Senior Proposal Manager

Riverside Research Institute•Fair Oaks, VA

1d•$165,900 - $243,100•Onsite

About The Position

Riverside Research is seeking a Senior Proposal Manager to lead enterprise-level proposal operations in Fairfax, Virginia. This is the organization’s most senior proposal role, responsible for planning, directing, and executing complex, multi-volume proposal efforts for large-scale lifecycle acquisitions, enterprise IDIQ vehicles, and high-visibility task order competitions. The role oversees the full proposal lifecycle and shapes proposal strategy in partnership with business development and capture leadership, while leading proposal teams to deliver consistent, compliant, and competitive submissions across the enterprise. The Senior Proposal Manager coordinates activities across Riverside Research’s R&D and mission assurance business units and corporate service centers, including finance, procurement, contracting, security, IT, facilities, business development, human resources, recruiting, and program management. The position covers proposal planning and resourcing, solution and volume development, color team execution, and post-submission activities such as EN responses and oral proposal preparation. The candidate should bring extensive experience with complex Federal Government proposals, including DOD and Intelligence Community R&D, engineering, mission assurance, and enterprise-level acquisitions. The position requires at least 15 years of experience in proposal strategy development, proposal management, and proposal writing for formal Federal solicitations. Applicants with a master’s degree may qualify with 12 years of direct proposal management experience. A bachelor’s degree is required, and a master’s degree is preferred. An active Top Secret clearance is required; TS/SCI is strongly preferred. U.S. citizenship and the ability to travel to support organizational efforts are also required.

Requirements

At least 15 years of progressive experience in Federal Government proposal management, strategy development, and lifecycle proposal operations supporting DOD and/or Intelligence Community acquisitions; 12 years of direct proposal management experience is accepted for candidates with a master’s degree.
Bachelor’s degree required.
At least 2 years of experience applying formal proposal management methodologies, supported by certifications such as APMP Practitioner or Professional, PMI, or PMP; foundational-level certification is acceptable, with higher-level certification strongly preferred.
Deep knowledge of proposal lifecycle standards and best practices, including Shipley, APMP, or PMI; compliance management; solution development; volume integration; color team execution; and production.
Demonstrated success leading proposal strategy, planning, development, and production for complex, multi-volume solicitations, including large IDIQ vehicles, enterprise task order competitions, and full lifecycle R&D or mission assurance procurements.
Demonstrated success developing and presenting oral proposals.
Demonstrated success establishing trusted working relationships with technical staff, leaders, peers, and outside organizations.
Demonstrated success managing large-scale, complex, high-dollar-value programs or efforts.
Demonstrated success working with and leading large teams, including team members from other organizations.
Strong analytical thinking and problem-solving skills and the ability to manage multiple project tasks simultaneously in a fast-paced environment.
Active Top Secret security clearance required; TS/SCI strongly preferred.
Ability to travel to support efforts across the organization.
U.S. citizenship required.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree preferred.
TS/SCI clearance strongly preferred.
Higher-level APMP, PMI, or PMP certification strongly preferred.
Significantly deeper experience leading large, complex pursuits is strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead the identification and assignment of proposal teams by analyzing pre-solicitation and solicitation materials and aligning relevant technical and corporate stakeholders.
Partner with capture leadership to shape R&D and mission assurance solutions and develop proposal strategies, win themes, strengths with evidence, discriminators, value propositions, differentiators, competitive ghosting opportunities, and integrated messaging.
Direct proposal strategy development, determining which business development and capture outputs should become core proposal messages and refining strengths and weaknesses into focused, defensible win themes.
Develop proposal management plans, integrate capture artifacts, structure solution storyboards, and prepare formal response frameworks for RFIs, Sources Sought notices, RFPs, and prototype proposal requests.
Oversee compliance matrices, identify compliance gaps, and support disciplined milestone reviews, including pink, red, gold, and executive compliance checks.
Support price-to-win strategy by analyzing solicitation requirements, customer budgets, historical pricing, competitor tendencies, and should-cost perspectives, and align pricing with technical solutioning and competitive positioning.
Lead teaming strategy planning, evaluate historical data and solicitation requirements, determine subcontracting and small business goals, and initiate and formalize teaming discussions and agreements.
Build, publish, and manage proposal schedules covering requirements, stakeholders, milestones, reviews, Q&A cycles, kickoff, partner engagements, approvals, and final submission.
Oversee proposal knowledge management and version control using enterprise IT tools and classified and unclassified share environments.
Review proposal quality and compliance and ensure content progresses through Shipley-aligned development stages with increasing compliance, clarity, and evaluative strength.
Lead proposal production and submission by coordinating Section L requirements and ensuring complete, compliant, and timely delivery of all volumes and artifacts.
Prepare for and support post-submission activities, including EN responses and oral proposal preparation.