Lead Proposal Specialist

Forvis Mazars • Charlotte, NC

9d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Lead Proposal Specialist plays a key role in helping Forvis Mazars pursue and win strategic opportunities. Working closely with partners, senior client service professionals, sector and industry leaders, and the National Proposal Team, this role manages proposal planning, strategy, content development, and workflow for assigned pursuits. The Lead Proposal Specialist helps shape clear, concise, client-centered materials that reflect the firm’s commitment to an Unmatched Client Experience. The role also serves as a sector and industry pod lead for assigned areas, giving the Lead Proposal Specialist visibility into the priorities, client needs, and proposal themes shaping key markets. In this capacity, the role helps connect pursuit activity with sector strategy, reusable content, design, production, and review resources to improve quality, consistency, speed, and scalability across the proposal lifecycle.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in relevant area
• 3-5 years of relevant experience in proposal management, pursuit strategy, marketing or business development, professional services, sector or industry marketing, content strategy, or a related field
• Demonstrated proposal writing, editing, storytelling, and strategy skills, including the ability to turn client needs, sector priorities, and technical information into clear, client-centered language.
• Executive presence and communication skills needed to lead kickoff calls, facilitate strategy discussions, and work confidently with partners, senior leaders, and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Working knowledge of proposal and pursuit best practices, including RFP analysis, proactive proposal development, win theme development, differentiator development, content reuse, compliance review, and draft management.
• Practical understanding of sector and industry nuances, including client pain points, buying triggers, and opportunity-specific messaging shape proposal strategy.
• Sound judgment, critical thinking, and attention to detail, with the ability to identify risks, gaps, inconsistencies, escalation needs, and opportunities to improve proposal positioning or process.
• Proven capacity to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment while balancing urgent proposal deadlines with longer-term pod, content, and process improvement priorities.
• Proficiency with proposal automation, content management, AI-enabled drafting and review tools, Microsoft Office applications, and related workflow platforms, with the ability to use them safely and effectively to improve efficiency, consistency, and quality.
• Collaborative working style, with the ability to mentor and guide others without direct supervisory responsibility and reinforce UCX principles throughout proposal strategy, content, process, and stakeholder interactions.

Nice To Haves

• 5-9 years of relevant experience in proposal management, pursuit strategy, marketing or business development, professional services, sector or industry marketing, content strategy, or a related field
• APMP certification

Responsibilities

• Lead assigned RFPs, proactive proposals, oral presentations, and other pursuit deliverables from planning through final delivery, including kickoff, strategy, timeline management, draft development, reviews, and stakeholder coordination.
• Evaluate proposal requirements and guide teams in focusing on the client’s needs, opportunity drivers, evaluation criteria, differentiators, win themes, content requirements, and required subject matter professional involvement.
• Serve as a sector and industry pod lead for assigned areas by coordinating proposal activity, monitoring recurring needs and trends, and helping align proposal support with national sector leaders, industry leaders, marketing professionals, and client service stakeholders.
• Translate sector and industry priorities into proposal-ready guidance, including positioning themes, client pain points, differentiators, related service opportunities, and reusable language that can be tailored across pursuits.
• Partner with proposal specialists, production specialists, designers, content team members, and internal reviewers to coordinate deliverables and improve consistency across assigned opportunities and pod priorities.
• Collaborate with the proposal content team to identify reusable content, harvest strong language from completed proposals, refresh existing service descriptions, reduce duplication, and support consistent use of approved content across proposal tools and libraries
• Use approved templates, content management tools, AI-enabled proposal resources, and firm guidance safely and effectively to improve speed, quality, and consistency while maintaining appropriate risk, legal, brand, confidentiality, and Words to Watch standards.
• Share pod-level insights with National Proposal Team leadership and sector stakeholders, including proposal activity, win/loss themes, debrief feedback, content gaps, risks, accomplishments, future priorities, and process improvement opportunities.

Benefits

• Our robust total rewards program and flexible work environment reflect our commitment to people, careers, and well-being—empowering our team to grow and thrive while delivering exceptional service.

What This Job Offers

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