Associate Director, Proposal Management

Guidehouse • Tysons Corner, VA

2d • Hybrid

About The Position

Guidehouse is looking for a highly experienced Federal proposal manager to lead the development of proposal deliverables. This position will manage responses to government and commercial client Requests for Proposals (RFPs), typically prepared in MS Word, Excel and Power Point and Adobe Acrobat. In addition to working with proposal leads on proposal efforts, this position calls for a collaborative professional with a positive strategic outlook, excellent communication, writing, editing, and project management skills. At Guidehouse, proposal managers always work as part of a team, collaborating with our consultants, management, and executives. Proposal managers typically manage more than one proposal concurrently, and may have support for graphics, writing, editing, formatting, and final production depending on the complexity of the pursuit. The successful candidate must demonstrate an ability to work efficiently under conditions of multiple deadlines and changing priorities to produce a large volume of high-quality material with attention to detail. Proposal managers should be able to work at times in the evenings or weekends as required to meet proposal deadlines.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree; Four (4) years additional professional experience may be substituted in lieu of degree.
• Eight (8) + years of experience managing professional services proposals is required.
• Demonstrated skills in driving improvements or efficiencies to the proposal development process.
• Advanced skills in Word, Power Point, SharePoint, and PDF.
• High level of attention to detail and a commitment to high-quality work.
• Ability to review, understand, and summarize the requirements of RFPs, RFIs, and RFQs.
• Ability to coordinate the development of multiple proposals simultaneously, which requires strong organizational and time management skills, and multi-tasking abilities.
• Ability to translate complex concepts and ideas into clear communications.
• Intermediate skill in Microsoft Word, Power Point, Excel, and SharePoint.
• Experience working effectively with AI tools
• Working skills in Adobe Acrobat Professional to create and edit PDF documents.
• Superior communication, writing, formatting, editing, and proofing skills.
• Excellent customer service with individuals at all levels both internal and external, and an ability to take direction as well as give direction.
• Ability to work on-site as needed (generally 1-3 days per week) in Tysons Corner, VA; dates/times will vary based on meetings and working sessions.
• Must be a US citizen due to the nature of many of our US government proposals.

Nice To Haves

• Advanced skill in Microsoft Word, Power Point, and SharePoint.
• Experience working with proposal AI tools such as Rohan or others.
• Experience on the client service side in support of a government agency.

Responsibilities

• Manage the proposal development process from beginning to end, in accordance with the Guidehouse pursuit framework, ensuring that proposals meet all customer requirements such as deadlines, formats, and contents.
• Engage with client teams and senior executives to guide some of our most important RFP responses.
• Backfill for the capture manager at times, facilitating meetings such as whiteboarding/brainstorming sessions and proposal reviews; contributing to documentation for proposal gate reviews; and providing insights to how to win.
• Write a first draft of an executive summary in collaboration with the capture manager.
• Recommend Guidehouse staff, solutions, and quals that can fill gaps in our team or approach and improve our score.
• Successfully recommend proposal strategies to partners and directors (for example, how to address a lack of relevant experience with teaming to increase our Pwin, etc.)
• Effectively communicate and defend win strategies and advise the pursuit team on development of win themes.
• Lead preparation for orals, advising the team on how to maximize their scores.
• Contribute to go/no-go discussions and customer debriefs when available.
• Proactive at risk management and how to prevent/mitigate those things, how to win where the odds are against us.
• Perform detailed analyses of requirements documents (e.g., RFP, RFQ, SOW) and communicate the results.
• Develop or lead development of proposal tools such as the outline, team assignments, proposal management plan, schedule, kick-off meeting materials, writing plans).
• Establish and maintain communications among teammates using collaborative tools, phone calls, e-mail, etc.
• Facilitate proposal development through the effective use of AI and other technology
• Provide direction and coordination of content for proposal graphics.
• Perform substantive reviews of both text and graphics, ensure the assigned writing sections comply with RFP requirements, contain win strategies and win themes, and comply with standard format and style criteria.
• Own all sections of the proposal, responsible for production and delivery of all proposal documents.
• Coordinate with pricing staff to ensure that all information needed to prepare the Cost Proposal is available and input is received on time.
• Coordinate and obtain final approvals and signatures.
• Attend win/loss debriefings and assist with developing lessons learned.
• Proof work to minimize errors; rework errors.
• Ensure that all documentation relevant to the project is retained in accordance with company and department procedures.
• Lead and contribute to team initiatives or special projects related to process improvement, content management, quality management or related subjects.
• Develop training and orientation on proposal development processes, including training for capture leaders.

Benefits

• Medical, Rx, Dental & Vision Insurance
• Personal and Family Sick Time & Company Paid Holidays
• Position may be eligible for a discretionary variable incentive bonus
• Parental Leave and Adoption Assistance
• 401(k) Retirement Plan
• Basic Life & Supplemental Life
• Health Savings Account, Dental/Vision & Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts
• Short-Term & Long-Term Disability
• Student Loan PayDown
• Tuition Reimbursement, Personal Development & Learning Opportunities
• Skills Development & Certifications
• Employee Referral Program
• Corporate Sponsored Events & Community Outreach
• Emergency Back-Up Childcare Program
• Mobility Stipend

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior