Marketing and Proposal Director

RJN Group, Inc.; Downers Grove (IL); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employee stock ownership plan

401(k) matching

Medical insurance

Hybrid work arrangements

Paid time off

Tuition assistance

Professional development

Job summary

RJN Group, Inc. is seeking an experienced Marketing and Proposal Director to lead marketing, branding, pursuit, and communications strategies.

Based at our Downers Grove, IL headquarters in a hybrid role, you will partner with the VP of Client Services and cross‑office teams to ensure consistent brand execution and successful proposals. You will drive strategy, manage a marketing team, and elevate our thought leadership and market presence across national platforms.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in marketing or a related field is required.
• Ability to lead a team of professionals through collaboration, coaching, and timely feedback.
• Strategic link between marketing activities, brand positioning, and business outcomes with ROI metrics.
• Ability to align firm leadership, project managers, technical professionals, sales leaders, and marketing to firm-wide objectives.
• Experience developing and managing marketing processes, workflows, budgets, and multi-office resource allocation.
• Experience leading pursuit strategy, proposal operations, and major pursuits.
• Leadership in corporate branding, digital marketing, and thought leadership development.
• Familiarity with marketing tech platforms, CRM, proposal tools, analytics, AI marketing tools, social media, and Adobe CC.

Responsibilities

• Guide and balance team priorities; resource planning for marketing team members; coordinate with internal departments, consultants, and vendors.
• Strengthen marketing strategies with leaders and managers; identify opportunities and elevate brand.
• Develop standards and workflows for effective proposal communications; ensure timely submissions.
• Advance the firm’s brand through print and digital publications, videos, and ads; oversee visual identity.
• Oversee marketing tech infrastructure, CRM, analytics, and design software to boost performance.
• Develop and maintain the centralized repository of case experience descriptions and proposal content.
• Oversee tradeshow processes, conferences, and brand exposure at events.
• Lead clear, consistent communication across internal and external audiences; elevate the firm’s voice.

Skills

Marketing leadership

Proposal management

Brand positioning

Marketing strategy

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in marketing or related field

Tools

CRM systems

Proposal tools

Analytics platforms

Adobe Creative Cloud

Job description

Interested in working for the industry leader and having a stake in an employee‑owned firm? Looking to help your neighbors and impact your local community? RJN Group employees can answer “yes” to all of the above. Currently we are seeking an experienced Marketing and Proposal Director to join the RJN family.

Sales and marketing at an engineering firm are different. You'll serve as the leader of RJN’s Marketing Team, working closely with sales and operations to coordinate and execute all aspects of our marketing, branding, and communications strategy. If that challenge sounds engaging rather than daunting, keep reading.

Position Summary

The Marketing and Proposal Director will lead the development and execution of marketing, branding, pursuit, and communications strategies in support of the firm’s business objectives, working closely with the Vice President of Client Services. This role requires strong collaboration across offices, disciplines, and leadership teams to ensure consistent brand execution and effective support for pursuit and marketing activities across the organization. Join us to lead our marketing efforts and support the continued growth of RJN as a national firm. This is a hybrid position based out of our corporate headquarters in Downers Grove, Illinois.

Position Responsibilities

Team Leadership and Support - Guide and balance team priorities; provide resource planning for marketing team members; coordinate with internal departments, consultants, and vendors; help guide individual and team skill development, seek opportunities to meet short‑term department needs and longer‑term individual career goals. Provide hands‑on support during peak workload periods and as needed to ensure successful delivery of marketing and proposal commitments.

Marketing Strategy - Work closely with the Vice President of Client Services, project and account managers, geographic leaders, and department colleagues to strengthen supporting systems, processes, and tools; identify innovative marketing opportunities and approaches; and outline priorities to elevate our stature, strengthen our business base, and provide outstanding support services.

Proposal Development and Management - Develop standards and workflows to ensure effective communications between all firm stakeholders for business opportunity proposals. Ensure consistent messaging in line with the firm’s brand is communicated throughout the proposal. Responsible for overall quality control and workload coordination, and, when necessary, direct participation in proposal development to ensure client requirements and submissions are delivered on time.

