Proposal Specialist

Gowling WLG; Montreal; On-site; CAD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A global law firm is seeking a Proposal Specialist to develop strategic proposals in response to RFPs. The successful candidate will collaborate with various teams and work closely with lawyers to highlight the firm's strengths. The position offers a hybrid work environment, with a salary range of $65,000 to $90,000, based on the applicant's experience and skills.

Benefits

Hybrid work structure

Diversity and inclusion initiatives

Qualifications

• 5-7 years of experience in a similar role, preferably in a law firm.
• Strong decision-making and strategic planning skills.
• Bilingualism in English and French is an asset.

Responsibilities

• Review and analyze incoming requests for proposals.
• Lead proposal development and manage deadlines.
• Collaborate with partners and stakeholders on proposals.

Skills

Project management

Communication

Attention to detail

Interpersonal skills

Problem-solving

Adaptability to technology

Education

Post secondary education in Business, Communications, or Project Management

Tools

Microsoft Office

AI/CRM tools

Job description

ABOUT GOWLING WLG

At Gowling WLG, our dedication to excellence and quality service begins with our people. As a global law firm with offices across Canada, the U.K., Europe, the Middle East and Asia, we pride ourselves on sourcing and retaining top talent who bring energy, passion and commitment to the delivery of outstanding client service.

Employee satisfaction is important to us. We work hard to ensure that our people are motivated, engaged and empowered. We are guided by our firm’s Core Values - Raise the Bar, Thrive Together, Embrace Differences - in all that we do.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are an integral part of our firm’s core values. We are always striving to build a more equitable, engaging and rewarding workplace by attracting and retaining talented people from a diverse range of backgrounds, cultures and experiences. Our aim is to help everyone reach their full potential and achieve their personal and professional goals.

Our diverse group of legal professionals, law students, law clerks, paralegals, legal administrative assistants and business services team members work together, and are respected and valued for their individual contributions.

Profile

Reporting to the National Proposal Manager, the Proposal Specialist will work within a national shared services team environment, developing strategic proposals in response to formal legal service procurements, including, Requests for Proposals (RFPs), as well as informal requests for credentials documents, in alignment with the firm’s business strategies and revenue growth goals.

Working within the Proposals and Pursuits Team, as well as collaborating with other functional teams, including the Experience, Business Development and Pricing Teams, the Proposal Specialist will provide lawyers with strategic guidance, highlighting what sets Gowling WLG apart and leveraging the firm’s strengths to win new work, and meet and exceed the needs of clients and prospective clients.

The successful candidate will have a growth mindset with a focus on understanding our various practice and sector groups, while being an exceptional communicator and storyteller, both written and oral, with strong attention to detail and a proven ability to prioritize and work within tight deadlines.

This position can be based in any of our Canadian offices!

Responsibilities

• Conduct a thorough review and analysis of incoming requests for proposals to understand the business requirements and strategically plan how to execute the creation of the response, with a focus on differentiation, precision, and effectiveness to continuously increase our win-rates.
• Lead and support pursuits, and respond to deadline-driven RFPs across many services and jurisdictions, often acting as a team liaison and project manager for the end-to-end proposal development process, including any international requests and multi-party opportunities.
• Develop proposals into cohesive and compelling formats, or an online response, ensuring that the proposal incorporates pre-approved and convincing content, is client- and business-needs focused, remains in alignment with firm brand standards and brand voice, and is in compliance with all requirements of the RFP or client request.
• Lead all proposal production activities, including any hard-copy printing, distribution and physical delivery of the document, or online submissions.
• Update the proposal content library with completed responses to improve access to a data bank of content, improving the efficiency and the performance of subsequent requests for proposal and credentials responses.
• Collaborate closely with firm partners and stakeholders to build top-quality proposals and pursuits, while working with the Experience Team to preserve any relevant work examples collected during the proposal development process to support future proposals, awards submissions or other requirements.
• Continually seek to develop improved proposal writing processes, including but not limited to proactively leveraging AI to drive efficiency and scale, while ensuring high quality control of final submissions.
• Actively monitor and track the success rates of each proposal completed, seeking feedback and final versions from stakeholders to continually enhance the overall quality of proposals.
• Act as a subject matter expert for Gowling WLG’s proposal processes and tools and provide formal and ad-hoc assistance to internal clients requesting proposal and pursuit support.
• Participate in research initiatives related to proposals.
• Create originally drafted content if needed for unique requests.
• Other duties as required that contribute to the firm, its clients and our team.

Qualifications

• A post secondary education with a focus on Business, Communications, Project Management, or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• A minimum of 5-7 years experience in a similar role with a preference for experience in a law firm or parallel professional services environment, or another relevant industry sector.
• Ability to thrive in a role that requires efficiency and focus, excellent decision-making and conceptual skills, attention to detail, as well as applying big-picture strategic perspectives.
• Proven success working in a global hybrid work environment demanding strong interpersonal and organizational abilities with excellent leadership and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to communicate effectively with other firm members, including partners, with the aptitude to be highly responsive to internal clients’ needs in a professional and service-driven manner.
• Results-focus with an innate desire to continuously drive improvements and innovation, deliver high quality work and proven success measuring results and impact.
• Capacity to work independently, as well as within a team environment.
• Excellent English verbal and written communication skills.
• Natural problem-solving, curiosity and critical thinking skills.
• Ability to excel in a deadline-driven environment and the flexibility to work outside of regular business hours on short notice as needed in order to meet deadlines.
• Comfortable with new and evolving technology and tools such as AI and CRMs, in addition to strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office, particularly Word, as well as database platforms and familiarity with procurement processes including online procurement platforms (e.g. Merx, Biddingo, Ariba and others).
• Excellent knowledge of the Canadian legal landscape and business environment.
• Bilingualism (English/French) is considered an asset.

Gowling WLG employees benefit from a hybrid work structure.

The starting range for this role is $65,000 to $90,000. Starting salary will be determined based on an applicant’s individual skills, competencies and unique qualifications. Gowling WLG employees have the potential to exceed this range based on tenure and performance.

Not sure if you meet all the requirements? If you are excited about this opportunity but your experience does not align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Gowling WLG is dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation at any time during the recruitment process, please let us know.

While we appreciate all applications received, only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.