The Opportunity
We are seeking a Federal Proposal Manager to lead and manage the end-to-end proposal development process for federal government opportunities. This role will oversee proposal planning, scheduling, compliance, content development, reviews, production, and submission activities to ensure delivery of compliant, compelling, and competitive proposals. The ideal candidate possesses extensive experience managing complex federal proposals, coordinating cross-functional teams, and driving proposal excellence in a fast-paced government contracting environment.
What You'll Do
Proposal Management
- Lead and manage the entire federal proposal lifecycle from pre-RFP through final submission.
- Develop and maintain proposal schedules, compliance matrices, outlines, content plans, and production timelines.
- Facilitate proposal kick-off meetings, color team reviews, daily status meetings, and lessons learned sessions.
- Coordinate with Capture Managers and Account Executives, Business Development leaders, Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), solution architects, and executive leadership throughout proposal development.
- Ensure all proposal activities are executed according to established processes, quality standards, and deadlines.
Proposal Development
- Analyze RFPs, RFIs, RFQs, and related solicitation documents to identify requirements, risks, and evaluation criteria.
- Develop compliance matrices and proposal management plans.
- Guide proposal technical writers and contributors in developing persuasive, customer-focused, and compliant proposal responses.
- Ensure proposal content effectively communicates win-themes, discriminators, technical approaches, management solutions, and past performance capabilities.
- Manage proposal reviews and incorporate reviewer feedback into final deliverables.
Compliance and Quality Assurance
- Ensure strict adherence to solicitation instructions, evaluation criteria, and federal procurement regulations.
- Conduct compliance reviews and perform quality checks throughout the proposal process.
- Verify alignment between proposal volumes and supporting documentation.
- Manage document control, version management, and proposal repository organization.
Production and Submission
- Coordinate final proposal production and electronic submissions through systems such as SAM.gov, PIEE, eSRS and customer-specific portals.
- Ensure all proposal components meet formatting, branding, and delivery requirements.
- Mitigate proposal risks and resolve submission issues under tight deadlines.
- Schedule and coordinate Post-Award debriefs with federal customers and internal SE Federal stakeholders.
Process Improvement
- Maintain proposal templates, style guides, and content libraries.
- Support proposal process improvements and implementation of best practices.
- Track proposal metrics and contribute to continuous improvement initiatives.
What You'll Bring
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Communications, English, Marketing, Public Administration, or a related field.
- Minimum 5 years of experience managing federal government proposals within the government contracting industry.
- Demonstrated experience managing multiple concurrent proposals ranging from $1M to $500M+ in value.
- APMP Foundation, Practitioner, or Professional Certification.
- Experience managing large IDIQ, GWAC, BPA, and task order proposals.
- Working knowledge with Shipley proposal development methodologies and color team reviews.
- Strong understanding of the federal acquisition process and procurement regulations.
- Experience managing proposals for agencies such as DoD, DHS, Civilian Agencies, HHS, DOJ, NASA, or VA.
- Proven ability to manage complex, cross-functional proposal teams under aggressive deadlines.
- Excellent project management, organizational, and communication skills.
- Strong writing, editing, and document management capabilities.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, SharePoint, Teams, and proposal collaboration tools.
Additional Requirements
- S. Citizenship required
- Preferred location is Washington Metropolitan area (DC, MD, VA)
