Director, Proposal Operations

Advocates for Human Potential, Inc.; United States; Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 175,000; Full time

Job summary

Advocates for Human Potential, Inc. seeks a Director of Proposal Operations to lead and continuously improve our enterprise proposal function. You will architect proposal excellence, set standards, coach managers, and drive best practices across federal, state, and municipal opportunities.

You will champion Shipley-based methodologies, align strategy, pricing, storytelling, and production to maximize win probability and scale proposals across the organization.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, Communications, English, Public Administration, Public Health, Healthcare Administration, Human Services, or related field; Master’s preferred.
• Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP) or Project Management Professional (PMP) preferred
• Minimum 8 years of proposal management experience in a government-facing, healthcare/human-services sector.
• Experience redesigning proposal operations to handle high-volume government proposals.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams and apply Shipley methodology to win-driven proposals.

Responsibilities

• Lead strategic direction and day-to-day operations of the Proposal Operations function.
• Refine policies, templates, tools, and governance for a Shipley-aligned process.
• Oversee reviews (color, executive, final) and ensure quality and compliance.
• Track proposal metrics with Data Office and drive continuous improvement.
• Evaluate and adopt AI-enabled tools to boost quality and efficiency.

Skills

Shipley Methodology

Strategic thinking

Facilitation

Stakeholder alignment

Proposal storytelling

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in business administration, Communications, English, Public Administration, Public Health, Healthcare Administration, Human Services, or related field

Master’s degree in business administration, public administration, public health, social work or related discipline preferred

Job description

Advocates for Human Potential, (AHP) is seeking a strategic, collaborative and results-driven Director of Proposal Operations to lead and continuously improve our enterprise proposal function.

This role serves as the architect of AHP’s proposal excellence through establishing standards, processes, coaching and operational discipline that will enable AHP to consistently deliver compelling and competitive proposals across federal, state and municipal government opportunities.

AHP currently produces over one hundred proposals on an annual basis.

The Director will have professional experience commensurate with that level of production at a successful level and will be able to demonstrate how AHP can scale its production and success rates upward.

Working within AHP’s Strategic Development department, the Director will work closely with Managing Directors, Program Directors, subject matter experts, finance and executive leadership to build proposal excellence across the organization.

This individual will champion Shipley-based best practices while ensuring proposal strategy, win themes, pricing, storytelling and production are integrated into a seamless proposal development process that maximizes AHP’s probability of winning.

Further, this position will develop an annual strategic plan for proposal operations outlining goals, objectives and strategies for the year to ensure ever greater overall success, leveraging all of the assets, expertise and technology available to them at AHP.

The Director will lead the Proposal Operations team while serving as an internal advisor and coach to proposal managers, capture leaders and technical experts.

Beyond managing individual pursuits, this leader will continuously strengthen AHP’s proposal capability by standardizing processes, developing reusable assets, improving proposal quality, identifying opportunities for innovation and the integration of technology best practices, and fostering a culture of continuous learning and collaboration.

This position is responsible for designing, building, and continuously improving the enterprise proposal system that enables proposal managers to consistently produce higher-quality proposals with greater efficiency and higher probability of win.

The ideal candidate is a steady leader with a proven track record in leading proposal operations in a business-to-government consulting firm serving behavioral health, public health, healthcare or related human-services markets.

They possess deep expertise in federal and state procurement processes, Shipley methodology, proposal strategy, pricing considerations, and persuasive government-focused writing.

This individual must be a trusted leader who can align diverse stakeholders, coach technical experts, navigate competing priorities, and help multidisciplinary teams tell a compelling story that resonates with government evaluators.

Key Responsibilities

Operational Oversight

• Lead the strategic direction, continuous improvement, and day-to-day operations of AHP's Proposal Operations function, ensuring the organization consistently delivers high-quality, compliant, and competitive proposals.
• Implement, and continuously refine proposal operations policies, standard operating procedures, templates, tools, and governance that create a Shipley-aligned, scalable, repeatable proposal development process across the enterprise.
• Lead proposal reviews and quality assurance processes, including compliance, color team, executive, and final production reviews, ensuring proposals meet the highest standards of quality and responsiveness.
• In partnership with the Data Office, monitor proposal performance metrics, including win rates, proposal quality, cycle times, resource utilization, and lessons learned, using data to drive continuous improvement across the proposal function.
• In partnership with Digital Solutions, evaluate and implement emerging technologies, including AI-enabled proposal tools and automation, to improve proposal quality, efficiency, knowledge management, and organizational competitiveness.

Pricing Strategy

• Partner with Strategic Development, Finance, Executive Leadership, and technical leadership to develop pricing strategies that balance competitiveness, profitability, and long-term business objectives, and ensure those strategies are consistently applied across proposal efforts.

Staff Development & Organizational Leadership

• Develop, mentor, and manage a high-performing team of Proposal Managers by maintaining clear expectations, fostering professional growth, promoting collaboration, and building organizational proposal expertise.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to capture managers, proposal managers, and subject matter experts by facilitating proposal strategy sessions, identifying discriminators and win themes, strengthening proposal messaging, and ensuring technical solutions are translated into compelling, customer-focused narratives.
• Oversee proposal planning and execution from pre-proposal through submission, ensuring effective resource allocation, schedule management, compliance, quality assurance, and risk mitigation across the proposal portfolio.
• Partner closely with Strategic Development leadership to strengthen the connection between capture planning, proposal strategy, pricing, and proposal execution, increasing AHP's overall probability of win, using Shipley methodology.
• Foster a culture of trust, respect, and professional growth.

Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, Communications, English, Public Administration, Public Health, Healthcare Administration, Human Services, or a related field required. Master’s degree in business administration, public administration, public health, social work or a related discipline strongly preferred; extensive experience may be considered in place of formal education.
• Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP) or Project Management Professional (PMP) preferred

Experience

• Required: A minimum of eight (8) years of progressively responsible experience in proposal management within a business-to-government consulting firm serving federal and/or state health, behavioral health, healthcare, or human services agencies. Candidates without direct proposal management experience in this market will not be considered.
• Demonstrated experience redesigning or significantly improving proposal operations across an organization producing high volumes of government proposals.
• Track record of success in leveraging Shipley methodology to lead complex, winning proposals for agencies such as SAMHSA, HRSA, CMS, CDC, ACL, ACF, state Medicaid agencies, behavioral health authorities, or other health and human services agencies.
• Strong preference for candidates who have led or managed a proposal operations, proposal management, or proposal excellence function within a government consulting firm.
• Demonstrated ability to evaluate proposal operations against industry best practices and successfully implement improvements.
• Strong preference for experience with nationally recognized government consulting firms that compete regularly for federal health and human services contracts and cooperative agreements.
• Demonstrated expertise applying Shipley methodology, developing proposal strategy and win themes, facilitating color team reviews, and leading cross-functional proposal teams.

Skills & Competencies

• Proficiency with Shipley Proposal Methodology
• Exceptional strategic thinking with the ability to translate technical solutions into compelling, customer-focused proposal narratives.
• Strong facilitation skills with the ability to build consensus among executives, business developers, finance professionals, proposal managers, and subject matter experts.
• Ability to evaluate opportunities, identify proposal risks, and recommend strategies to improve probability of win.
• Ability to develop a strategic business plan that identifies goals, metrics and strategies to achieve
• Deep understanding of government, nonprofit, and healthcare sectors.

Don’t meet every single requirement? Research suggests that women and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) individuals may self-select out of opportunities if they do not meet 100 percent of the job requirements. At AHP, we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t 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.

Work environment

Interacting with multiple stakeholders. Work is broad in scope covering one or more complicated areas. A high degree of design and analytic ability and creative thinking is required to devise new, non-standard approaches to highly intricate, technically complex problems. Hybrid working modality and flexible working hours.

Salary Range

$140,000 - $175,000

AHP, in an effort to be transparent with applicants about salary and in compliance with various state pay disclosure requirements, publishes the following information, which is current as of the date of posting. The base salary range above represents the low and high end of the AHP salary range for this position. Actual salaries will vary and may be high or low in the range based on various factors, including but not limited to location, experience, and education. The range listed is just one component of AHP’s total compensation package for employees.

Other rewards may include annual bonuses, short- and long-term incentives, and program-specific awards. In addition, AHP provides a variety of benefits to employees, including comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance for you and your family, a retirement plan with a 3% match, student loan repayment assistance, employer-paid life and disability insurance, generous paid time off, and much more.

Location

All work must be performed within the United States or its territories. Employees are required to reside in, and carry out their job responsibilities from, a location within the U.S. or a U.S. territory for the duration of their employment. Limited exceptions may be granted for short-term personal or business travel outside of these areas, subject to prior written approval and in compliance with company policy.

Work Authorization Requirement

Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis

About AHP

Advocates for Human Potential, Inc. (AHP) is a national consulting firm dedicated to improving behavioral health and human services systems since 1986. Headquartered in Sudbury, MA, with offices in Chicago, IL, Tampa, FL, Phoenix, AZ, and Pasadena, CA, AHP employs more than 280 staff across nearly 40 states. We partner with federal, state, and local agencies, community-based organizations, and commercial entities to drive change in health and business systems, supporting vulnerable populations from shaping policy to delivering hands‑on, ground‑level support.

AHP helps organizations and individuals reach their full potential through a suite of services, including professional consulting, research, evaluation, and data analytics, technical assistance and training, as well as virtual solutions, publications, and events. Our areas of expertise span behavioral health, mental health policy and services, substance use disorders, workforce development, homelessness, housing and employment programs, trauma-informed care, criminal justice, women and children’s services, veterans’ support, healthcare reform, and population health management.

AHP is proud to be certified as a Great Place to Work® for ten consecutive years, a recognition based on extensive anonymous employee feedback. We are deeply committed to employee well‑being and are actively engaged in fostering a workplace culture that supports work‑life balance, self‑care, and mental and emotional health. To learn more, visit www.ahpnet.com

We offer a fantastic array of employee benefits - in fact, our comprehensive package was independently rated as "Great" by an independent party that compared our benefits against companies in similar industries, regions, and sizes. This recognition validates that our strong benefits meet the needs of our valued employees.

Mission

“To transform behavioral health and human service systems so organizations and individuals can reach their full potential.”

Vision

“Our clients, our staff, and the people we all serve will reach their potential to live full, productive lives.”

Our Core Values at AHP

• Growth fostered through education, innovation, and self-actualization
• Understanding deepened through empathy, compassion, equity, and inclusion
• Integrity demonstrated through authenticity, leadership, and humility
• Dedication seen through commitment, timeliness, and follow-through
• Expertise achieved through passion, precision, and quality

These values aren’t just words; they are principles we live by in every engagement, decision, and collaboration.

AHP is an Equal Opportunity Employer and Affluent Action Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.

AHP is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. If you require an accommodation to access or complete any part of the application process, the interview process, or to perform essential job functions, please get in touch with the Recruitment team at [e-mail]. Accommodation requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and may apply depending on individual circumstances and job requirements.

The statements in this job description are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required. Responsibilities may evolve or change over time to meet organizational needs.