Federal Proposal Manager

APTNEXUS; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 115,000 - 145,000; Full time

Job summary

APTNEXUS seeks a Federal Proposal Manager to own the end-to-end proposal lifecycle for federal IT and cybersecurity pursuits. You will ensure compliance, schedule adherence, and high-quality narrative across a small, fast-moving team, translating complex cybersecurity offerings into evaluator-friendly prose.

You will drive timelines, coordinate SMEs, pricing, and executives, and maintain a single-voice edit across volumes while managing submission through SAM.gov and agency portals.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in English, Communications, Business, Information Technology, Cybersecurity, or related field; 4 years of relevant federal proposal experience may substitute for the degree.
• Minimum of 5 years managing federal proposals with on-time, compliant submissions.
• Familiarity with Shipley proposal methodology and color team reviews.
• In-depth knowledge of FAR, agency supplements, and federal contract vehicles (IDIQs, GWACs, BPAs, GSA MAS, 8(a) set-aside).
• IT/cybersecurity background to review technical content; familiarity with NIST standards is highly desirable.
• Ability to influence without authority and deliver concise executive feedback to authors.
• Excellent written/verbal communication; independent work in remote environments with discretion.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end proposal lifecycle from solicitation through submission and debrief.
• Create compliance matrices mapping requirements to authors, sections, and pages.
• Develop schedules with milestones and risk buffers; re-baseline as needed.
• Prepare annotated outlines, storyboards, and assign writing tasks; coordinate reviews.
• Coordinate inputs from SMEs, pricing, contracts, and executives to meet deadlines.
• Ensure win themes and discriminators are integrated across volumes with a single voice.
• Oversee document architecture, templates, and submission through SAM.gov/eBuy portals.
• Coordinate teaming and respond to clarifications and audits; maintain reusable assets.

Skills

Proposal management

Writing/editing

Schedule management

Team collaboration

Win themes

Single-voice editing

Executive briefing

Source verification

Education

Bachelor's degree in English/Communications/Business/IT/Cybersecurity

Shipley Proposal Management certification

APMP/ PMP / CompTIA Security+ (desirable)

Tools

Microsoft Word (advanced)

SharePoint

Privia

Responsive

Job description

Since our founding 2012, APTNEXUS has empowered federal agencies and commercial enterprises to navigate the complexities of the digital landscape. As a quality-driven small business, we specialize in the seamless delivery of IT modernization and elite cybersecurity solutions. We help our clients modernize and fortify their technology stacks —ensuring their most critical data and assets remain resilient, optimized, and secure in an evolving threat environment.

Clearance:

• None required. U.S. Citizenship and the ability to sign a non-disclosure agreement are required.

Salary Range:

• $115,000 to $145,000 (final offer based on education, certifications, and relevant experience). Qualified 1099 independent consultants will be considered.

Position Overview:

As a Federal Proposal Manager, you will own the end-to-end proposal lifecycle for AptNexus pursuits across the federal IT and cybersecurity market. Reporting to executive leadership on a small, fast-moving team, you will be the single accountable owner of compliance, schedule, and narrative quality on every bid, and you will translate complex cybersecurity and IT solutions into clear, evaluator-friendly prose. Your duties and responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

• Own the end-to-end proposal lifecycle for assigned pursuits, from solicitation release through submission, evaluation notices, and award or debrief.
• Shred RFPs, RFQs, and RFIs, deconstructing Sections B, C, L, and M into an ironclad compliance matrix that maps every requirement and evaluation factor to a named author, section, and page allocation.
• Build and enforce reverse-timeline schedules with defined milestones, production windows, and risk buffers, and re-baseline the matrix and schedule as amendments and bidder question responses are issued.
• Develop annotated outlines, storyboards, and writing assignments; plan and facilitate Pink, Red, and Gold Team reviews and drive comment adjudication to closure.
• Drive inputs from technical subject matter experts, capture, pricing, contracts, executives, and teaming partners, holding all contributors to deadline without direct line authority.
• Thread win themes, discriminators, and customer pain points through every volume, and perform substantive single-voice editing to unify content from multiple authors.
• Manage document architecture and final production, including templates, strict page limits, cross-references, and graphics integration, and submit through SAM.gov, GSA eBuy, and agency portals.
• Coordinate teaming and pricing inputs, support post-submission clarifications, discussions, and orals, and maintain reusable assets including the past performance repository and key personnel resumes.

Education:

• Bachelor's degree in English, Communications, Business, Information Technology, Cybersecurity, or a related field. An additional four (4) years of directly relevant federal proposal management experience may be substituted for the degree requirement.
• Minimum of 5 years of hands-on experience managing federal proposals, with a demonstrated record of on-time, compliant submissions.
• Demonstrated proficiency in the Shipley proposal development methodology or a comparable structured framework, including formal color team review discipline.
• In-depth working knowledge of the FAR and agency supplements, and of federal contract vehicles including IDIQs, GWACs, BPAs, GSA Multiple Award Schedule, and 8(a) sole source and competitive set-aside procurements.
• Information technology and/or cybersecurity background sufficient to interrogate subject matter experts and independently draft credible technical content. Familiarity with NIST Risk Management Framework, NIST SP 800-53, NIST SP 800-171, FISMA, and FedRAMP is highly desirable.
• Demonstrated ability to influence without authority and to maintain calm, decisive control under compressed deadlines, paired with exceptional writing and single-voice editing skills under hard page limits.
• Advanced Microsoft Word skills, including styles, section breaks, cross-references, and automated tables of contents; experience with proposal collaboration platforms such as SharePoint, Privia, or Responsive; and experience applying generative AI tools with sound judgment on source verification and protection of proprietary information.
• Federal government contracting experience is mandatory. Prior support to a small business or 8(a) contractor, oral presentation coaching, and capture or price-to-win experience are strong pluses.
• Certification:
• Shipley Proposal Management certification or documented formal training in a comparable structured proposal methodology, is strongly preferred.
• The following certifications are desirable, but not required:
• Shipley Certified Proposal Manager, or completion of Shipley federal proposal coursework
• APMP Foundation, Practitioner, or Professional certification; Project Management Professional (PMP); or CompTIA Security+ or a comparable IT or cybersecurity certification
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to brief executives concisely and give direct, constructive feedback to authors.
• Ability to work independently in a fully remote environment with minimal supervision, with exceptional attention to detail and discretion in handling proprietary and competition sensitive information.