Director of Proposals

The Building People•Leesburg, VA

About The Position

The Building People, LLC, has an opening for a Director of Proposals to lead and grow our proposal operations in support of our expanding federal portfolio. This is an opportunity for a proactive, hands-on leader to build and shape a proposal function from the ground up, developing the processes, tools, and team necessary to drive consistent, high-quality, and compliant submissions. The Director will work closely with capture, business development, and executive leadership to guide strategic pursuits and help position The Building People for continued growth and success in the government contracting space. The ideal candidate has hands-on experience building a proposal shop from the ground up, developing scalable proposal infrastructure, and leading complex, multi-volume proposals in the federal government contracting space (DoD, GSA, and Civilian agencies).

Requirements

12–15+ years of experience managing and developing proposals for U.S. federal and/or other agency contracts.
Proven experience building or significantly scaling a proposal organization or function.
Expertise in Shipley or similar proposal methodologies, FAR compliance, and government contracting regulations.
Demonstrated success leading large, complex, multi-volume proposals ($50M+).
Strong leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, CRM systems, and content/knowledge management platforms.
Ability to manage multiple concurrent proposals in a fast-paced environment.
Bachelor’s degree in Business, English, Communications, or related field.
Ability to obtain a security clearance.

Nice To Haves

APMP Practitioner or Professional Certification.
Experience implementing proposal automation or AI-driven content systems.
Experience in facilities, energy, or real property government contracting environments is a plus.

Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Proposal Infrastructure Build and lead The Building People’s centralized proposal operations function (“proposal shop”) to support corporate growth goals.
Develop and implement proposal management frameworks, tools, templates, SOPs, and metrics aligned with best practices (Shipley or equivalent).
Establish proposal quality standards, style guides, and compliance review processes to ensure consistency and excellence across submissions.
Partner with Capture, Business Development, and Executive Leadership to develop pursuit strategies, win themes, and proposal pipelines.
Drive integration of AI-driven tools, content management systems, and automation to increase proposal efficiency and knowledge reuse.
Proposal Management & Development Lead cradle-to-grave proposal activities for high-value and strategic pursuits (typically Revenue M+).
Manage proposal schedules, compliance matrices, storyboards, color team reviews, and production processes.
Provide hands-on proposal writing and editing for key or high-visibility sections as needed.
Coordinate cross-functional contributors to deliver compliant, compelling, and customer-focused proposals.
Team Building & Leadership Train and mentor proposal staff to build a scalable, high-performing proposal organization.
Develop career pathways and professional development plans for team members (including APMP certifications).
Foster a collaborative and deadline-driven culture that balances creativity, compliance, and efficiency.
Provide executive-level visibility into proposal operations through metrics, dashboards, and pipeline reporting.
Continuous Improvement & Innovation Leverage data analytics to identify proposal trends, lessons learned, and process improvement opportunities.
Establish knowledge management and content libraries for resumes, past performance, and boilerplate materials.
Continuously refine proposal operations through post-mortems, win/loss analysis, and capture feedback.
Stay current with emerging technologies, AI applications, and federal acquisition trends.