Overview

The Lead Proposal Manager plays a critical leadership role in supporting and enabling winning business opportunities across the organization. This position is designed for a high-performing proposal professional who is being developed for future advancement into a Director of Proposals leadership role.  The Lead Proposal Manager will lead and manage complex Federal proposal efforts from opportunity qualification through submission, supporting strategic growth initiatives across the company. The role serves as a key bridge between business development, capture, pricing, contracts, technical operations, and executive leadership to ensure successful proposal execution and alignment with corporate growth objectives.  This individual will contribute to bid strategies, teaming approaches, pricing coordination, and proposal execution strategies while driving proposal excellence, compliance, and operational efficiency. The Lead Proposal Manager will also assist in developing and managing future proposal team resources, processes, and infrastructure to support long-term organizational growth.

 

The successful candidate will lead proposal development efforts for large and complex Federal technical support services opportunities, including pursuits exceeding $100M in value, while ensuring high-quality, compliant, and compelling submissions. This position works closely with Corporate Leadership and Business Units to identify and allocate the resources necessary to pursue and win strategic opportunities.

 

Additionally, the Lead Proposal Manager will support the Director of Proposals in managing Bid & Proposal (B&P) investments, proposal operations, resource planning, and proposal process improvements to maximize return on investment and overall win probability.

Responsibilities

• Lead proposal teams in the planning, development, coordination, and submission of complex Federal Government proposals.
• Develop and execute comprehensive proposal management plans, schedules, compliance matrices, review cycles, and submission strategies.
• Collaborate with executive leadership, business development, capture managers, pricing, contracts, and technical teams to support strategic growth initiatives.
• Support bid strategies, teaming decisions, pricing strategies, and win theme development to improve competitive positioning.
• Lead proposal development activities for large-scale opportunities, including IDIQs, GWACs, task orders, and standalone contracts.
• Ensure proposal content is compliant, compelling, customer-focused, and aligned with solicitation requirements and evaluation criteria.
• Manage proposal schedules, resource allocation, action item tracking, and risk mitigation activities throughout the proposal lifecycle.
• Maintain and improve opportunity tracking, reporting, and proposal management processes across the business development lifecycle.
• Identify and implement process improvement initiatives, training opportunities, and quality management enhancements to improve proposal efficiency and submission quality.
• Assist in building, mentoring, and managing future proposal personnel and supporting proposal infrastructure growth.
• Coordinate and support color team reviews, executive reviews, lessons learned sessions, and post-submission activities.
• Develop and report proposal-related metrics, status reports, and management briefings.
• Ensure compliance with corporate quality standards, including ISO, CMMI, and customer-specific requirements.
• Support strategic expansion into new markets and emerging opportunities, including Systems Engineering & Technical Assistance (SETA), managed services, IT modernization, logistics, and professional support services.
• Perform additional duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree required in Business Management, Information Technology, Communications, Marketing, or a related discipline.
• 10–15 years of progressive proposal management experience supporting Federal Government contracting opportunities.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex proposal efforts for IDIQ, GWAC, BPA, and standalone contract vehicles supporting FFP, T&M, CPFF, and CPAF contract types.
• Minimum 5–7 years of leadership or supervisory experience managing proposal teams, cross-functional personnel, or proposal operations.
• Proven record of successful proposal submissions and contract wins for large-scale Federal support service opportunities within the past three years.
• Strong understanding of Federal acquisition processes, proposal best practices, and competitive procurement environments.
• Experience supporting strategic growth initiatives across areas such as Program Management, Contracts/Procurement, Business Development, Information Technology, Logistics, and Professional Services.
• Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, proposal collaboration tools, desktop publishing/editing applications, and generative AI tools such as ChatGPT to improve proposal development efficiency and quality.
• Exceptional leadership, organizational, communication, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment while managing multiple simultaneous priorities.
• APMP certification, Shipley training/certification, or equivalent proposal management training is strongly preferred.

Leadership Attributes:

• Strategic thinker with strong business acumen and growth mindset.
• Ability to influence and collaborate across executive leadership and operational teams.
• Demonstrated capability to lead high-performing proposal teams under demanding deadlines.
• Strong attention to detail while maintaining focus on strategic objectives and customer requirements.
• Commitment to continuous process improvement, operational excellence, and proposal quality.

General Information