Sr. Proposal Manager

ECS is seeking a Senior Proposal Manager to work in a primarily remote role with the flexibility to support proposal efforts on-site in our Fairfax, VA office as business needs require.

The Sr. Proposal Manager is primarily responsible for managing complex, high-value proposals in support of ECS’ growth goals, strategic initiatives, and service offerings. This position is a highly visible role that works closely with executive leadership, account executives, capture professionals, solution architects, and operations/delivery managers and support staff. Duties are performed within a team environment with a focus on storytelling, quality, efficiency, excellence, and timeliness.

The Sr. Proposal Manager also serves as a strategic partner to capture and business development teams to help shape proposal strategies and increase probability of win through compelling, customer-focused messaging and effective proposal execution.

Responsibilities:

Proposal Leadership and Management:

• Manage proposal efforts from RFP release through submission for complex, high-value federal opportunities.
• Manage assigned proposal resources, including proposal analysts, graphic designers, technical contributors, and subcontractor inputs.
• Develop and manage proposal schedules, milestones, and review cycles to ensure timely and compliant submissions.
• Lead proposal kickoff meetings, daily stand-ups, and color team reviews while identifying and mitigating proposal risks.
• Coordinate proposal activities across geographically dispersed teams using collaboration tools such as SharePoint, Teams, and ECS proposal automation tools.
• Resolve issues and escalate risks to leadership as appropriate.
• Provide proposal status updates to leadership and stakeholders.
• Coordinate with Contracts, Subcontracts, and Pricing teams to ensure cost, contractual, and subcontracting volumes are aligned with proposal schedules.
• Establish effective communication among internal stakeholders, leadership, and teaming partners throughout the proposal lifecycle.

Proposal Development and Content Quality:

• Write, edit, and enhance proposal content including management approaches, transition plans, past performance citations, resumes, and quality plans.
• Review and edit content developed by technical contributors to ensure clarity, consistency, compliance, and compelling messaging.
• Ensure compliance with solicitation requirements and evaluation criteria through development of compliance matrices and structured outlines.
• Develop writing guidance, annotated outlines, and proposal instructions to support content development.
• Ensure the proposal narrative aligns with win themes and customer priorities.

Capture Integration and Win Strategy:

• Partner with Capture Managers, Account Executives, and Business Development leaders early in the pursuit lifecycle to translate capture strategies and discriminators into compelling proposal narratives and win themes.
• Participate in collaborative sessions to refine win strategies, competitive positioning, and customer hot buttons.
• Analyze solicitations to identify proposal risks, gaps, and clarification questions.
• Collaborate with Solution Architects and Subject Matter Experts to align technical solutions with customer requirements and evaluation criteria.

Proposal Innovation and Knowledge Management:

• Leverage Generative AI and proposal automation technologies to support RFP analysis, compliance development, content generation, and proposal reviews while ensuring accuracy and security.
• Contribute to the development and maintenance of proposal knowledge repositories optimized for AI, including past performance libraries, reusable content, and corporate messaging assets.
• Collaborate with proposal leadership to improve proposal operations, tools, templates, and best practices.

Post-Submission and Continuous Improvement:

• Conduct proposal closeout activities and support post-award or post-submission documentation.
• Lead win/loss debrief reviews and capture lessons learned to improve proposal processes and win probability.
• Analyze proposal outcomes and performance data to support continuous improvement of proposal strategies and processes.

• Bachelor's Degree in English, Marketing, Communications, or similar field.
• 7+ years’ experience in Federal Proposal Development.
• Demonstrated experience managing $100M+ proposal efforts.
• Demonstrated experience managing and coaching oral proposals, including storyboard development, messaging alignment, script development, and rehearsal facilitation.
• Experience leading and supporting complex proposals in DoD, Federal Civilian, and/or Intelligence Community sectors.
• Ability to work effectively under pressure and meet tight deadlines.
• Willingness and ability to learn ECS' custom proposal automation tools.
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to manage diverse proposal teams.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to prioritize and manage a number of tasks or proposals simultaneously; able to be hands-on as well as strategic.
• Demonstrated professionalism, ethical conduct, and collaborative work style.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to communicate effectively with executive leadership, proposal contributors, and teaming partners.
• Strategic thinker with the ability to make the complex simple.
• Exceptional proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams.
• Demonstrated experience applying generative AI to proposal development processes.
• Experience supporting capture strategy development, competitive positioning, and win theme creation.
• Ability to lead distributed proposal teams across multiple locations and time zones.