Proposal Manager

Job Summary

This job position is with one of our clients which is growing and supporting critical national security missions through expertise in language and culture, training and education, information technology, cybersecurity, intelligence, and federal professional services. As a Proposal Manager you lead and manage federal proposal efforts in a fast-paced, growth-oriented environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Full Lifecycle Proposal Management: Lead the end-to-end development of federal proposals from opportunity qualification through final submission. Manage multiple Requests for Proposal (RFPs), Requests for Information (RFIs), Sources Sought notices, and task order responses, often under accelerated timelines.

• Analyze solicitation documents to identify customer requirements and formulate winning proposal strategies. Develop proposal schedules, compliance matrices, outlines, writing assignments, and production timelines. Coordinate kickoff meetings, solutioning sessions, color team reviews, and final production activities.

• Implement and maintain version control, document management, and proposal configuration processes. Ensure all proposals comply with solicitation requirements, company standards, and federal procurement regulations.

• Content Development & Strategy: Write, edit, and refine compelling content, including Executive Summaries, Technical/Management/Staffing/Transition Plans, Past Performance, Corporate Experience, Quality Assurance, and Key Personnel narratives. Translate complex technical information into clear, persuasive, customer-focused content. Review proposal sections for consistency, accuracy, compliance, grammar, and readability. Maintain and improve proposal templates, reusable content libraries, resumes, and boilerplate language.

• Capture Support & Process Improvement: Contribute to win strategies, competitive assessments, customer research, solution development, and messaging. Participate in pipeline reviews, bid/no-bid decisions, and teaming discussions. Develop and implement repeatable proposal management processes, templates, and workflows to improve efficiency, consistency, and overall quality. Help establish a proposal-centered culture by educating internal stakeholders on planning, schedules, and responsibilities. Recommend and implement tools to improve proposal development and collaboration.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work remotely with significant autonomy while coordinating with executive leadership, business development, capture managers, technical subject matter experts (SMEs), recruiters, and teaming partners. Track proposal progress and proactively communicate risks, issues, and resource needs to ensure successful execution.

Required Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor's degree in Business, Communications, English, Marketing, Journalism, or a related field.

• Experience: Minimum 5 years of experience managing and writing federal government proposals; experience supporting small business federal contractors is strongly preferred.

• Technical Skills: Demonstrated success managing multiple simultaneous proposals with minimal supervision. Experience responding to rapid-turnaround task orders, IDIQ contracts, GWACs, and multiple-award vehicles. Working knowledge of Shipley Associates or similar proposal methodologies (certification preferred). Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, and collaborative document management platforms.

• Soft Skills: Exceptional writing, editing, and storytelling skills; ability to work independently in a fully remote, fast-paced environment.

Desired Skills

• Experience in capture management, business development, or establishing proposal governance.

• Working knowledge of FAR, DFARS, and the federal procurement lifecycle.

• Experience with graphics or visualization tools (e.g., Microsoft Visio, Adobe Creative Suite, PowerPoint).

• Background supporting DoD, Intelligence Community (IC), or civilian federal agencies.

Performance Expectations (90–120 Days)

• Standardization: Establish a formal proposal process, including templates, compliance matrices, schedules, and quality review procedures.

• Infrastructure: Build a centralized content library (reusable content, resumes, past performance, and templates).

• Execution: Manage multiple proposals with 100% on-time, compliant submissions while implementing repeatable workflows and color team reviews.

• Metrics: Develop performance metrics (e.g., win rate, turnaround time, compliance rate) to measure success.

• Collaboration: Serve as the subject matter expert, fostering alignment between leadership, business development, recruiting, and technical teams.