Proposal Specialist

U.S. Bank; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 120,000 - 141,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare

401(k)

Paid vacation

Parental leave

Disability insurance

Job summary

U.S. Bank is seeking a Proposal Specialist to manage end-to-end proposals, RFIs, and finalist presentations. You will orchestrate cross-functional teams, coordinate content, and drive timelines to deliver compelling, client-focused narratives that align with win strategies.

The role emphasizes strong writing, stakeholder management, and attention to governance and quality standards to maximize win rates and revenue growth across strategic opportunities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, English, Finance, or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience in proposal management, proposal writing, sales support, marketing, communications, or a related discipline.
• Experience managing complex, cross-functional RFP and proposal efforts.
• Strong project management, organizational, and prioritization skills.
• Exceptional writing, editing, proofreading, and communication abilities.

Responsibilities

• Own the full lifecycle of assigned RFPs, RFIs, and proposal opportunities from intake through final submission.
• Develop and manage proposal project plans, milestones, deliverables, and deadlines.
• Facilitate kickoff meetings and establish clear roles, responsibilities, and response schedules.
• Monitor progress, identify risks, elevate issues, and drive timely completion of all deliverables.

Skills

Proposal management

Project coordination

Written communication

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, English, Finance, or related field

Tools

RFPIO

Seismic

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.

Proposal Specialist Position Summary

The Proposal Specialist is responsible for managing the end-to-end delivery of Requests for Proposal (RFPs), Requests for Information (RFIs), proactive proposals, and finalist presentations for strategic client opportunities. This role serves as the project manager and central coordinator throughout the pursuit lifecycle, ensuring submissions and presentations are compliant, compelling, client-focused, and aligned to the overall win strategy. The Proposal Specialist partners closely with Sales, Product, Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), Pricing, Legal, Risk, Marketing, and other stakeholders to orchestrate proposal development, drive accountability, manage timelines, and deliver high-quality client-facing materials that enhance win rates and support revenue growth.

Key Responsibilities

End-to-End Proposal Management

• Own the full lifecycle of assigned RFPs, RFIs, and proposal opportunities from intake through final submission.
• Develop and manage proposal project plans, milestones, deliverables, and deadlines.
• Facilitate kickoff meetings and establish clear roles, responsibilities, and response schedules.
• Monitor progress, identify risks, elevate issues, and drive timely completion of all deliverables.
• Ensure adherence to proposal governance, quality standards, and approval processes.

Proposal Development & Storytelling

• Draft, edit, and tailor proposal responses to align with client requirements, business objectives, and win themes.
• Translate complex business, product, and technical information into clear, persuasive, client-focused narratives.
• Ensure proposals effectively articulate business outcomes, value propositions, competitive differentiation, and organization capabilities.
• Maintain consistency of messaging, branding, formatting, and quality across all proposal deliverables.

Cross-Functional Coordination

• Partner with Sales to understand client objectives, competitive dynamics, and opportunity strategy.
• Coordinate contributions from Product, Pricing, SMEs, Legal, Risk, Operations, Marketing, and other stakeholders.
• Drive stakeholder accountability for content completion, reviews, approvals, and deadlines.
• Facilitate review cycles and consolidate feedback from multiple contributors into a cohesive final response.

Finalist Presentation Management

• Lead the development and coordination of finalist presentations for strategic pursuits.
• Ensure alignment between written proposal responses and finalist presentation messaging.
• Collaborate with Sales and solution teams to build compelling presentation narratives, win themes, and client-specific value propositions.
• Manage presentation development, executive reviews, rehearsal sessions, and final production of presentation materials.
• Support presenter coaching and readiness to ensure a successful client-facing delivery.

Content & Knowledge Management

• Leverage proposal content libraries, templates, and reusable assets.
• Identify content gaps and partner with stakeholders to develop new content.
• Ensure content remains accurate, current, and aligned to approved messaging.
• Utilize proposal management technologies and AI-enabled tools to improve efficiency and consistency.

Continuous Improvement

• Participate in proposal debriefs, win/loss reviews, and process improvement initiatives.
• Recommend enhancements to proposal workflows, governance, quality assurance, and stakeholder engagement models.
• Help establish best practices that improve proposal effectiveness, speed, scalability, and overall win rates.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, English, Finance, or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience in proposal management, proposal writing, sales support, marketing, communications, or a related discipline.
• Experience managing complex, cross-functional RFP and proposal efforts.
• Strong project management, organizational, and prioritization skills.
• Exceptional writing, editing, proofreading, and communication abilities.
• Ability to influence stakeholders and drive accountability without direct authority.
• Strong attention to detail with a commitment to quality and accuracy.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting large, strategic, and highly competitive pursuits.
• Familiarity with proposal management platforms such as Responsive (RFPIO), Seismic, or similar tools.
• Experience developing executive-level presentations and finalist presentations.
• APMP certification or equivalent proposal management certification.
• Financial services, technology, payments, healthcare, or other complex B2B industry experience.

Success Measures

• On-time delivery of proposals and finalist presentations.
• Proposal quality and compliance scores.
• Finalist conversion and win rate performance.
• Stakeholder satisfaction and engagement.
• Proposal cycle-time reduction and process efficiency.
• Content reuse and quality improvement metrics.
• Adherence to proposal governance and quality standards.

The Proposal Specialist serves as the quarterback of the proposal process, ensuring every opportunity progresses from intake through submission and finalist presentation with a clear, compelling, and differentiated story that maximizes the likelihood of winning new business. Participates in the identification, design, development and implementation of assigned projects. Assigned projects may be general or systems related in nature. Interfaces with internal and external resources to ensure successful and timely completion in accordance with user needs. Participates in training users and evaluating the project. Manages performance of the project team and evaluates overall team performance. Preferred Skills/Experience - Comprehensive knowledge of assigned business line or functional area - Demonstrated management and leadership skills - Strong organizational and analytical skills - Advanced knowledge of project management - Ability to identify and resolve exceptions and to analyze data - Excellent verbal and written communication skills

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.

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.

Equal Opportunity Employer

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

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.

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: $119,765.00 - $140,900.00 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.

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 you thrive at every stage of your career. Try new things, learn new skills and discover what you excel at—all from Day One.