Proposal Development Manager

U.S. Bank; Denver (CO); On-site; USD 133,000 - 157,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare (medical, dental, vision)

401(k) and employer-funded retirement

Paid vacation

Job summary

U.S. Bank is seeking a Proposal Development Manager to lead the proposal writing team and ensure high-quality, persuasive proposals aligned with strategy and timelines. You will provide strategic writing leadership, coach writers, and balance capacity across assignments to meet deadlines.

The role requires strong editing, client-focused messaging, and collaboration with Sales, Product, Pricing, Legal, Risk, Marketing and SMEs to win complex opportunities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience.
• Experience leading proposal writers or similar teams.
• Strong writing, editing, and executive communication skills.
• Proven ability to manage multiple RFPs/RFIs/questions.
• Ability to translate complex info into concise client messaging.

Responsibilities

• Lead the proposal development team and coach writers.
• Manage daily assignments and workload distribution.
• Oversee end-to-end proposal development from kickoff to submission.
• Provide writing and editorial leadership for high-visibility content.
• Ensure adherence to proposal processes, templates, and standards.
• Collaborate with Sales, Product, Legal, Risk, Marketing and SMEs.

Skills

Writing skills

Editing

Proofreading

Executive communication

Workload management

Deadline management

Stakeholder management

Client messaging

Education

Bachelor's degree in Communications/English/Journaling/Marketing/Business or related field

Tools

Responsive

Job description

At U.S. Bank, we’re on a journey to do our best. Helping the customers and businesses we serve to make better and smarter financial decisions and enabling the communities we support to grow and succeed. We believe it takes all of us to bring our shared ambition to life, and each person is unique in their potential. A career with U.S. Bank gives you a wide, ever-growing range of opportunities to discover what makes you thrive at every stage of your career. Try new things, learn new skills and discover what you excel at—all from Day One.

Job Description

Proposal Development Manager

Position Summary

The Proposal Development Manager is responsible for leading the day-to-day activities and performance of the proposal development team, ensuring resources are effectively aligned to business needs and proposal assignments are delivered with consistent quality, accuracy, and timeliness.

This role directly manages and develops proposal professionals, oversees workload and assignment distribution, monitors proposal schedules and deadlines, and provides hands‑on guidance to resolve delivery challenges and maintain quality standards. The manager serves as the primary point of coordination for the proposal development team, balancing capacity, priorities, complexity, and development needs across assignments.

In addition to people leadership, this role provides strategic, writing, and editorial leadership for complex or high-priority opportunities and helps ensure proposals are developed through a disciplined, collaborative process. Deliverables must be client-focused, persuasive, compliant, and aligned with established proposal strategy, processes, and standards.

Key Responsibilities

Proposal Development Team Leadership

• Directly manage, coach, and develop proposal writers.
• Establish clear expectations for writing quality, project execution, collaboration, responsiveness, and deadline management.
• Provide ongoing coaching, feedback, mentoring, and writing guidance.
• Identify individual and team development needs and help build proposal writing capabilities.
• Support onboarding and training of new proposal writers.
• Build greater consistency across the team in writing quality, client‑centric messaging, executive communication, and proposal execution.

Day-to-Day Workload & Assignment Management

• Manage daily proposal writer assignments and workload across the team.
• Assess capacity, proposal complexity, deadlines, and writer capabilities when assigning work.
• Monitor workloads and rebalance assignments when priorities or capacity change.
• Maintain visibility into upcoming deadlines, resource constraints, competing priorities, and delivery risks.
• Serve as the first point of escalation for writer capacity or delivery challenges.
• Coordinate coverage for planned and unplanned absences.
• Escalate significant capacity, prioritization, or delivery risks to the Head of Proposal Strategy & Management.

End-to-End Proposal Development Oversight

• Provide oversight across the portfolio of active proposal development assignments, from kickoff and strategy alignment through content development, review, and submission.
• Monitor progress against key milestones, content deadlines, review cycles, pens‑down dates, and submission requirements.
• Help writers resolve obstacles that could affect quality or delivery.
• Reinforce accountability for established proposal processes and deadlines.
• Ensure appropriate escalation when contributors or stakeholders miss critical deadlines.
• Provide hands‑on support for complex, high‑value, or time‑sensitive assignments when needed.

Writing & Quality Leadership

• Serve as the proposal development, writing, and editorial leader for the team.
• Review and strengthen executive summaries, strategic narratives, key proposal sections, and other high‑visibility content.
• Coach writers on translating complex product, technical, and business information into clear, compelling client value.
• Reinforce consistent standards for grammar, tone, structure, readability, brand alignment, and client focus.
• Help ensure responses clearly address client requirements, business objectives, differentiators, and opportunity‑specific win themes.
• Partner with the broader proposal team to support quality‑control and continuous‑improvement practices.

Team Operations

• Lead regular writer workload and assignment discussions.
• Maintain visibility into active assignments, upcoming demand, capacity, and resource needs.
• Identify recurring delivery challenges and recommend operational improvements.
• Reinforce consistent use of approved proposal processes, templates, content, and tools.
• Partner with proposal leadership on staffing, capacity planning, training, and team capability development.
• Support adoption of proposal technology, approved AI capabilities, and content‑management practices.

