Proposal Development Lead

Clear Destination Inc.; Portland (OR); On-site; USD 92,000 - 139,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401(k) with employer contribution

ESOP

Annual cash performance bonuses

Paid vacation and sick time

Flexible holiday policy

$500 HSA/FSA contribution

Job summary

Cascade Energy is seeking a Proposal Development Lead to guide the full lifecycle of RFx proposals from opportunity assessment through interviews and handoff to delivery teams. You will coordinate a team, manage deadlines, and apply AI tools to refine content and improve outcomes.

This full-time role is preferred in Portland, OR, with occasional travel for collaboration with Cascade offices. We value experience in energy efficiency sectors and a collaborative, process-driven approach that

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in English, Communications, Journalism, or related field or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 6+ years’ experience writing and editing proposals, grants, marketing materials, or other business development content.
• Experience working with energy efficiency, demand response, decarbonization, climate, and sustainability programs, or a very similar industry.

Responsibilities

• Lead proposal team activities to meet milestones and manage schedules.
• Own full lifecycle of proposals for large or priority sales efforts.
• Coordinate with subject matter experts for input and draft RFX responses.
• Facilitate post-proposal interactions including interviews and revisions.
• Oversee contract negotiations and maintain organized records.
• Mentor Proposal Coordinator I and II and support workload balancing.
• Research opportunities by monitoring inboxes and websites.
• Apply AI tools to refine content and improve outcomes.

Skills

Proposal writing

Editing

Project management

Communications

Energy efficiency knowledge

AI tools

Education

Bachelor’s degree in English/Communications/Journalism

Tools

Copilot

Claude

Job description

About This Opportunity

We are seeking a Proposal Development Lead. In this role, you will help Cascade's Customer Engagement team deliver high-quality, compliant, and compelling proposals to meet company sales goals. The Proposal Development Lead follows detailed checklists to coordinate the entire RFX*-based sales process from opportunity assessment through proposal development, interviews, contract negotiations, and handoff to the delivery team. The Proposal Development Lead can expect to coordinate approximately twelve active proposals in various stages at any given time. * RFX = Request for Proposals, Qualifications, Information, etc

Future-Focused AI-Ready Culture

At Cascade Energy, we’re actively shaping how AI gets deployed in the real world, in our tools, our client engagements, and our daily work. Our approach has always been relationship-driven and expertise-led, and AI is how we multiply the impact of both.
Successful Cascadians are curious and resilient. They embrace change, seek smarter ways to create impact, and take ownership of their own growth. We embed AI into our work in ways that are responsible and human-centered, and we actively develop our people to deploy it creatively and confidently.
We believe the future belongs to organizations that pair emerging technology with genuine human expertise. That future is being built here. . . .come be a part of it!

What You Will Be Doing

Reasonable accommodation will be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job.

• Project Management: manages proposal team activities to support milestone achievement, including scheduling meetings, developing work plans, assigning and tracking action items, and following up to keep proposal efforts on schedule.
• Assignments: owns and delivers on the full lifecycle of proposals for large and/or priority sales efforts, with the ability to work on higher-stakes proposals as experience increases.
• Responsible for leading Cascade’s most important proposal efforts.
• Proposal Development: conducts research and outreach required to draft RFX response and coordinates with subject matter experts for input as needed.
• Post-Proposal Facilitation: manages and drafts initial responses to post-proposal requests including interview presentations, follow-up questions, and revisions.
• Contract Negotiations: manages communications and maintains organized records during contract negotiations. Proficient at reading and interpreting contractual documents, managing redlines, and drafting required deliverables such as scopes of work, subcontractor agreements, logic models/diagrams, and guidance documents.
• Knowledge Transfer: supports compilation and transfer of relevant materials and information to program delivery team.
• Mentorship: provides mentorship support for Proposal Coordinator I and II roles. Supports some initiatives (e.g., workload balancing) in coordination with Sales Operations Manager.
• Teamwork: contributes to the team’s high-quality written proposals by proofreading proposals and collaborating on proposal efforts. Identifies process improvements and works with the team to implement them.
• RFX Discovery: regularly monitors inboxes and check websites for relevant opportunities.
• Emerging Technology: utilizes AI tools (such as Copilot, Claude, and others) and other emerging technology to refine proposal content, enhance productivity, and improve business outcomes.

This is a full-time, exempt position, preferably located in Portland OR. We are also open to non-Portland candidates who reside near one of Cascade Energy’s offices with a willingness to travel occasionally.

Qualifications

Applicants for this role are required to have:

• Bachelor’s Degree in English, Communications, Journalism, or related field or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 6+ years’ experience writing and editing proposals, grants, marketing materials, or other business development content.
• Experience working with energy efficiency, demand response, decarbonization, climate, and sustainability programs, or, a very similar industry.

Compensation & Benefits

The full salary range for this full-time, exempt position in Portland OR is $92,400 - $138,600. At Cascade, transparency and fairness are core to how we work. We post the full salary range for every role because we value clarity and equity. Our offers are thoughtfully determined based on factors such as location, experience, qualifications, and internal equity, to ensure fairness. We aim to ensure consistency and integrity in every decision.
Our total rewards include competitive pay and a comprehensive benefits package designed to support your wellbeing and financial security. We provide health, dental, and vision coverage, along with flexible spending and health savings account options that include employer contributions. Additional benefits include life insurance, short- and long-term disability coverage, paid parental leave, and a 401(k)-retirement plan with a guaranteed 3% employer contribution. Cascade is proud to offer an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), annual cash performance bonuses, paid vacation and sick time, and an inclusive, flexible holiday policy. To further support wellbeing, we provide a $500 contribution that can be applied to an HSA, FSA, or Lifestyle Spending Account.