CMI Level 5 Defence Business Winning Training
The professional standard for defence business winning.
Develop the people who win work in the UK defence market, and build capability that stays in your organisation. Management and leadership development built entirely on defence business winning, delivered by practitioners and externally moderated by the CMI.
Strategical is an approved CMI Partner.
- CMI Level 5, Management & Leadership
- Specialising in Defence Business Winning
- Certificate (3 units) or Diploma (7 units)
- Delivered in person or live online
Every module of Strategical's Business Winning Training is built on real defence capture management, bid management and pursuit leadership, not generic leadership theory, and on the same methodology and Toolkit that underpin our advisory work.
Built for the people who win the business
These qualifications are for the people who lead and support UK defence pursuits.
Capture & pursuit leads
One repeatable standard, from first market scan to award.
Bid & proposal managers
Connect the written response to the capture strategy behind it.
Business development directors
Build a function with a common method and a common language.
Specialists drawn into pursuits
Project management, engineering, commercial and procurement leads seconded onto a bid.
Defence SMEs
Compete credibly against larger incumbents.
Defence primes
Raise capability across capture and bid teams.
Your win rate should not depend on a handful of people
In many defence organisations, winning work depends on a few experienced individuals. When they move on, the capability and the win rate go with them.
The strongest business winning functions share a common method, a common language and a repeatable standard that holds whoever is in the room. Your organisation keeps the capability, and the CMI Level 5 qualification records that the standard has been met.
CMI Level 5 management and leadership
| Attribute | Diploma | Certificate |
|---|---|---|
| Qualification code | CMI Level 5 (5D30) | CMI Level 5 (5C30) |
| Credits | 42 | 14 |
| Units | 7 | 3 |
| Duration | Approximately 12 months | 4-6 months |
| Fee | £5,000 + VAT per delegate | £3,000 + VAT per delegate |
| Pursuit coverage | Steps 01-08 (full pursuit + capstone project) | Steps 01-03 (front end) |
| Best for | Those leading, or stepping up to lead, pursuit teams and bid functions | Practitioners building formal capture and business winning capability for the first time |
| Pathway | Direct entry, or top-up from Certificate | Standalone, or progression to Diploma |
Both qualifications: self-directed study with intensive workshops, attended in person or live online.
CMI Level 5 Diploma in Management & Leadership
Defence Business Winning
The full programme.
Our flagship, and the only CMI Level 5 programme built for defence business winning professionals. Seven units follow a pursuit in order, from first market assessment to post-award transition.
CMI Level 5 Certificate in Management & Leadership
Defence Business Winning
The structured entry point.
The front end of a defence pursuit: assessing the market, picking the fight, and mapping the people who decide. Standalone as a CMI qualification, and the natural pathway into the Diploma.
Open cohorts and in-house programmes forming for 2026
Our first cohort is confirmed with a UK defence prime.
The course runs the way a real pursuit runs
Most management courses teach in syllabus order. This one runs in pursuit order, so you meet each tool at the point a live defence pursuit needs it.
- 01
Set the market context
Read where the opportunities and threats sit.
- 02
Pick the fight
Decide which opportunities are worth pursuing.
- 03
Map the people
Identify and influence the people who decide.
- 04
Build the win
Shape a value case that beats the incumbent.
- 05
Run the capture
Position to win well before the bid is written.
- 06
Execute the proposal
Turn strategy into a compliant, evidenced bid.
- 07
Land it
Move to delivery and keep what you promised.
- 08
Integrate it all
A capstone project running one full pursuit.
Certificate learners cover the first three steps. Diploma learners run the full pursuit through to delivery and the capstone project.
An independent standard, not an in-house badge
An independent standard
Delivered by an approved CMI Partner, CMI-assessed and externally moderated: a recognised qualification, not a certificate we mark ourselves.
Taught by practitioners
Taught and assessed by senior practitioners who have led winning defence bids at every level, not by lecturers who have studied them.
Built on a real pursuit
You work a full defence pursuit end to end, simulated or your own live one, with the sixteen Toolkit instruments used on real pursuits.
On the programme and after
- Practitioner course materials built around a full defence pursuit
- Managed access to the 16-tool Strategical Toolkit throughout the programme
- CMI-assessed and externally moderated assignments
- A CMI Level 5 qualification specialising in Defence Business Winning, on completion
- Optional Embedded Chartered Manager (CMgr) pathway for qualifying delegates
After the programme, delegates can
- Qualify opportunities objectively
- Build capture plans and win strategies
- Map and influence the stakeholders who decide
- Lead pursuit teams under competitive pressure
- Govern bids to a defensible standard
- Move cleanly from a win into delivery
The right format, and four steps to your credential
Open cohort
Delegates from multiple organisations. Next open cohort forming for 2026.
In-house cohort
Delivered for your organisation alone, minimum 12 delegates, calibrated to your live pursuits.
Individual enrolment
Single delegates are placed in the next available open cohort.
Four steps to your credential
- 01
Initial consultation
Your organisation's context, capability gaps and the outcomes you need.
- 02
Confirm the route
Agree the level, Certificate or Diploma, and an open or in-house format.
- 03
Apply the methodology
Work the method on Project HERON, our worked bid scenario, or a live bid.
- 04
Earn the credential
Complete the assessed work and earn your CMI Level 5 qualification.
What you need to know
How is this different from generic leadership or bid-writing training?
Generic courses teach management theory, and most bid management training covers the document and the process. This CMI Level 5 qualification is built on defence capture, bidding and pursuit leadership, and taught by practitioners who have won the work.
Do I need a live pursuit of my own?
No. You can work our full simulated pursuit, or a live pursuit of your own if your employer authorises it.
How is it assessed?
Through an integrated assignment for each module, plus a capstone project for the Diploma. All assessment is externally moderated by the CMI.
How much time should I plan for each week?
Around five to eight hours a week for the Certificate and six to ten for the Diploma, with full or half-day workshops spaced across the programme.
How many delegates run in an open cohort?
A maximum of 24, to keep direct practitioner contact. In-house cohorts require a minimum of 12.
Are instalment payment terms available?
Yes. Fees may be paid in instalments aligned to the programme schedule, discussed at the initial consultation.
How the training fits the wider system
Business Winning Software
Put the method into daily practice on the platform once the capability is built.
Explore →The methodology
The Playbook and Toolkit the programme is built on.
Explore →Advisory & Consultancy
Senior practitioners working alongside your team on live pursuits.
Explore →The team
The practitioners who deliver and assess the programme.
Explore →From The Strategical Briefing
The market the programme trains your team to read, every Monday morning.
21 - 27 September 2026
£34.1bn spent with UK industry; direct SME share remains at 4%
Read the edition →14 - 20 September 2026
£100bn nuclear demand signal - and incentives rise to 10%
Read the edition →7 - 13 September 2026
£2.5bn is moving to SMEs - and the CMA is watching defence bids
Read the edition →Build the capability in your own team.
Whether you are developing one practitioner or a whole business winning function, contact us about enrolment and cohort availability.
Book a conversation