Your impact
During your time with Jacobs, you will engage with pursuit teams on sales process discipline, win strategy development, proposal development and management, interviews, and presentations; as well as independently lead the coordination, writing, and preparation of proposals of varying sizes for various U.S. federal, state and local, and private sector clients. Services range from architect-engineering services for military buildings and infrastructure to a variety of digital/data consulting, cybersecurity, IT/OT, and AI solutions to solve our clients’ toughest challenges.
As a Proposal Manager you will:
- Work closely with account teams in our Federal & Environment and Digital & Data business units.
- With little or no supervision, independently perform research, writing, editing, and proposal production and coordination of a variety of sales/business development efforts.
- Lead complex, strategic proposal efforts; edit, write, coordinate, and ensure compliance
- Independently write or oversee preparation/writing of proposal sections.
- Exercise sound judgment and leadership to make timely decisions on compliance-related issues and other issues impacting the development, production, and delivery of high quality proposals.
- Oversee the work of proposal team members, review their work products, and provide guidance and mentorship on writing, compliance, and activities necessary to produce high quality deliverables.
- Understand and apply Jacobs’ established sales best practices and processes for opportunity assessment and proposal development.
- Support Account Manager in integrating pursuit strategy/win themes.
- Assemble proposal teams and manage proposal and production staff on assigned efforts.
- Charter proposal and review teams to maximize the quality of writing and reviews.
- Remotely lead geographically-dispersed proposal teams.
- Establish and enforce document management, organization, and file-sharing protocols and processes on proposal SharePoint sites.
- Lead communications and content collection with teaming partners and subcontractors.
- Prioritize own and others’ work to meet internal proposal deliverables and client requirements, schedule, and budget. This includes proposal writers, coordinators, reviewers, graphic design, editing, document publishing, and reproduction staff.
- Proactively communicate issues/variances, resource needs, or other issues; seek input and support, and help develop solutions in a timely manner.
- Write or edit proposal content for non-technical sections, including interviewing subject matter experts and tailoring resume and project description content.
- Oversee quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) of proposal documents.
- Contribute suggested improvements/additions to proposal development processes.
- Build and maintain robust internal client network within the business unit and/or client account teams.
- Demonstrate excellent oral and written communication skills and effective active listening skills.
- Understand enterprise objectives and services provided by business markets.
- Implement company image/brand guidelines on assigned projects.
- Work with technical teams to develop outlines for compliant, responsive technical content and conceptual-level proposal graphics
- Facilitate and ensure effective communication between supporting functions including technology, estimating, contracting, and project controls staff during proposal development.
- Help develop realistic bid & proposal budgets and track time spend against budget.
- Oversee cost volume organization and production.
- Able to read technical scope of work, understand the salient points, and be comfortable to participate in discussions of technical approach.
- Follow up on completed projects and apply lessons learned to future efforts. Write and publish success stories, proposal summaries, and lessons learned debriefs.
- Follow enterprise health and safety policies and procedures and escalates issues.
Here's what you'll need
- BS/BA in journalism, English, marketing, or other technical discipline OR 5+ years of relevant proposal management experience in lieu of degree
- 5+ years of relevant experience managing and developing proposals, presentations, and related sales or business development deliverables
- 5+ years of experience with U.S. federal clients for A-E services and facilities and infrastructure related SF330s and proposals; experience with and
- Interest in digital, data, and artificial intelligence (AI) services is desired
- Advanced English writing, editing and proofreading skills, with an eye towards sales messaging, themes, proposal aesthetics, quality, and compliance
- Strong leadership qualities; able to direct proposal teams, help drive the sales/proposal process, and coordinate with teams both in person and remotely
- Proven organization and project management skills, able to manage multiple tasks concurrently and engage with various stakeholders/reviewers
- Ability to work with diverse teams, from junior Inside Sales staff to senior company leaders
- Ability to lead a proposal team, establish and communicate a plan, and produce high quality outcomes
- Experience with a large business is preferred, but not mandatory
The ideal candidate will possess and demonstrate the following skills and knowledge:
- Knowledge of company markets, partner/competitor/subconsultant firms, clients, emerging business, and industry trends; and the ability to actively integrate that knowledge in work products and activities
- Marketing and proposal experience for U.S. federal clients
- Self-starter; able to work independently
- Highly collaborative and respectful of team members
- Values inclusion and diversity
- Works well under deadlines
- Willing to travel as needed to support pursuits
- Proficient in Microsoft Office suite (mandatory) and Adobe creative suite including InDesign (preferred)
- Proficient using CRM software, preferably SalesForce
