; we also may use and share your information to establish or exercise our legal rights, to defend against legal claims, or as otherwise required by law.

We may use and share your personal information when we believe it is necessary to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding illegal or suspected illegal activities; to protect and defend the rights, property, or safety of Bid Solutions, our Site visitors and registered users, our licensees, and others.

We may use and share your personal information in connection with a corporate transaction, such as a divestiture, investment, merger, consolidation, or asset sale, or in the unlikely event of bankruptcy.

Direct marketing

You will receive marketing communications from us if you have requested information from us or purchased services from us and you have not opted out of receiving the marketing.

We may also analyse your personal data to form a view which products, services and offers may be of interest to you so that we can then send you relevant marketing communications.

Third-party marketing

We will get your express consent before we share your personal data with any third party for their own direct marketing purposes or with recruiters. When registering to use the Match & Compare service, if you consent, your contact details will be shared with any vendors recommended to you as set out below.

Opting out of marketing

You can ask to stop sending you marketing communications at any time by following the opt-out links within any marketing communication sent to you or by contacting us at enquiry@bidsolutions.com.

If you opt out of receiving marketing communications, you will still receive service-related communications that are essential for administrative or customer service purposes for example relating to order confirmations for a service, updates to our Terms and Conditions, and checking that your contact details are correct.

Conditions for the processing of criminal offence data

We will only process data relating to criminal offences for compliance purposes if we have a legal ground to do so. Furthermore, we will meet one or more of the following separate conditions:

• The processing is necessary for the purposes of carrying out the obligations and exercising specific rights of you or us in the field of employment and social security and social protection law.
• You have given consent to the processing.

How We Share Your Personal Data

Bid Solutions may share your personal data with the providers of products and services listed on our Site, with our business partners, with our service providers, our affiliates, and any other third parties whom you authorize us to share your information with. More detail about who we share your personal data with, and what types of personal data they receive from us, can be found below.

Sharing with providers of products and services listed on the Site.

When you expressly request to be contacted by requesting more information or requesting a demo of a product or service, we will share your personal data with the provider of the software product or service with whom you’ve asked to be connected, to fulfil your request.

Subject to your consent, if you use the Match & Compare service we will also share your contact details with recommended vendors.

In fulfilling your request, we will provide the following personal data, to the extent you provide it:

• First and last name
• Email address

Sharing your profile.

Your Bid Consultant profile may be displayed publicly on other social media sites, third-party software marketplaces, the providers of software products and services listed on our Site, and the operators of other publicly available websites, platforms, or mobile apps that we have authorized to share this content through their websites, social media sits, platforms, mobile apps, or other marketing materials, such as slide decks or case studies.

In sharing your profile, we will share the following personal data, to the extent you provide it:

• First name, last initial
• The profile picture associated with your Bid Solutions account
• Your job title
• Your employer

Sharing with recruiters

When you apply for job vacancies on our Site or partner sites, or authorise us to apply for job vacancies on your behalf, personal data in your job application and/or CV may be shared with the relevant recruiters.

Certain recruiters require candidates to register an account with them as part of the application process.  If you authorise us to apply for a vacancy with these recruiters, we will register an account on your behalf.  Personal data shared with that account will be processed in accordance with the recruiters’ Privacy Policy.  We do not control these recruiter accounts and are not responsible for their privacy statements.

Sharing with our service providers.

Bid Solutions uses third party service providers to support or provide services for us in connection with the Site, such as hosting, security and fraud prevention, technical and user support, tracking and reporting usage of the Site, marketing, and other functions. We share your information with them as necessary to perform tasks on our behalf and they are obligated to not disclose or use it for any other purpose.

Bid Solutions may receive monetary or other valuable consideration for sharing your personal data when you submit a request to be contacted by a provider on our Site. We do not share that information with any other third parties. The personal data that is shared includes your first and last name, and your email address. Any other information you submit with your request will also be shared with the provider.

We require all third parties to respect the security of your personal data and to treat it in accordance with the law. We do not allow our third-party service providers to use your personal data for their own purposes and only permit them to process your personal data for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions.

Your Data Privacy Rights

If you are a resident or are otherwise located in the territory of Europe or the United Kingdom, this section provides additional details about the personal data we collect about you, and your rights granted by the EU and UK General Data Protection Regulations (“GDPR”).

Subject to certain limitations, the GDPR provides you the following privacy rights:

Transparency and the right to information. Through this policy we explain how we use and share your personal data. However, if you have questions or concerns you can contact us any time at enquiry@bidsolutions.com.

Right of access, objection, restriction of processing, correction, erasure, and portability. You can make a request to access, object to or restrict the processing of, correct, erase, or transfer any of your personal data. You also have the right to withdraw your consent at any time when we process your personal data based on your consent.

Right not to be subject to an automated decision, including profiling. We do not make automated decisions using your personal data that may negatively impact you.

Cookies

We use cookies and similar technologies on our Site to personalize your experience on the Site and recommend software products and services that may be of interest to you. For additional information or to opt-out see our Cookie Policy.

Right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. If you consider that the processing of your personal data infringes your privacy rights according to the GDPR, you have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, in the member state of your habitual residence, place of work, or place of the alleged infringement. Contact details for the EU data protection authorities can be found at http://ec.europa.eu/justice/data-protection/bodies/authorities/index_en.htm

For users located in the UK, you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) here.

