Lead Proposal Specialist

SupplyCore•Rockford, IL

8d•$70,000 - $100,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Lead Proposal Specialist is an experienced proposal professional responsible for independently managing the day-to-day execution of federal RFx responses. Reporting to the BD & Proposal Manager, this role owns proposal execution from start to finish, including developing and maintaining compliance matrices, drafting and editing proposal volumes, leading RFIs, Sources Sought, and Market Research responses, coordinating color team reviews, and maintaining the proposal content library. This position is focused on bidding and winning federal contracts and is not a sales role.

Requirements

5+ years of proposal experience, with a strong understanding of government contracting and solicitation requirements; Federal or DoD experience preferred.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including strong grammar, mechanics, and editing ability. Highly meticulous, reviewing and editing one's own work to ensure consistency and accuracy.
Self-driven and proactive; takes initiative to resolve challenges and organized to execute multiple projects at once while adhering to deadlines.
Proficiency working with MS Office (SharePoint/Teams, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook)

Nice To Haves

Bachelor's degree in English, Business, or related field preferred; relevant proposal or professional/technical writing experience may be accepted in lieu of a degree. May include military personnel formally trained or with relevant service experience in lieu of civilian experience.
Proficient with Adobe products like Acrobat, In Design, and Illustrator (preferred)
Training in Shipley and/or APMP proposal management process (preferred)

Responsibilities

Independently lead assigned proposal efforts across the Shipley lifecycle (Proposal Planning → Development → Review → Submission).
Thoroughly review and interpret RFPs and related solicitation documents to identify requirements, evaluation criteria, deliverables, submission instructions, and deadlines; build and own the compliance/requirements matrix and maintain it through submission.
Track updates and amendments to active solicitations, post updates, prepare and submit questions to the government during the Q&A/clarification period; monitor and incorporate government responses.
Independently draft, write, edit, and own proposal content, ensuring persuasive, compliant, and customer-focused content align to solicitation requirements and the company style guide.
Independently manage the RFI/ Sources Sought/ Market Research process end-to-end, coordinating with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), and preparing and submitting written responses.
Own final production and submission activities, ensuring all proposal volumes meet formatting, page-count, and submission requirements and are accurate, complete, and submission-ready.
Schedule and coordinate color team reviews (Pink, Red, Gold) around team schedules, applying Shipley best practices and consolidating reviewer feedback into proposal drafts.
Monitor SAM.gov, GovWin, and related portals to identify new solicitation opportunities
Participate in strategy discussions and pre-RFP business development efforts, ensuring win strategies and themes are effectively carried through into written content.
Assist with post-submission debriefs and lessons learned, applying insights to strengthen future proposals.
Own and maintain the proposal content library, including boilerplate, reusable content, past performance, resumes/templates, graphics, etc. and lead content-refresh initiatives with SMEs.
Maintain SharePoint/Teams folder structures, file-naming standards, and document version control to ensure submission readiness.
Coordinate with SMEs and stakeholders to gather inputs, maintain accountability to deadlines, and keep proposal efforts moving.
Provide guidance, coaching, and mentorship to team members, and support proposal-related training and work instructions.
Provide support to the RFQ and other transactional/one-off bid processes as needed, coordinating with suppliers to prepare and submit responses.