Proposal Specialist

University of Dayton; Dayton (OH); On-site; USD 60,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Dayton's Contract and Grants Office invites qualified applicants to apply for the Proposal Specialist position in Dayton, OH.

This role supports pre-award and post-award activities, managing proposal actions, contract review, and budgeting. You will advise researchers on sponsor terms, coordinate cost proposals, and ensure timely submission of compliant proposals. Strong Excel, communication, and cross‑functional collaboration are essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and three (3) years of relevant experience.
• Proficient with the Microsoft Office suite, especially Excel and Word.
• Ability to meet deadlines, strong attention to detail, and a focus on superior customer service.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, planning, problem-solving, analytical, and project management skills
• Must be able to manage a consistent workload in a deadline driven environment.
• Ability to build work relationships among a diverse workforce at all levels.
• Experience with proposal pricing or financial budgets.
• Due to the requirements of our research contracts with the U.S. federal government, candidates for this position must be a U.S. citizen.

Responsibilities

• Perform proposal management tasks with limited supervision.
• Coordinate proposal activity, review RFPs, and develop cost proposals.
• Advise technical staff on proposal requirements and ensure submission of compliant proposals.
• Provide direction and training to researchers in budgeting and sponsor terms and university policies.
• Review contracts, purchase orders, and other award documents; identify and resolve issues.

Skills

Bachelor's degree

Excel proficiency

Attention to detail

Communication skills

Project management

Customer service

Deadline driven

Cross-functional collaboration

Proposal pricing experience

U.S. citizen

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business, Accounting, Finance, or related field

Tools

Deltek Costpoint

Excel

Microsoft Word

Job description

Job No: 503927
Work Type: Staff Full Time (1500 hours or greater)
Location: Dayton, OH
Category: Research Institute Staff
Department: CGO Digital - 250244
Pay Grade: P2 - Exempt
Advertised: October 05, 2026
Applications close: October 16, 2026

Position Summary:

Put Your Proposal Expertise to Work Where It Matters Most. UDRI's Contract and Grants office invites qualified applicants to apply for our Proposal Specialist opening!

The Proposal Specialist supports pre-award and post-award activities for the Contracts and Grants Office. The major responsibilities of the position are to perform, with limited supervision, tasks in the key areas of proposal management, contract
negotiation and contract oversight. The Proposal Specialist will manage proposal activities including reviewing RFPs, coordinating proposal activity, developing cost proposals, advising technical staff on proposal requirements, and overseeing preparation and submission of compliant proposals. Provide direction, training, and assistance to researchers in the development of proposals, including but not limited to budgeting, interpretation of sponsor terms and policies, and University policies and procedures; obtain all necessary clearances and authorization prior to submission. The Proposal Specialist will be responsible for the review of contracts, purchase orders, and other award documents. Identifying issues and working with the appropriate parties in seeking resolutions.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree and three (3) years of relevant experience.
• Proficient with the Microsoft Office suite, especially Excel and Word.
• Ability to meet deadlines, strong attention to detail, and a focus on superior customer service.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, planning, problem-solving, analytical, project management and customer service skills
• Must be able to manage a consistent workload in a deadline driven environment.
• Ability to build work relationships among a diverse workforce at all levels.
• Experience with proposal pricing or financial budgets.
• Due to the requirements of our research contracts with the U.S. federal government, candidates for this position must be a U.S. citizen.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor's in Business, Accounting, Finance, or related field
• Two years of experience developing proposal pricing or financial budgets.
• Experience in reading, analyzing, and interpreting contractual documents and purchase order terms and conditions
• Experience with reviewing, analyzing, and interpreting request for proposal, requests for information, and solicitation guidelines
• Experience with Deltek Costpoint
• Proficient with the Microsoft Excel (Lookup Functions, IF statements, Pivot Tables, etc.)
• Proficient with the Microsoft Word (Formatting, Table of Contents, etc.)
• Experience with various federal government contracting agencies, including DOD and GSA.

Closing Statement:

Informed by its Catholic and Marianist mission, the University is committed to the dignity of every human being. Informed by this commitment, we seek to increase diversity in all of its forms, achieve fair outcomes, and model inclusion across our campus community. The University is committed to policies of affirmative action designed to increase the employment opportunities of individuals with disabilities and protected veterans in compliance with the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1973.

• Staff Full Time (1500 hours or greater) 1