Business Development & Proposal Manager

GFT; Concord (CA); Remote; USD 125,000 - 165,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Wellness programs

Parental leave

Pet insurance

Medical, dental, vision

401(k) savings plan

PTO accrual

Tuition reimbursement

Professional development

Incentive compensation

Job summary

GFT is seeking a Business Development & Proposal Manager to join our West Team, supporting NorCal, SoCal, WA or AZ with a remote work model. The role requires California transportation sector experience and a 4-year degree.

You will drive cradle-to-grave proposal support, capture planning, and client engagement across regions. The BD & Proposal Manager leads large pursuits, coordinates across MARCOM and client teams, and mentors staff while aligning with the Strategic Growth Office to win

Qualifications

• Normally a 4-year degree in English, marketing, journalism, communications, or related field.
• Experience in California required.

Responsibilities

• Lead multiple large, long-term and complex pursuits.
• Oversee cradle-to-grave proposal development from capture to submittal.
• Coordinate with MARCOM and other teams to support proposals.
• Develop interview strategies and messaging for proposals.

Skills

Business development

Proposal management

Capture planning

Team leadership

CRM management

Education

4-year degree

Tools

CRM software

Microsoft Office

Job description

What You Will Do

GFT is seeking a Business Development & Proposal Manager to join our West Team in either NorCal, SoCal, Washington or Arizona. This role follows a remote work model and must have experience with Transportation clients in the state of California.

At GFT, we’re not just pursuing projects—we’re strategically capturing opportunities that shape our communities. The Strategic Growth Office is the engine behind GFT’s enterprise-wide growth. It fuels our most significant pursuits by aligning talent, insights, and strategy to win complex, high-impact projects. From vision through delivery, we partner across all Business Groups to develop compelling, competitive proposals that reflect our core values and technical excellence.

What You’ll Be Challenged To Do

The BD & Proposal Manager is a senior position that supports either multiple regional businesslines or one Global Business Line and contributes to meeting the goals in GFT's strategic plan by leading key business development support efforts. Working independently or through management of a team of resources for larger, more complex pursuits, the BD&P Manager is an internal BD support position that also works externally in support of (not in place of) the business lines’ client and capture managers. The BD&P Manager is responsible for owning the cradle-to-grave internal support from client management phase through proposal development phase of the BD Lifecycle Program (BDLP), including managing respective proposal efforts and/or participating routinely in the writing and reviewing of the proposal.

In this capacity, the successful candidate will be responsible for the following:

Supervisory

• May manage one or more assistant proposal specialists/proposal specialists on a day-to-day basis. Responsibilities includes assignment of tasks to appropriate team member and review of work to ensure compliance with quality and department-specified practices and procedures
• May manage and/or assist Business Development Manager or Leader with proposal workload and resourcing for regional or global business development team
• May serve as timesheet approver, perform Performance Evaluation Reviews (PER), and recommend training for staff and provide input to annual training plan for department
• Other duties as assigned

Proposals

• Manages proposals and assures the capture strategy is defined and transitioned to the proposal strategy through the course of proposal development phases and final submittal/interviews, as required.
• Leads multiple large, long-term and complex pursuits concurrently
• Responsible for leading interview development and working closely with Manager for input and oversight
• Provides by discussing and writing the key strategic win theme development and messaging and organizes resources to support overall proposal effort (graphics, other proposal specialists, print production, operations, etc.) and requires no direct oversight from Manager to produce a quality proposal

CAPTURE PLANNING

• Proactively identifies opportunities in the pipeline that should start capture and then initiates with the business line, promotes, and leads Capture Planning support efforts for longer-term, complex opportunities concurrently with no oversight required by Manager
• Proactively researches and drives the development of the opportunity with the Capture Manager
• Concurrently works across multiple opportunities at any given time and establishes the priorities per each opportunity in alignment with the Capture Manager
• Able to flex within the framework of best practices
• Keeps all CRM documentation updated
• Uses capture management plans in accordance with company templates and standards
• Coordinates with respective MARCOM staff to define needs and develop strategic plan recommendations for the business line for early opportunity pre-positioning activities that will be led by MARCOM and overseen by the BD&P Manager

CLIENT MANAGEMENT

• In support of the client manager, develops client and teaming relationships at the direction of the client or capture managers. The BD&P manager may develop understanding of the pursuit through industry activities, such as trade shows to develop relationships and develop opportunities in support of the business line
• Leads any Tier 1 and/or 2 client management plans for a single business line with no oversight from Manager required
• Communicates/prioritizes BDM support efforts based on understanding of business plan
• Facilitates client management meetings and assures documentation in CRM
• Coordinates with respective MARCOM staff to define needs and develop strategic plan recommendations for the business line for early client pre-positioning activities that will be led by MARCOM and overseen by the BD&P Manager

Education | Experience:

• Normally a 4-year degree required in English, marketing, journalism, communications, or applicable field is required
• Must have the requisite experience in California

What You Will Bring To Our Firm

• Normally a 4-year degree required in English, marketing, journalism, communications, or applicable field is required
• Must have the requisite experience in California

What We Prefer You Bring

• Normally 10+ years of total combined experience in the full lifecycle of business development (marketing, communications, client, capture, and proposal phases), with most of the experience focused in one or more of GFT's core business lines
• Minimum of 3 years of demonstrated experience supporting, facilitating, and participating in capture planning support
• Demonstrated success in taking opportunities successfully from capture support though and including successfully performing all phases of proposal management responsibilities
• Minimum of 5 years of demonstrated increasing responsibility in the business development lifecycle phases (marketing, communication, client, capture, proposal)
• At least 2 years of experience supervising staff (if applicable)
• Certification or training in business development, marketing, communications, or sales received through an industry professional organization is highly desirable

Compensation

The salary range for this role is $125,000 - $165,000. Salary is dependent upon experience and geographic location.

Featured Benefits

• Comprehensive benefits package including wellness programs, parental leave, and pet insurance, in addition to medical, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance.
• Tax-deferred 401(k) savings plan.
• Competitive paid-time-off (PTO) accrual.
• Tuition reimbursement for continued education.
• Commitment to professional development, access to internal and external training programs, and support of active participation in professional organizations
• Incentive compensation for eligible positions.

Company Overview

At GFT, a privately held AEC firm, we innovate where transportation, water, power, and buildings converge. We call this the Infrastructure of Life. We measure our success by the strength of our relationships – that’s why we’re the employer of choice for 5,000+ of the industry’s brightest engineers, planners, architects, inspectors, designers, and more. Our clients choose us for our expertise and prefer us for our nimble approach, creativity, and personal touch. Backed by over a century’s experience, together we’re building a lasting legacy for future generations: stronger communities, a healthier planet, and better lives. GFT: Ingenuity That Shapes Lives™ is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veterans’ status or other characteristics protected by law. Unsolicited resumes from third party agencies will be considered the property GFT. GFT does require the successful completion of a criminal background check for all advertised positions.

Location:

Irvine ; Los Angeles ; Sacramento ; Seattle

Core Business Hours:

8:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Employment Status:

Full-Time

Applicants in the County of Los Angeles-

Qualified applications with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act.

Applicants in the City of San Francisco-

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Applicants in the State of California

Qualified applications with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with the California Fair Chance Act.