The Director of Proposal & Pursuit Strategy is responsible for leading the company's pursuit strategy, proposal development, interview preparation, and presentation excellence initiatives. This role serves as a strategic partner to executive leadership, business development, operations, preconstruction, and project teams to position Wharton-Smith for sustained growth and successful project acquisition across all business units.
The Director provides leadership throughout the entire pursuit lifecycle, including market intelligence, capture planning, proposal strategy, qualifications development, shortlist presentations, interview coaching, and post-pursuit analysis. This position is responsible for ensuring all pursuit-related materials effectively communicate Wharton-Smith's value proposition, technical expertise, operational capabilities, and commitment to client success.
As a leader within the organization, the Director of Proposal & Pursuit Strategy drives continuous improvement in pursuit processes, team development, branding consistency, and win performance while fostering a culture of collaboration, accountability, innovation, and excellence.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Strategic Pursuit Leadership:
- Lead the strategy and execution of high-profile proposals, qualifications packages, shortlist presentations, and interview pursuits across commercial construction, infrastructure, and water/wastewater markets.
- Drive pursuit strategy from pre-positioning and Go/No-Go through proposal submission, interview preparation, and final closeout.
- Facilitate capture planning and strategic positioning sessions with operations, business development, and executive leadership teams.
- Analyze procurement documents, owner priorities, evaluation criteria, and competitive landscapes to shape winning pursuit strategies.
- Develop compelling win themes, executive messaging, differentiators, and storytelling frameworks aligned with client priorities and project realities.
- Translate complex technical, operational, and construction concepts into persuasive, owner-focused narratives that clearly communicate value, execution confidence, and risk mitigation.
- Presentation & Interview Excellence:
- Lead the development of executive-level shortlist presentations and formal interviews for major pursuits.
- Direct interview strategy, messaging architecture, presentation flow, rehearsal planning, and Q&A preparation.
- Facilitate intensive interview workshops and "war room" sessions focused on content refinement, delivery coaching, and team alignment.
- Coach technical professionals and executives on presentation presence, conversational delivery, message discipline, and audience engagement.
- Prepare teams for anticipated client dynamics, panel behaviors, and scenario-based questioning to ensure confident, polished delivery.
- Market Intelligence & Business Planning:
- Support regional and enterprise-level business planning initiatives through market analysis, client intelligence, and pursuit forecasting.
- Analyze Capital Improvement Plans (CIPs), procurement trends, market conditions, and competitive data to identify strategic opportunities.
- Partner with business development leaders to align pursuit investments with long-term growth objectives and client relationship strategies.
- Lead quarterly pursuit and planning reviews to evaluate pipeline health, strategic priorities, and resource alignment.
- Brand, Messaging & Quality Leadership:
- Serve as a steward of the Wharton-Smith brand, ensuring consistency, professionalism, and strategic clarity across all pursuit materials.
- Oversee proposal quality control, compliance reviews, visual standards, and messaging consistency.
- Collaborate with graphic designers, photographers, and external consultants to create elevated, visually compelling deliverables.
- Lead the evolution of proposals, presentation, and interview standards that differentiate the company in highly competitive markets.
- Team Leadership & Organizational Development:
- Lead, mentor, and develop proposal and marketing professionals across the organization.
- Build a culture of accountability, collaboration, creativity, and strategic thinking within the pursuit team.
- Establish scalable processes, templates, content systems, and best practices that improve efficiency and win performance.
- Manage pursuit workloads, staffing priorities, and deadline-driven production schedules across multiple concurrent pursuits.
- Foster continuous learning and professional growth through coaching, training, and development initiatives.
- Continuous Improvement & Performance Strategy:
- Lead pursuit debriefs, win/loss evaluations, and after-action reviews to identify trends and improve future performance.
- Develop metrics, reporting tools, and strategic insights that support pursuit effectiveness and organizational decision-making.
- Maintain and evolve pursuit libraries, CRM systems, project data, resumes, and strategic content repositories.
- Identify opportunities to modernize pursuit strategy through technology, data insights, presentation innovation, and process refinement.
QUALIFICATIONS:
- Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications, English, Business Administration, Construction Management, Engineering, or a related field; equivalent combinations of education and experience may be considered.
- Minimum of ten (10) years of progressive experience leading strategic proposals, presentations, and pursuit efforts within the construction, engineering, architecture, or infrastructure industries.
- Proven success managing complex, high-value pursuits from capture planning through contract award.
- Experience supporting Design-Build, Progressive Design-Build, Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR), and other alternative delivery delivery methods preferred.
- Exceptional verbal, written, presentation, and facilitation skills.
- Strong storytelling, editing, proposal writing, and persuasive communication abilities.
- Ability to effectively communicate and collaborate with executive leadership, clients, operations teams, technical professionals, business development teams, and external partners.
- Demonstrated leadership experience managing teams, mentoring staff, and fostering a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
- Proven ability to manage multiple pursuits simultaneously while prioritizing competing deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
- Expert-level proposal writing, editing, and content development skills.
- Advanced knowledge of public and private sector procurement processes.
- Strong understanding of construction delivery methods, including Design-Bid-Build, CMAR, Design-Build, and Progressive Design-Build.
- Experience with capture planning, pursuit strategy development, market intelligence, and competitive analysis.
- Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite.
- Proficiency with Adobe Creative Suite, including InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop, preferred.
- Experience utilizing CRM systems, proposal management platforms, and content management systems.
- Strong organizational, analytical, critical-thinking, and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to influence decision-making and build consensus among diverse stakeholder groups.
- Ability to work flexible hours, including evenings and weekends, as needed to support proposal deadlines, interviews, strategic planning initiatives, and business development activities.
- Ability to travel up to 20% for client interviews, strategic planning sessions, industry conferences, business development events, and company meetings.
- Ability to occasionally lift and carry office materials and supplies weighing up to 20 pounds.
