Senior Strategic Proposal Manager

Brief Overview of Position:

Strategic Operational Solutions, Inc. (STOPSO) is currently seeking a highly experienced Senior Proposal Manager to drive proposal efforts spanning across the Department of Defense (DoD) and Federal/Civilian Sector customers. In this pivotal role, you will be tasked with overseeing and executing the development of Request for Proposals (RFP)/Request for Quotes (RFQ) responses, while providing leadership throughout the proposal development lifecycle. The role responsibilities encompass guiding stakeholders, ensuring adherence to processes, and upholding the integrity and compliance of all proposal artifacts.

As a critical member of the Strategic Capture and Proposals team, you will significantly contribute to STOPSO's ongoing growth trajectory. This is a highly networked role that requires adeptness at handling pressure and a proven track record of meeting stringent deadlines. The ideal candidate will possess extensive experience in proposal management, with a deep understanding of proposal processes and a proficiency in content-driven approaches.

This position offers the opportunity for remote work and schedule flexibility.

Position Duties and Tasks:

• Manage pre-proposal and proposal development activities throughout the proposal lifecycle while collaborating with internal/external proposal stakeholders to deliver compliant, compelling, high-scoring, and high-quality proposal efforts on time
• Develop and maintain a detailed compliance matrix, proposal structure, and annotated outline with writing instructions for team guidance
• Develop and maintain the proposal development plan (schedule, compliance matrix, outline, assignments, production plan, graphics log, wall of truth), action trackers, briefings (kick off slides, stand-up slides), and the collaboration site proposal artifacts
• Deploy and enforce the proposal development plan as necessary throughout the proposal lifecycle
• Lead kick-off briefings, stand-up meetings, color reviews, hotwashes/recovery plan session, solution/strategy sessions, storyboard sessions, and graphics discussions
• Collaborate with senior staff and subject matter experts to develop solutions and approaches customized for specific client needs
• Prepare reviewer packages and coordinate logistics for remote/onsite reviews
• Develop recovery plan sessions after each formal review and track writer actions based on reviewer feedback to ensure comments are adjudicated and addressed
• Identify risks and develop mitigation plans; escalate issues for timely resolution
• Resolve challenges/issues/needs urgently and efficiently
• Efficiently collaborate with internal and external stakeholders, maintaining proactive communication through various tools such as MS Teams, SharePoint, email, and phone calls
• Analyze customer priorities based on capture efforts to extract key insights and aid in the formulation of win themes, distinctive features, and compelling benefits tailored to customer needs
• Assess proposal section status for compliance, responsiveness, and consistency to guide proposal writers and help course correct prior to color reviews
• Perform an overall assessment of proposal artifacts to ensure strengths map back to the evaluation criteria and win strategies are resonating consistently across sections/volumes
• Consistently perform compliance checks throughout the proposal process
• Support in writing non-technical sections, such as Management Plans, Transition, and Staffing Approaches in partnership with internal stakeholders
• Support after action reviews/lessons learned efforts by facilitating, participating, and incorporating necessary process/tool/role updates with a focus on efficiency and efficacy
• Continuously evaluate and improve the organization's proposal process, tools, and methodologies to enhance effectiveness and efficiency

Required Experience, Skills, and Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Management, Business, English, Journalism, Communications, or a technical discipline
• Eight or more years of experience managing proposals valued over $100M (additional years of experience may be considered in lieu of a degree)
• Demonstrated experience managing competitive Federal Government proposals supporting DoD and Federal/Civilian Sector customers
• Deep knowledge of the proposal development lifecycle and Shipley processes
• Proven ability in planning, producing, and delivering compliant, compelling, high-scoring proposals while simultaneously managing multiple deliverables
• Strong presenter capability and effective written and verbal communication skills
• Possess strong leadership skills and competencies
• Experience in facilitating storyboard sessions and milestone reviews
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and SharePoint
• Excellent work ethic, time management, and organizational skills
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, time sensitive and often multi-tasking environment
• Ability to work extended hours and/or weekends to meet internal/external deadlines
• Must be a U.S. Citizen

Desired Experience, Skills, and Qualifications:

• Advanced degree in Management, Business, English, Journalism, Communications, or a technical discipline
• An active APMP member
• APMP Certification (Foundation, Practitioner, or Professional level) or APMP Capture Practitioner