Proposal Manager

Job Description

Proposal Manager

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Position Type: Full-Time, Exempt

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Work Location: Herndon, VA (Hybrid)

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Clearance: Secret clearance

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We are looking to hire a Business Development Proposal Manager to lead the pursuit response function supporting our defense, intelligence, and critical infrastructure portfolio. This is a full-time permanent role.

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Position Summary

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The Proposal Manager is accountable for the compliance, quality, and on-time delivery of every proposal. This role takes ownership of a pursuit at the bid decision and carries it through submission and post-submission review, converting the capture team’s strategy into a compliant, persuasive, evaluator-ready response.

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This is a content and quality accountability role. The Proposal Manager builds the compliance matrix and annotated outline, sets the proposal schedule, directs writers and subject matter experts who do not report to this position, chairs color team reviews, adjudicates reviewer comments, and approves the final package for release.

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The Proposal Manager is supported by the Business Development and Proposal Operations Coordinator, who owns the process mechanics, CRM and pipeline data, document production, and the logistics of gate and color team reviews. The Proposal Manager supervises that role and is responsible for keeping it focused on operations rather than authorship. Origination of capture strategy, customer engagement, and bid decision authority sit outside this role.

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Key Responsibilities

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• Proposal Management and Execution (approximately 35 percent) Own end to end management of assigned proposals from bid decision through submission and post submission review, serving as the single accountable point for compliant, on time delivery.
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• Analyze each solicitation and build the compliance matrix, annotated outline, proposal management plan, and writing assignments; approve the volume structure the Coordinator builds shells against.
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• Set and re-baseline the proposal schedule, including author assignments, page allocations, review dates, and production milestones, and make the call on scope and prioritization when the schedule is at risk.
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• Lead proposal kickoff, recurring stand-ups, and writers’ working sessions, and drive daily accountability for section completion.
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• Direct the work of assigned writers, subject matter experts, graphics support, and consultants for the duration of each pursuit, including matrixed staff who do not report to this role.
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• Approve the final proposal package for release and authorize submission; the Coordinator executes the submission mechanics.
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• Compliance, Solutioning Support, and Win Strategy Translation (approximately 20 percent) Interpret Sections L and M, evaluation criteria, and instructions to offerors, and own the compliance position of every submitted volume.
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• Translate the capture lead’s win strategy, discriminators, and competitive positioning into the outline, section themes, and evaluator facing narrative; origination of that strategy remains with capture.
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• Drive alignment across technical, management, staffing, past performance, and cost volumes so the submission tells one coherent story.
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• Resolve compliance exceptions surfaced by the Coordinator’s mechanical checks, and own the final determination on whether a volume is compliant.
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• Serve as the proposal voice at gate and bid or no bid reviews, providing feasibility, level of effort, and resource assessments; decision authority rests with the Vice President of Business Development and the Chief Strategy Officer.
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• Prepare and lead responses to questions to the government, draft RFP comments, and evaluation notices or clarification requests.
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• Review Leadership and Quality Management (approximately 15 percent) Define review standards, entrance and exit criteria, and reviewer instructions for each color team.
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• Chair Pink, Red, Gold, and White Glove reviews, adjudicate reviewer comments, and direct which changes are made; the Coordinator convenes the reviews, assembles packages, and tracks adjudicated actions to closure.
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• Perform substantive editing and rewriting to achieve a consistent voice, evaluator readability, and full compliance.
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• Own proposal execution lessons learned and post submission analysis, and translate findings into corrective actions with the Coordinator and the VP of Business Development.
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• Content, Standards, and Capability Development (approximately 15 percent) Own the proposal content library, reusable boilerplate, past performance library, and resume templates, including what is added, refreshed, and retired.
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• Establish the document standards, style guide, and graphics conventions the Coordinator enforces in production.
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• Maintain and mature proposal methodology, templates, and process documentation, aligned to Shipley or a comparable framework.
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• Build proposal capability across the organization by coaching capture leads, program managers, and subject matter experts to write to evaluation criteria.
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• Team Leadership and Resource Management (approximately 15 percent) Supervise the Business Development and Proposal Operations Coordinator, including priorities, workload balancing, coaching, and performance management.
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• Forecast proposal workload against the pipeline and plan staffing, contract writer, and consultant support with the Vice President of Business Development.
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• Manage bid and proposal budgets and vendor or consultant spend for assigned pursuits.
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• Escalate resource conflicts, schedule risk, and non performance early enough for leadership to act.
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• Required Qualifications Bachelor’s degree in business, communications, marketing, English, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
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• A minimum of eight years of experience in proposal management, capture management, or business development within government contracting, including at least three years serving as the lead proposal manager on full lifecycle pursuits.
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• Demonstrated record of managing and submitting compliant, competitive federal responses across RFI, RFP, RFQ, task order, and IDIQ vehicles.
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• Expert working knowledge of the federal acquisition and proposal lifecycle, including Sections L and M, compliance matrices, evaluation criteria, and color team methodology.
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• Demonstrated ability to lead matrixed teams of writers, subject matter experts, and executives without direct authority, and to hold senior stakeholders to deadlines.
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• Strong editing ability, including rewriting subject matter expert input into clear, persuasive, evaluator ready prose.
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• Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office, particularly Word styles, templates, and long document management, plus Excel, PowerPoint, and SharePoint.
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• U.S. citizenship and the ability to maintain a U.S. government security clearance.
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• Preferred Qualifications Active Top Secret security clearance.
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• Experience in physical security, protective services, technical security, or critical infrastructure protection markets.
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• Formal training in Shipley or a comparable capture and proposal methodology.
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• Experience managing proposals in a Smartsheet based or comparable workflow environment.
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• Experience standing up or maturing a proposal function in a high growth organization.
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• Familiarity with opportunity research tools such as GovWin, SAM.gov, FPDS, and USASpending.
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• Experience on both prime and subcontractor sides of a pursuit, including teaming agreements and subcontractor data calls.
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Clearance: Applicants selected will be subject to a security investigation and may need to meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information. Secret clearance required

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Compensation and Benefits

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Salary Range: $180,000-$200,000 (Compensation is determined by various factors, including but not limited to location, work experience, skills, education, certifications, seniority, and business needs. This range may be modified in the future.)

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Benefits: Gridiron offers a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, vision insurance, HSA, FSA, 401(k), disability & ADD insurance, life and pet insurance to eligible employees. Full-time and part-time employees working at least 30 hours per week on a regular basis are eligible to participate in Gridiron’s benefits programs.

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Gridiron IT Solutions is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, protected veteran status or disability status.

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Gridiron IT is a Women Owned Small Business (WOSB) headquartered in the Washington, D.C. area that supports our clients' missions throughout the United States. Gridiron IT specializes in providing comprehensive IT services tailored to meet the needs of federal agencies. Our capabilities include IT Infrastructure & Cloud Services, Cyber Security, Software Integration & Development, Data Solution & AI, and Enterprise Applications. These capabilities are backed by Gridiron IT's experienced workforce and our commitment to ensuring we meet and exceed our clients' expectations.