Proposal Manager

HDR; Walnut Creek (CA); On-site; USD 81,000 - 132,000; Full time

Job summary

HDR is seeking a Proposal Manager for the Northern California Area Water Business Group to lead pursuit teams and craft winning strategies for drinking water and wastewater projects.

You will coordinate the development of proposals, manage schedules, and collaborate with internal staff and sub-consultants to deliver compelling narratives and graphics. Travel to client sites may be required, and a bachelor’s degree plus 5+ years of experience are expected.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of relevant industry experience.
• Self-starter with a history of completing projects with limited oversight.
• Experience in sales and developing effective win strategies.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office applications (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
• Proficient in Adobe Creative Cloud applications, including InDesign.

Responsibilities

• Lead pursuit teams to create win strategies and proposals.
• Coordinate planning, development, and production of proposals and submittals per RFx requirements.
• Attend meetings, document actions, establish schedules, matrices, and templates.
• Lead proposal kick-off and end-to-end development.
• Coordinate narratives, graphics, fees, and materials from internal staff and sub-consultants.
• Monitor progress and ensure deadlines are met.
• Develop client plans and long-term strategies to capture market share.
• Lead proposal quality reviews and debriefs.

Skills

Microsoft Office

Adobe InDesign

Written and verbal communication

Travel readiness

Education

Bachelor's degree in related field

Tools

Adobe Creative Cloud

Microsoft Office suite

Job description

At HDR, our employee-owners are fully engaged in creating a welcoming environment where each of us is valued and respected, a place where everyone is empowered to bring their authentic selves and novel ideas to work every day. As we foster a culture of inclusion throughout our company and within our communities, we constantly ask ourselves: What is our impact on the world? Watch Our Story:' https://www.hdrinc.com/our-story'

Each and every role throughout our organization makes a difference in our ability to change the world for the better. Read further to learn how you could help make great things possible not only in your community, but around the world.

We believe water is more than a resource; it's a shared responsibility. As part of our Water Business Group, you’ll help shape how communities manage water for generations to come. From delivering safe drinking water and treating wastewater responsibly to developing sustainable water supplies and protecting lives and property through flood control, your work will directly support public health, environmental sustainability, and infrastructure resilience. We bring together experts across disciplines to solve complex challenges with bold thinking and technical excellence. Whether you're modernizing aging systems or pioneering innovative approaches, your contributions will make a meaningful difference in people’s lives. This isn’t just a job, it's a chance to lead change, drive progress, and leave a lasting legacy.

Join a team that’s shaping the future of water infrastructure in Northern California. As a Proposal Manager for the Northern California Area Water Business Group (NorCal WBG), you’ll be part of a team that is at the forefront of driving innovation, building strategic partnerships, and winning meaningful work in drinking water, wastewater, and water resources planning and design. This isn’t just marketing; it’s about being part of a team that is creating sustainable solutions for communities and making a lasting impact.

Working in partnership with the NorCal WBG Marketing Services Manager, the Proposal Manager is responsible for leading pursuit teams to create effective strategies and messaging for NorCal WBG client pursuits, deliver top quality proposals and interviews, and partner with the business development team to meet our growth goals.

In the role of Proposal Manager, we'll count on you to:

• Lead pursuit teams in creating and implementing effective win strategies (capture planning)
• Lead the coordination of the planning, development, and production of proposals and submittals in accordance with RFx requirements
• In Coordination with pursuit team, attend meetings, document and distribute action items, establish proposal schedules, assignment matrices, compliance matrices, and proposal template
• Lead proposal kick-off meeting
• Coordinate the development of narrative, graphics, fees, and other necessary materials from both internal staff and sub-consultants as applicable.
• Communicate with proposal participants to track tasks against the schedule
• Monitor progress of the proposal process, with timely follow-up, to ensure internal proposal deadlines are being met
• Support the development and implementation of client plans, including long-term strategies to capture market share, as assigned
• Outline, write, format, and edit proposal content to make it coherent and in a united voice
• Support efforts to monitor our submissions against proposal best practices and industry standards, while considering process improvement opportunities
• Lead end-to-end process and proposal development for proposals, including document layout and print production
• Support the development of benefit statements, project profiles and standard material (graphics, org charts, etc.) for use in proposals, qualification submittals, etc.
• Maintain proposal content library using enterprise systems while adhering to information lifecycle governance
• Facilitate debriefs to identify improvement opportunities and to measure overall competitiveness
• Recognize and celebrate pursuit successes and milestones
• Assist team in development and preparation of interview materials, including slide decks, leave-behinds, question and answer preparation, team rehearsals, and technology
• Lead proposal quality efforts, review proposals and presentations, and participate in reviews as needed
• Perform other duties as needed.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a related field
• Deep knowledge of the A/E/C industry's standard approach to procurement of professional services
• Demonstrated ability to motivate and inspire others
• Ability and desire to travel and engage with others in-person
• Demonstrated experience in writing compelling content based on information from technical staff

Required Qualifications

• A minimum of 5 years relevant industry experience
• Demonstrated "self-starter" with a history of completing projects with limited oversight
• Experience in sales and developing effective win strategies
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Proficient in Microsoft Office applications, including Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint
• Proficient in Adobe Creative Cloud applications, including InDesign

What We Believe

HDR is our company. Together, we build on each other's life experiences and perspectives to make great things possible every day. This shapes our collaborative culture, encourages organizational trust and connects us closer to the clients and communities we serve.

Our Commitment

As employee owners, we all have a role in creating an inclusive environment where each of us is welcomed, valued, respected and empowered to bring our authentic selves to work every day.

We provide a comprehensive benefits package that promotes employee ownership, employee health, performance, and success, which includes medical, dental, vision, short and long-term disability, life insurance, an employee assistance program, paid time away, parental leave, paid holidays, a retirement savings plan with employer match, employee referral bonus and tuition reimbursement.

Stated benefits are for full-time regular positions. The expected compensation range for this position is $81,312.00 - $132,000.00 annually depending upon skills, experience, education and geographical location.

Primary Location:United States-California-Sacramento Other Locations:United States-California-Walnut Creek, United States-California-Folsom Industry:Marketing/Communications Schedule:Full-time Employee Status:Regular BusinessClass:Marketing and Admin Job Posting:Aug 12, 2026

At HDR, we are committed to the principles of employment equity. We are an affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer (https://www.hdrinc.com/equal-employment-opportunity-employer). We consider all qualified applicants, regardless of criminal histories, arrest and conviction records.