Proposal Specialist

Accountabilities:

Proposal Requirements and Compliance: Review requests for proposals, requests for quotations, statements of work, amendments, evaluation criteria, and other procurement documents. Identify submission requirements, deliverables, deadlines, and compliance obligations while developing and maintaining compliance matrices, annotated outlines, and planning documents.
Proposal Coordination: Coordinate activities and information gathering across technical subject matter experts, program managers, business development, contracts, executives, and other stakeholders. Monitor assignments, deadlines, dependencies, and deliverables to ensure proposals progress according to schedule.
Technical Writing and Content Development: Draft, edit, proofread, and format proposal materials. Transform complex technical information and expert contributions into clear, concise, persuasive, and customer-focused content suitable for both technical and nontechnical audiences.
Proposal Reviews and Quality Assurance: Support structured proposal reviews, including color-team reviews, by preparing documentation, coordinating feedback, tracking comments, and ensuring revisions are completed. Conduct quality-control checks to verify accuracy, consistency, completeness, formatting, and compliance.
Document Production and Management: Create, format, and troubleshoot complex Microsoft Word documents using templates, styles, automatic numbering, tables, captions, cross-references, headers, footers, and section breaks. Maintain organized proposal repositories, version control, file naming conventions, and configuration records.
Proposal Submission Support: Assist with final proposal production, submission-readiness reviews, and electronic submissions, ensuring all documents meet applicable formatting, technical, and delivery requirements.
AI and Technology Integration: Use Microsoft Copilot and other approved AI-enabled tools to support research, drafting, editing, content comparison, compliance reviews, and workflow automation. Validate AI-generated information against authoritative sources and follow all relevant security and data-handling requirements.
Collaboration and Process Improvement: Communicate requirements, assignments, deadlines, and outstanding actions to contributors. Identify opportunities to improve proposal templates, processes, tools, and automation while progressively taking ownership of more complex proposal activities.
Requirements:
Bachelor's degree in English, Writing, Communications, Business, Engineering, or a related discipline.
Recent graduate or early-career professional with relevant experience in proposal development, technical writing, project coordination, business development, government contracting, communications, or a related field.
Experience drafting, editing, proofreading, or formatting professional written materials, with the ability to organize complex information and communicate technical concepts clearly.
Previous experience coordinating projects, assignments, or deliverables involving multiple stakeholders, competing priorities, and tight deadlines.
Strong proficiency in Microsoft 365, particularly Word, Teams, SharePoint, Excel, and PowerPoint. Advanced Microsoft Word skills, including templates, styles, automatic numbering, tables, section formatting, headers, footers, cross-references, and tracked changes, are essential.
Ability to interpret written instructions, identify requirements, organize supporting documentation, and verify deliverables against established standards.
Familiarity with AI-enabled productivity tools, particularly Microsoft Copilot, is preferred.
Strong organizational, analytical, communication, and problem-solving skills, combined with excellent attention to detail.
Curiosity, adaptability, and a willingness to learn complex technical subject matter quickly, ask questions, embrace new technologies, and continuously improve existing processes.
Ability to work collaboratively across multidisciplinary teams, follow up on commitments, manage changing priorities, and take ownership of assigned responsibilities.
Willingness to obtain an APMP Foundation-level certification within the first year if not already certified.
Ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance; an existing Top Secret clearance is preferred.
Willingness to travel occasionally, up to 25%, as required.
Nice-to-have qualifications:
Familiarity with federal procurement processes, including RFPs, RFQs, RFIs, Sources Sought notices, Statements of Work, Performance Work Statements, evaluation criteria, and federal submission requirements.
Experience working with Shipley-based proposal development methodologies or other structured proposal processes.
Experience developing compliance matrices, annotated outlines, proposal schedules, comment-resolution matrices, and submission checklists.
Familiarity with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and federal acquisition terminology.
Experience using SharePoint as a collaborative proposal workspace.
Experience applying generative AI to professional writing, research, analysis, project management, knowledge management, or workflow automation.
Previous exposure to technical, engineering, aerospace, defense, intelligence, or information technology environments.
Strong interest in developing expertise in federal proposal management and progressively taking responsibility for more complex submissions.
Benefits:
Competitive annual base salary ranging from $75,000 to $90,000, depending on experience.
Comprehensive health coverage.
Flexible paid time off (PTO).
Remote and hybrid working arrangements, depending on candidate location.
Friendly and collaborative working environment.
Additional employee perks and benefits.
Hands-on mentorship and professional development alongside experienced proposal professionals.
Opportunities to develop proposal management expertise and progress toward greater ownership and leadership responsibilities.
Exposure to innovative technologies and AI-powered tools.
Opportunity to contribute to meaningful projects supporting critical information, national security, and emergency response capabilities.