Proposal Operations Manager (US Central Region)

Parsons•Chicago, GA

14h

About The Position

At Parsons, great work starts with great people. We’re looking for an energetic, collaborative, and people-first Proposal Operations Manager to support our Critical Infrastructure business across the U.S. Central region. This is a player-coach leadership role for someone who loves developing talent, building strong partnerships, and staying close to the work. You’ll lead, grow, and empower a team of proposal professionals while supporting strategic pursuits and helping teams create bold, compelling deliverables that set Parsons apart. You’ll collaborate with capture managers, business development professionals, operations leaders, technical subject matter experts, and creative teams. By bringing people together, building momentum, and strengthening what works, you’ll help teams envision—and deliver—what’s next. If you’re energized by collaboration, eager to roll up your sleeves, and motivated to help teams raise the bar, you’ll fit right in.

Requirements

Strong leadership, facilitation, and communication skills, with the ability to bring out the best in people and keep raising the bar.
A solid understanding of the AEC industry and experience leading complex, high-visibility pursuits.
Demonstrated organizational, planning, and time-management skills; you can juggle a lot at once, troubleshoot on the fly, calmly de-escalate tense moments, step in to lead when needed, and make solid decisions under pressure.
A talent for building trusted relationships with capture leaders, operations, technical teams, and executives while keeping everyone aligned.

Nice To Haves

Four-year degree in a relevant field (or equivalent). We value what you know and how you apply it.
Around 10 years of progressive proposal management experience, including 3–5 years leading people. You’ve grown your career by growing others.
Professional credentials such as APMP (any level), PMP, or Shipley training/certification is a plus and shows you take your craft seriously and invest in it.
A driver of change and builder of buy-in; big thinker with an ever-evolving vision for the future; process builder and follower, but knowns when to adapt, improve, and pivot.

Responsibilities

Lead and inspire a team that creates compliant, responsive, and compelling AEC proposals and related deliverables.
Set your team up for success with clear direction, thoughtful coaching, the right resources, and plenty of support.
Build a people-first culture where communication, collaboration, innovation, accountability, and growth are part of the everyday experience.
Create opportunities for team members to share knowledge, learn from one another, build new skills, and grow their careers.
Mentor staff at all levels by supporting professional goal-setting and development, conducting performance reviews, and making appropriate recommendations regarding advancement, changes in status, or corrective action.
Attract top talent to support the growth of the proposal operations team through thoughtful hiring, onboarding, and retention.
Recognize great work, celebrate the wins, and keep the team connected, engaged, and motivated.
Build strong, trusted relationships with capture, business development, operations, and other internal partners.
Get to know stakeholders’ priorities and help shape the strategies, solutions, and deliverables that give Parsons a competitive edge.
Bring your perspective to business development, market, and regional meetings, including pipeline reviews, strategy sessions, and WinStrats.
Assess pursuit needs, build thoughtful proposal budgets, and connect the right people and resources to the right opportunities.
Allocate and assign team resources across proposal and business development efforts based on priorities, level of effort, complexity, schedule, and other requirements.
Evaluate schedules and workloads to balance assignments, support a healthy work-life balance, and maintain accurate proposal assignment and forecasting logs.
Strengthen collaboration across the business unit and regions and look for ways to share and scale what’s working.
Bring a can-do mindset to every challenge—find common ground, move good ideas forward, and keep the work moving.
Guide high-priority pursuits, from pre-positioning and strategy through proposals, presentations, and final deliverables.
Champion the implementation of Parsons’ Winning Process and Business Acquisition Process across the business segment to strengthen pursuit strategies and improve win outcomes.
Bring energy, insight, and fresh ideas to kickoffs, strategy sessions, storyboarding workshops, color reviews, and lessons-learned sessions.
Serve as a trusted strategic advisor and proposal expert on major pursuits.
Turn lessons learned into smarter processes, targeted training, repeatable best practices, and stronger future wins.