Senior Proposal Specialist

Location: Rancho Cordova, CA (In-Person– 4 days onsite)

Employment Type: Full-time

Pay Range: $85,000-$95,000 /yr

Clutch is an award-winning, certified women-owned business that works to match organizations with resources they dream about. Clutch elevates its employees by building on their strengths and promoting work‑life balance. Our team of professionals support one another to continuously become the best versions of themselves; truly living out the Clutch core values of connection, optimism, drive, evolve, and curiosity.

The Senior Proposal Specialist is a senior, highly analytical and collaborative position responsible for shaping win strategies, guiding pursuit decisions, refining value propositions, and ensuring final proposal responses meet the highest standards of compliance, competitiveness, and persuasion. This individual brings deep expertise in government contracting, proposal evaluation frameworks, market intelligence, and competitive positioning. They serve as a research‑driven partner across internal teams, ensuring every proposal is informed by data, insight, and strategic intent.

• Identify new revenue pathways, emerging government priorities, and opportunities for organizational growth
• Serve as a strategic research partner to leadership and business development, informing bid/no‑bid decisions and pursuit strategy
• Conduct deep‑drive market, client, and competitor research to understand trends, positioning, and capability gaps
• Develop competitive analyses that surface strengths, vulnerabilities, and differentiators
• Analyze proposal activity and deal outcomes to identify patterns, risks, and opportunities for continuous improvement
• Synthesize and share insights in clear, actionable ways to support strategic decision‑making across teams
• Lead proposal strategy development, including win themes, differentiators, strengths mapping, and pricing considerations
• Facilitate solutioning sessions with subject matter experts to align offerings with client needs and evaluation criteria
• Translate complex technical input into compelling, compliant, and persuasive proposal narratives
• Convert market intelligence into actionable bid strategies, content frameworks, and approach narratives
• Review and elevate proposal content (technical sections, past performance, resumes, and pricing) to ensure strategic alignment and competitive positioning
• Evaluate value propositions and pricing for competitiveness and manage proposal budgets through final review
• Guide teams on compliance requirements, risk mitigation, and submission readiness
• Provide final readiness assessments and sign‑off recommendations based on strategy, quality, and compliance

• Partner cross‑functionally to align research, strategy, and proposal execution
• Build trusted relationships with senior leaders and external partners, influencing decisions and driving momentum
• Coordinate with approved partners to strengthen solutions and expand proposal offerings
• Support internal training and mentorship on proposal best practices, strategy, and evolving requirements
• Represent the organization at internal and external meetings, events, and industry forums as needed
• Oversee proposal packaging and delivery, including physical submissions when required

• 6+ years of experience in proposal strategy, proposal management, or government contracting.
• Deep understanding of government procurement, contract vehicles, FAR/DFAR standards, and evaluation methods.
• Strong analytical skillset with ability to synthesize large amounts of research into actionable insights.
• High proficiency in developing win strategies, pricing narratives, and competitive differentiation.
• Exceptional communication and collaborative leadership abilities.
• Demonstrate exceptional attention to detail, ensuring accuracy and compliance.
• Familiarity with procurement platforms and websites used for opportunity identification and lead management.
• Expertise in Microsoft Word, Canva, and Adobe Creative Suite
• Comfort and ability to apply AI tools to improve research and streamline workflows.
• Highly…