Job Summary:The Senior Proposal Specialist serves as the strategic lead and compliance authority for public-sector proposal pursuits. This role owns the end-to-end proposal lifecycle for state and local government RFx submissions supporting records management, licensing, tax, and compliance software solutions.
The Senior Proposal Specialist drives win strategy alignment, enforces compliance discipline, manages structured review cycles, and controls the final submission process. The role partners closely with Sales, Solution Consultants, Professional Services, Legal, and Executive leadership to deliver high-quality, compliant, and compelling proposals under compressed timelines.
This is a high-accountability role requiring strong judgment and the ability to manage complex, overlapping pursuits without sacrificing quality or compliance.
Duties and Responsibilities:- Pursuit Strategy & Win Theme Development
- Collaborate with Sales leadership to define win themes, differentiators, and positioning before drafting begins.
- Develop custom executive summaries and cover letters aligned to each agency's stated priorities.
- Translate technical input into clear, persuasive, evaluator-focused narratives.
- Provide risk assessment related to scope, compliance, timeline, and capacity.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
Compliance & Governance Ownership- Own the compliance matrix for every pursuit.
- Track all mandatory requirements including certifications, forms, formatting rules, page limits, submission instructions, and portal constraints.
- Serve as final compliance gate prior to submission.
- Maintain zero compliance-related disqualifications.
- Standardize internal submission checklists and documentation protocols.
Content Development & Library Management- Draft first versions of technical and management approach sections based on SC/SME input.
- Maintain and continuously improve a centralized content library organized by solution area, agency type, and state requirements.
- Capture and integrate lessons learned from debriefs into reusable content.
- Leverage AI tools responsibly to improve drafting efficiency while maintaining accuracy and compliance.
Structured Review Management- Plan and facilitate formal review cycles appropriate to pursuit size and timeline.
- Schedule reviews, prepare materials, document feedback, and track comment resolution.
- Escalate unresolved issues prior to final production.
- Drive executive alignment on final messaging and positioning.
Production & Submission Discipline- Own final formatting, proofreading, appendix assembly, and submission package preparation.
- Manage submissions through procurement portals, email, or hard-copy delivery as required.
- Standardize submissions to occur one business day prior to deadline whenever possible.
- Save submission confirmations and archive final materials per internal governance standards.
Post-Submission & Continuous Improvement- Log proposals in tracking systems with key metadata (agency, value, solution area, team, outcome).
- Archive final materials and close projects in content management systems.
- Participate in debriefs and incorporate feedback into future pursuits.
- Maintain a visible, regularly updated workload tracker and proactively flag capacity conflicts.
Pipeline & Capacity Communication- Manage multiple concurrent pursuits with overlapping deadlines.
- Communicate resource constraints early and clearly.
- Escalate risk before quality degrades.
- Support leadership forecasting for proposal pipeline and staffing needs.
Education and Experience: - Bachelor's degree in English, Communications, Journalism, Business, or related field.
- 6-8+ years of experience managing public-sector proposals (state and local government preferred).
- Demonstrated experience leading complex, compliance-heavy RFP responses.
- Experience managing multi-volume or multi-million-dollar pursuits preferred.
- Experience using cloud-based collaboration software programs.
- Experience with Responsive or similar proposal management platforms.
- Experience navigating government procurement portals
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: - Strong executive-level writing and editing skills.
- Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite.
- Proficient in Adobe Acrobat InDesign for design and layout of buildout proposals
- Strong organizational judgment, stakeholder management, and deadline discipline.
- Strategic Thinking
- Compliance Discipline
- Executive Communication
- Structured Process Management
- Stakeholder Accountability
- Calm Under Pressure
- Detail Orientation Without Losing Narrative Focus
- Compliance matrix delivered within 48 hours of RFP assignment.
- First full draft assembled 63e72 hours before deadline whenever timeline permits.
- Formal review cycles conducted for high-value pursuits.
- Submissions completed day prior to stated deadlines.
- Post-submission archiving completed within 2 business days.
- Zero compliance-related disqualifications.
Work Environment:- Office setting with a moderate noise level.
- The employee will work at an individual workstation, using a telephone and computer.
Physical Demands:- Must be able to remain seated for extended periods.
- Regular use of a computer and other office machinery, such as printers and copy machines.
- Occasional movement around the office.
- Frequent communication via telephone.