Legal Basis for Processing

Our legal basis for collecting and using the personal data described in this policy will depend on the type of information and the context in which we collect it.

However, we will normally collect personal data from you only in the following circumstances:

• Where we have your express consent to do so
• Where we need the personal data to perform a contract with you
• Where the processing is in our legitimate interests and is not overridden by your data protection interests or fundamental rights and freedoms

In some cases, we may also have a legal obligation to collect personal data from you to protect your vital interests or those of another person (for example, to prevent, investigate or identify possible wrongdoing in connection with the Site or to comply with legal obligations).

If we ask you to provide personal data to comply with a legal requirement we will identify such basis for processing at the relevant time and let you know if the provision of your personal data is mandatory or not (as well as the possible consequences associated with not providing such information).

If we collect and use your personal data in reliance on our legitimate interests (or those of any third party), this interest will typically be to operate our Site, communicate with you in relation to your account or the Site, to solicit information from you, including through surveys, to measure interest in and improve our offerings and Site, to engage in marketing activities, and to otherwise customize your experience with Bid Solutions.

If you have questions about or need further information concerning the legal basis on which we collect and use your personal data, please contact us at enquiry@bidsolutions.com.

International transfers

Bid Solutions may transfer your personal data to suppliers outside your home jurisdiction. We will take all reasonable steps to ensure that personal data is protected, and any such transfers comply with applicable law.

We may transfer and maintain the personal data of individuals covered by this Policy on servers or databases outside the UK or European Economic Area (EEA). Some of these countries may not have the equivalent level of protection under their data protection laws as in the EEA.

Whenever we transfer your personal data out of the UK to countries which have laws that do not provide the same level of data protection as the UK law, we always ensure that a similar degree of protection is afforded to it by ensuring that the following safeguards are implemented:

We may transfer your personal data to service providers in the US that carry out certain functions on our behalf. Whenever we transfer your personal data out of the UK to such service providers, we ensure a similar degree of protection is afforded to it by ensuring that they are registered with the EU-US Data Privacy Framework Program (“EU-US DPF”) and the UK Extension to the EU-US DPF.

Security

We have implemented appropriate administrative, technical, and physical security procedures to help protect the personal data you provide to us. This includes Cyber Essentials certification.

For example, only authorised employees are permitted to access personal data that you do not publish on the Site, and they only may do so for permitted business functions. Our security and privacy policies are periodically reviewed and enhanced as necessary, and only authorised personnel have access to personal data that you have not published on the Site. In addition, we use encryption when transmitting your personal data between your system and ours, and we, together with our partners, employ firewalls and intrusion detection systems to help prevent unauthorised persons from gaining access to your non-public information.

Please bear in mind that submission of information over the Internet is never entirely secure. We cannot guarantee the security of information you submit via our Site while it is in transit over the Internet, and any such submission is at your own risk.

Children’s Privacy

The Site is a general audience site and does not offer services directed to individuals under 18 years of age.

No one under the age of 18 may provide any information to or on the Site. We do not knowingly collect personal data from individuals under 18.

If you are under 18, do not use or provide any information on this Site or on or through any of its features, do not register on this Site, use any of the interactive or comment features of this Site, or provide any information about yourself to us, including your name, address, telephone number, email address, or any screen name or user name you may use. Should an individual whom we know to be under the age of 18 send personal data to us, we will delete or destroy such information as soon as reasonably possible. If you believe we might have this type of information, please contact us.

Data Retention

Bid Solutions retains your personal data where we have an ongoing legitimate business need. For example, we may retain your information to prevent, investigate, or identify possible wrongdoing in connection with the Site or to comply with legal obligations. We may also retain copies of your personal data in our backup archives. We will email you every 2 years to check whether you wish us to retain your data, and/or whether it is up to date.

With respect to personal data that has been collected using cookies and similar tracing technologies, you can view retention periods in our Cookie Policy, as well as adjust and/or disable certain tracking. Please note that software product and service providers listed on the Site cannot remove their profile page, ratings, or reviews by closing their accounts.

Changes to our Privacy Policy

Bid Solutions may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you about material changes to this Privacy Policy by either sending a notice to the email address you provided to us and/or by other measures that are appropriate to provide you with notice. We will obtain your consent to any material Privacy Policy changes if and where this is required by applicable data protection laws.

You can see when this Privacy Policy was last updated by checking the “last updated” date displayed at the top of this Privacy Policy.

If, at any time, you have questions or concerns about Bid Solutions online privacy commitment, please feel free to e-mail us at enquiry@bidsolutions.com or call our office to speak to one of our representatives.

Contact

If you have any enquires you can contact us at: enquiry@bidsolutions.com or by writing to us at:

Martin Smith
Data Privacy Manager
Parkshot House
5 Kew Road
Richmond
TW9 2PR

Third-party links

The Site may include links to third-party websites, plug-ins and applications. Clicking on those links or enabling those connections may allow third parties to collect or share data about you. We do not control these third-party websites and are not responsible for their privacy statements. When you leave our Site, we encourage you to read the privacy policy of every Site you visit.