Proposal Manager

Responsibilities

• Lead the full proposal lifecycle (pre‑RFP through submission) for federal and DoD opportunities, ensuring compliance, quality, and alignment with capture strategy.
• Conduct requirements analysis, solutioning discussions, and compliance mapping using industry-standard processes (Shipley used).
• Develop or oversee the development of proposal schedules, outlines, compliance matrices, storyboards, and content plans.
• Work closely with BD and capture teams to understand customer needs, competitor landscape, program drivers, and solution differentiators.
• Manage proposal kickoff meetings, daily standups, and solutioning sessions to align all contributors.
• Coordinate all aspects of color team reviews (Pink, Red, Gold), including preparing review materials, collecting feedback, and managing recovery activities.
• Develop compelling, compliant, cost‑competitive proposal content including management approaches, technical narratives, win themes, discriminators, and executive summaries.
• Integrate capture intelligence, past performance, and technical differentiators into narrative content.
• Research, interview, and partner with SMEs to translate technical inputs into polished proposal language.
• Tailor or repurpose existing content to meet specific solicitation requirements without sacrificing clarity or customer focus.
• Ensure consistency in tone, voice, structure, and visual formatting across volumes.
• Write, assess, and refine proposal content throughout the proposal process.
• Facilitate information flow among BD, capture, SMEs, subcontractors, and leadership.
• Utilization of SharePoint for document management, version control, and collaborative authoring.
• Coordinate teammate data calls, resumes, past performance inputs, and contractual requirements.
• Ensure all proposal elements meet evaluation criteria outlined in the RFP, including technical, management, past performance, and price volumes (in collaboration with pricing).
• Develop and maintain compliance matrices that guide proposal section assignments and internal reviews.
• Ensure delivery of polished, error‑free proposal submissions on schedule, sometimes requiring night/weekend work during surge periods.
• Maintain version control, quality control, and adherence to AVIAN branding and messaging.
• Support continuous improvement by capturing lessons learned and refining proposal processes and tools.

• Bachelor’s degree required (English, Communications, Journalism, Business, or related field preferred).
• Minimum 5+ years leading and writing federal and DoD proposals; 10+ years’ experience preferred for complex pursuits.
• Demonstrated success winning competitive government proposals.
• Strong command of Shipley or other industry-standard proposal development methodologies.
• Proven experience collaborating with BD and capture teams to integrate customer intelligence and win strategy into proposal content.
• Exceptional writing and editing capability—able to create clear, compelling narratives from technical material.
• Strong understanding of DoD organizations, terminology, mission areas, and acquisition processes.
• Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Word and PowerPoint for large-document management and narrative development.
• Significant experience with SharePoint.
• Ability to work under tight deadlines, manage competing priorities, and coordinate with cross-functional teams.
• Experience conducting color team reviews and incorporating feedback into revised submissions.
• Ability to lead solutioning sessions and extract meaningful content from SMEs.
• Experience working in a team environment and supporting the success of the team’s goals.