Proposal Specialist

Cagents; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

CAI is seeking a Proposal Specialist to support all facets of proposal development and bid submissions. This dynamic role requires strategic thinking, flexible planning, and meticulous attention to detail to deliver high-quality proposals on time.

The ideal candidate has a BA/BS and at least 3 years in proposal creation, preferably within the pharmaceutical or professional services arena, with strong MS Word/Excel/PowerPoint skills and experience in CRM systems.

Qualifications

• BA or BS in English, liberal arts, business, engineering, marketing, or equivalent experience.
• Minimum 3 years of experience developing and producing proposals.
• Pharmaceutical industry or providing professional services to the pharmaceutical industry (preferred).
• Technical experience related to the services is highly desired.
• Strong interpersonal skills and experience collaborating with multi-disciplinary teams.
• Ability to work flexible schedules and shift priorities frequently while maintaining attention to detail and high quality standards.
• Ability to understand and organize large volumes of information.
• Effective proposal coordination skills, including planning, organization, communication, and resource management.
• Exceptional English written and verbal communication skills and professional demeanor.
• Must have strong Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint skills; CRM experience desired.
• Ability to work within Adobe and Microsoft templates and adhere to corporate standards.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with Practice Leaders, business development, and operations to achieve goals.
• Collect and assist with development of proposal responses with regional pursuit teams or solo.
• Review and measure quality of proposals written by others.
• Draft proposals using industry best practices and technical writing tailored for proposals.
• Assist with process improvements and lessons learned from after-action reviews.
• Lead the overall proposal development from creation to bid submission.
• Responsible for various response types including RFPs, RFIs, Cost Opinions, and Statements of Qualification.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

English communication

Attention to detail

Team player

Time management

Education

BA or BS in English, liberal arts, business, engineering, marketing, or equivalent experience

Tools

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft PowerPoint

CRM database

Job description

CAI is a professional services company established in 1996 that has grown year over year to nearly 800 people worldwide. For mission-critical and regulated industries that need to deliver critical solutions in high-stakes environments, we provide accelerated operational readiness and unparalleled performance at the highest standard through our rigorous approach, field-tested processes, and elite expertise developed over 30 years.

Our approach is simple because our Purpose informs everything we do:

We exist to be the trusted solution for our clients as they strive to build a better working world and improve the human experience.

Our Foundational Principles:

We act with integrity

We serve each other

We serve society

We work for our future

At CAI, we believe in a relentless dedication to excellence, pushing boundaries and surpassing expectations. From the beginning, we’ve challenged ourselves to do what others wouldn’t. Not just setting industry standards, but redefining them entirely. We are bold in our thinking and creative in our approach. We operate at the intersection of wisdom and technology and thrive when they come together with humanity.

For us, operational readiness isn’t simply a goal—it’s a way of life. Tomorrow demands to be at the forefront of today. We get there through tireless effort, precision, efficiency, and an unwavering belief that there is always room for advancement. We’re not interested in how it used to be done. We’re obsessed with how it will be done.

The Proposal Specialist assists with all aspects of proposal development and bid submissions, and the dedicated team that supports our field operations and business development personnel in the generation of proposals.

This is a dynamic position that requires strategic thinking, flexibility, planned and proactive approaches, and the ability to shift prioritiesfrequentlywhilemaintainingattention to detail and achievinghigh qualitystandards.The Proposal Specialistmust be able to prioritize, multi-task,andmanage time effectively under multiple deadlines and time constraintsunder the direction of the Director, Proposal Support.

Key Responsibilities:

Collaborate with each of ourPractice Leaders, businessdevelopmentand operations team members, as well as others to achieve the following:

Collect andassistwith the development ofproposal responses both collaboratively with regional pursuit team as well as being empowered to develop responses on your own

Review and measure the quality of proposals written by others.

Draft proposals usingindustrybest practices, technical writing skills, and language specifically suited for proposals.

Assistwith continuous process improvement duties, including participatingwithproposal after-action-review meetings, proposal process scoring, identification of lessons learned and improvements.

Responsible for a variety ofresponsetypes including detailed RFP responsesin proposal form, Requests for Information, Cost Opinions, and Statements of Qualification.

Lead the overall theproposaldevelopment from creation to bid submission.

Qualifications:

BA or BS in English, liberal arts, business, engineering, marketing, or equivalent experiencerequired.

Minimum3years of experience developing and producing proposals.

pharmaceutical industry or providing professional services to the pharmaceutical industry (preferred).

Technical experience related to the services is highly desired.

Strong interpersonal skills and experience collaborating with multi-disciplinary teams.

Ability to work flexible schedules (e.g., extra hours to meet deadlines, etc.) and able to shift prioritiesfrequentlywhilemaintainingattention to detail, meet deadlines, and achievehigh qualitystandards.

Ability to understand and organize large volumes of information

Effectiveproposalcoordination skills, including planning, organization, communication, and resource management skills.

ExceptionalEnglishwritten and verbal communication skills and professional demeanor – speaks clearly and concisely,listensand asks for clarification.

Must have strongMicrosoft Word,Excel,and PowerPoint skills. Customer relationship management database experience is also desired.

Ability to work within Adobe and Microsoft program templates andcomply withour corporate standards to present a consistent appearance/style.

Team player willing to stepinan assist team for a range of tasks

Initiates andmaintainscommunications with supervisors and team members