Brand Positioning Programs - Advance the firm’s thought leadership through print and digital publications, videos, and direct marketing; lead continuous growth of the firm’s visual identity through our digital, social, print, and video materials and ads; work with individual offices to bolster our impact through conferences, events, and speaking opportunities.

Marketing Technology Platform Management - Oversee and evolve the firm’s marketing technology infrastructure, including CRM systems, proposal generation tools, analytics platforms, AI‑assisted marketing tools, and graphic design software. Review and assess platforms that enhance marketing performance through improved audience engagement, internal efficiency, and competitive differentiation.

Experience Database and Proposal Generation - Oversee the continued development and maintenance of the firm’s centralized repository of case experience descriptions, bios, and other marketing‑related descriptive text, which also encompasses our proposal generation tool and repository of final proposals.

Tradeshow and Professional Organization Involvement - Oversee the corporate tradeshow process, including working with individual offices to determine level of involvement at conferences and trade shows. Oversee the management of tradeshow booth graphics and equipment, sponsorships, giveaways, and overall branding and exposure at professional events.

Communication - Lead and influence communication across internal and external audiences, including internal leadership and client stakeholders. Oversee internal communication platforms and contribute to the development of proposals, marketing collateral, and thought leadership content. Ensure clarity, consistency, and quality across all written materials while continuing to elevate the firm’s voice and messaging.

Our ideal candidate for this position will have the following certifications, skills, and experience:

• A minimum of 15 years of progressive marketing experience within the AEC industry or a comparable professional services environment, including at least 5 years of people leadership experience.
• A bachelor’s degree in marketing or a related field is required.
• The ability to lead a team of professionals to their fullest potential through collaboration, coaching, and timely constructive feedback.
• The ability to provide a strategic link between marketing activities, brand positioning, and business outcomes. Experience using marketing metrics to measure performance, guide decision‑making, and demonstrate return on investment.
• Demonstrated ability to build alignment among firm leadership, project managers, technical professionals, sales leaders, and the marketing team in support of firm‑wide objectives.
• Experience developing, improving, and managing marketing processes, workflows, budgets, and resource allocation across a multi‑office organization.
• Experience leading pursuit strategy, proposal operations, go/no‑go decision making, and marketing leadership for major pursuits.
• Experience leading corporate branding, digital marketing, and corporate thought leadership development.
• Familiarity with marketing technology platforms, CRM systems, proposal generation tools, analytics platforms, AI‑assisted marketing tools, social media, and graphic design software. Proficiency in Adobe Creative Cloud applications is strongly preferred.
• Strong written technical communication and content review skills.
• Active participation in marketing or industry related (i.e., APWA, WEF, AWWA) professional organizations is preferred.

Direct Reports

Marketing staff, including but not limited to marketing specialists, coordinators, and interns.

Physical Demands & Work Environment

The physical demands and work environment described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Physical demands: While performing duties in this position, the employee will be required to stand, walk, sit, use hands and arms, see, talk, and hear.
• Work environment: Standard indoor office environment with minimal noise levels.
• Personal Protective Equipment: None required in office.

About RJN Group

RJN is an employee‑owned professional engineering and specialty field services firm providing sustainable underground infrastructure solutions for utility owners. We are consistently named a Zweig Group “Best firm to Work For.”

Our customers are also our neighbors. We have offices from Texas and the Great Plains to the East Coast. This means that our staff are supporting the communities they live in. We are locals and take pride in keeping our communities running. Those we work for have come to associate our name with trust, creativity, reliability, and quality.

We let innovation take the lead. We perform unique services for water, wastewater, and stormwater systems, by investing in leading technologies to differentiate us, while keeping costs down and efficiency up.

Benefits

RJN provides a competitive benefit package including:

• Company‑funded employee stock ownership plan and 401(k) matching retirement plan
• Medical, dental, vision, short‑ and long‑term disability insurance benefits and a robust wellness program
• Flexible and hybrid work arrangements and schedule and a casual dress code
• Paid time off and holiday pay
• Tuition assistance and student loan repayment
• Professional development opportunities.

RJN is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. We support a diverse workforce and are committed to supporting our employees both professionally and personally.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws.

For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.