One has aspirations before the contract bid (9)
I believe the answer is:
pretender
'one has aspirations' is the definition.
(person claiming or aspiring to a title)
'before the contract bid' is the wordplay.
'before' becomes 'pre'.
'the contract bid' becomes 'tender' (the process of bidding for a contract).
'pre'+'tender'='PRETENDER'
(Other definitions for pretender that I've seen before include "One acting" , "fake" , "One claiming a title" , "Claimant, like Bonnie Prince Charlie" , "Claimant to a throne, usually without just title" .)