Cross-Functional Partnership

• Serve as the primary day‑to‑day leadership contact for issues involving proposal development resources, assignments, and delivery coordination.
• Help writers navigate competing stakeholder requests and priorities.
• Partner with Sales, Product, Pricing, Legal, Risk, Marketing, SMEs, and other contributors as needed to support successful proposal delivery.
• Escalate broader strategic, governance, organizational, or business‑priority decisions to the Head of Proposal Strategy & Management.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Communications, English, Journalism, Marketing, Business, or related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• 7+ years of experience in proposal writing, proposal management, business writing, marketing communications, or a related discipline.
• Demonstrated experience leading, coaching, or developing proposal writers or similar professional teams.
• Strong experience managing multiple concurrent RFPs, RFIs, questionnaires, or complex client deliverables.
• Exceptional writing, editing, proofreading, and executive communication skills.
• Strong workload, resource, and deadline management capabilities.
• Demonstrated ability to operate effectively in a fast‑paced, highly matrixed environment.
• Strong collaboration and stakeholder‑management skills.
• Ability to translate complex financial, technical, and product information into concise, client‑focused messaging.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in financial services, payments, treasury management, commercial banking, fintech, or another complex B2B environment.
• Experience with proposal management platforms such as Responsive.
• Experience developing executive summaries, strategic positioning, win themes, and value‑based messaging.
• Familiarity with proposal content‑management and knowledge‑management practices.
• APMP certification or related proposal‑management training.
• Experience using AI‑enabled tools to support proposal writing, editing, content development, or workflow efficiency.

Measures of Success

• Effective allocation and balancing of proposal writer workloads.
• Consistent on‑time completion of proposal assignments.
• High‑quality, accurate, compliant, and client‑focused proposal deliverables.
• Reduced delivery escalations and avoidable rework.
• Increased consistency across writers and proposal deliverables.
• Continued development of writer capabilities and bench strength.
• Effective adoption of proposal processes, tools, templates, and approved content.
• Strong collaboration between proposal writers and internal partners.

Develops and leads the marketing strategy for a specified area to deliver customer‑centric, multi‑channel marketing programs to maximize customer growth, retention and engagement. Identifies and communicates key performance indicators to ensure marketing strategies are yielding positive return on investment as well as to modify and optimize strategies as necessary. Manages professional employees and/or supervisors of complex support, production marketing team(s). Uses segment specific marketing strategies and media to launch marketing programs and/or products in collaboration with agencies, product, sales and technical teams. Successfully negotiates contracts and activates vendor relationships for the benefit of the Company and our brand. Adapts departmental plans and priorities to address agility, resource and operational challenges. Provides marketing support for alternative marketing channels such as tradeshows, seminars, industry sponsorships, etc. Collaborates with internal partners to ensure that all marketing programs are in accordance with all laws, regulations and bank policies.

Preferred Skills/Experience

• Advanced knowledge of assigned geographical area, competitive market, banking operations, and U.S. Bancorp's products and services
• Strong organizational, interpersonal and team building skills
• Excellent verbal, written and presentation skills
• Agility in thinking and delivery, along with proven ability to take direction in support of company goals
• Strong decision‑making and problem‑solving skills
• Proven ability to independently manage multiple projects and assignments that are completed on time and on budget
• Proficient computer navigation skills using a variety of software packages
• MBA or equivalent markers of high achievement are a plus

If there’s anything we can do to accommodate a disability during any portion of the application or hiring process, please refer to our disability accommodations for applicants (https://careers.usbank.com/global/en/disability-accommodations-for-applicants) .

Benefits

• Healthcare (medical, dental, vision)
• Basic term and optional term life insurance
• Short‑term and long‑term disability
• Pregnancy disability and parental leave
• 401(k) and employer‑funded retirement plan
• Paid vacation (from two to five weeks depending on salary grade and tenure)
• Up to 11 paid holiday opportunities
• Adoption assistance
• Sick and Safe Leave accruals of one hour for every 30 worked, up to 80 hours per calendar year unless otherwise provided by law

Review our full benefits available by employment status here (https://careers.usbank.com/global/en/benefits/us) .

U.S. Bank is an equal opportunity employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, religion, color, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or veteran status, and other factors protected under applicable law.

E-Verify

U.S. Bank participates in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security E-Verify program in all facilities located in the United States and certain U.S. territories. The E-Verify program is an Internet-based employment eligibility verification system operated by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Learn more about the E-Verify program (https://careers.usbank.com/verification-of-eligibility-for-employment) .

The salary range reflects figures based on the primary location, which is listed first. The actual range for the role may differ based on the location of the role. In addition to salary, U.S. Bank offers a comprehensive benefits package, including incentive and recognition programs, equity stock purchase 401(k) contribution and pension (all benefits are subject to eligibility requirements). Pay Range: $133,365.00 - $156,900.00

U.S. Bank will consider qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records for employment. U.S. Bank conducts background checks consistent with applicable local laws, including the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance and the California Fair Chance Act as well as the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance. U.S. Bank is subject to, and conducts background checks consistent with the requirements of Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (FDIA). In addition, certain positions may also be subject to the requirements of FINRA, NMLS registration, Reg Z, Reg G, OFAC, the NFA, the FCPA, the Bank Secrecy Act, the SAFE Act, and/or federal guidelines applicable to an agreement, such as those related to ethics, safety, or operational procedures.

Applicants must be able to comply with U.S. Bank policies and procedures including the Code of Ethics and Business Conduct and related workplace conduct and safety policies.

Posting may be closed earlier due to high volume of applicants.