Senior Proposal Manager

Join Southland’s Proposal Team as a Senior Proposal Manager of our East Region. In this role, you will lead and oversee a team of Proposal Specialists responsible for the development of proposals, qualification packages, and interview materials for engineering and construction opportunities. Working closely with technical staff, business development leaders, and marketing team members, the team creates clear and compelling pursuit materials that showcase Southland’s expertise and value to our clients.

• Lead and oversee a regional Proposal Team, ensuring the successful execution of proposal efforts across multiple divisions and strategic pursuits.
• Establish clear performance expectations, provide ongoing coaching and mentorship, and develop individualized growth plans to support team success and career advancement.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, accountability, innovation, and continuous improvement that promotes proposal excellence and team engagement.
• Develop, implement, and optimize proposal management processes, standards, tools, and best practices in collaboration with multiple teams.
• Partner closely with the Proposal Leadership Team to align resources, share best practices, drive strategic initiatives, and ensure consistency across the proposal organization.
• Provide leadership with regular reporting and insights on proposal activities, pipeline support requirements, resource capacity, team performance, and operational risks.
• Conduct performance reviews while championing professional development.
• Oversee team workloads and resource allocation to ensure effective support of concurrent pursuits while maintaining proposal quality and on-time delivery.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives through lessons learned, performance metrics, and process optimization efforts to enhance efficiency, proposal quality, and win rates.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to leadership by identifying organizational challenges, recommending solutions, and supporting strategic growth objectives.
• Develop and produce professional proposals in response to Requests for Proposals and Requests for Qualifications (RFP/RFQ) for engineering and construction opportunities using Adobe InDesign.
• Review solicitation documents to identify requirements, evaluation criteria, and submission instructions to ensure compliant proposals.
• Coordinate business development, operations, and technical teams to gather information and develop clear, client-focused messaging.
• Plan and manage proposal schedules, outlines, and content assignments to ensure milestones are met.
• Assist in writing, editing, and organizing proposal narratives to ensure accuracy, clarity, and alignment with company messaging and brand standards.
• Collaborate with marketing and graphic design resources to develop layouts and visuals that support proposal content.
• Manage the final review and production process to ensure proposals are complete, accurate, and submitted on time.
• Assist in preparation for client interviews and presentations by developing slide content, printed materials, and supporting practice sessions.
• Develop and maintain proposal resources such as resumes, project descriptions, and standard content to support pursuits. Assist with various marketing and business development activities as needed.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing, Communications, Graphic Design, or Business required, or equivalent work experience.
• Minimum of 10-15+ years of proposal management experience, including leadership responsibilities.
• Proficiency in using Adobe InDesign to develop professional proposal and marketing materials.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office 365, including Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, Teams, and SharePoint.
• Experience with Unanet and Asana a plus.
• Excellent…