The Proposal Manager is responsible for leading the end-to-end development of competitive proposals in response to U.S. Government and commercial solicitations, including RFPs, RFIs, RFQs, and BAAs. Operating within the Business Development function, this individual manages multi-disciplinary proposal teams, drives compliance with solicitation requirements, and delivers compelling, winning proposals on schedule.
This role serves as the central hub of the proposal process - coordinating inputs across engineering, contracts, finance, operations, and executive leadership - while upholding the organization's capture strategy and win themes. The ideal candidate brings deep familiarity with FAR/DFARS regulations, demonstrated success with DoD and civilian agency proposals, and the discipline to excel under deadline pressure.
Key Responsibilities
Proposal Development & Management
- Lead full lifecycle proposal development from RFP release through submission, including kickoff, outline development, executive reviews, and final production.
- Develop and manage detailed proposal schedules, ensuring milestones are met across all volumes (technical, management, past performance, cost/price).
- Perform thorough compliance analysis of solicitations (RFP/RFI/BAFO) and construct compliance matrices and outline documents.
- Coordinate with Capture Managers and Business Development leads to align proposal content with win themes, discriminators, and customer hot buttons.
- Facilitate proposal approval reviews; manage action items and integrate reviewer feedback into revised drafts.
Team Coordination & Leadership
- Assign section responsibilities, communicate expectations, and drive accountability to schedule and quality standards.
- Mentor junior proposal staff and coordinate with subcontractor teams on teaming arrangements and data calls.
Compliance, Quality & Submission
- Ensure all deliverables comply with solicitation instructions, government formatting requirements, page limits, and security constraints.
- Oversee final production, duplication, and delivery in accordance with RFP instructions.
- Maintain proposal library, lessons learned, and boilerplate content in a content management system.
Business Intelligence & Process Improvement
- Support Bid/No-Bid analysis, gate reviews, and probability of win (Pwin) assessments.
- Track and report proposal metrics (win rate, on-time delivery, color review scores) to leadership.
- Contribute to continuous improvement of proposal processes, templates, and tools.
Skills & Competencies
The information below identifies all mandatory (Required) and discretionary (Desired) skills evaluated during the selection process.
FAR/DFARS Knowledge Required Demonstrated understanding of Federal Acquisition Regulations and DoD-specific supplements governing proposal submissions.
Proposal Lifecycle Management Required End-to-end ownership of proposals from RFP analysis through submission, including all color team reviews.
Compliance Matrix Development Required Ability to build detailed compliance matrices that cross-reference all RFP requirements.
Schedule & Milestone Management Required Proficiency in creating and managing detailed proposal schedules using tools such as MS Project.
MS Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) Required Advanced proficiency required for document formatting, template management, data tracking, and executive briefings.
Written Communication & Editing Required Exceptional ability to write, edit, and review proposal narratives for clarity, compliance, persuasiveness, and grammar.
Cost/Price Volume Coordination Desired Ability to work alongside pricing teams to integrate cost narrative and ensure consistency between cost and technical volumes.
Graphics & Visual Communication Desired Comfort personally creating callout boxes, process flow diagrams, and discriminator graphics.
Capture Support Experience Desired Participation in pre-RFP activities including competitive analysis, customer engagement, and solution development sessions.
Subcontractor Data Call Management Desired Experience coordinating with teaming partners to collect, review, and integrate content and past performance data.
Performance & Behavioral Competencies
- Deadline Orientation: Maintains composure and productivity under compressed timelines typical to proposal environments.
- Attention to Detail: Produces error-free, formatted documents that satisfy strict government formatting and submission requirements.
- Stakeholder Management: Builds trust with executive sponsors, program managers, and capture leads to align proposal strategy.
- Adaptability: Comfortable managing multiple concurrent bids at different stages of development simultaneously.
- Continuous Improvement Mindset: Proactively identifies lessons learned and translates them into repeatable process improvements.
May be assigned to carry out tasks not specifically listed within the scope and skill level of this job description in support of company objectives and to develop individual skills.
Education & Experience Required:
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, Communications, or related field or special combination of education and experience and/or demonstrated accomplishments.
- 3–6 years of direct proposal management experience.
- Experience in Aerospace industry preferred.
- Experience supporting USG and commercial proposals.
