Proposal Specialist IV

AECOM; Missouri; On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation assistance not offered

In-person Day 1 onboarding required

Job summary

AECOM is looking for a Proposal Leader for the Federal Government sector. This role involves leading key proposals, guiding teams from pre-RFP positioning through interview stages, and ensuring the quality of deliverables.

The ideal candidate will have at least 6 years of proposal experience within Federal Civilian and/or DoD sectors, strong writing skills, and a collaborative attitude to support strategic goals.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of related proposal experience in Federal Civilian and/or DoD sectors.
• Strong understanding of effective proposal and presentation best practices.
• Ability to exercise discretion with confidential issues.

Responsibilities

• Lead key proposals from pre-RFP to interview stage.
• Collaborate with regional and BL teams on priority pursuits.
• Create detailed outlines and draft proposal content.

Skills

Strong proposal writing and editing skills

Leadership of multi-disciplinary proposals

Knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite

Experience with collaborative tools

Ability to manage multiple projects

Excellent interpersonal skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Journalism, English, or related field

Tools

Adobe InDesign

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft PowerPoint

Job description

Proposal Leader – Federal Government

Responsible for leading key proposals and presentations, providing support and guidance from pre‑RFP positioning through to interview stage, and leading a team of proposal staff that support our Federal Civilian and DoD Proposal teams.

Job Responsibilities

• Collaborate with regional and BL teams on identified priority pursuits, including pre‑positioning, capture, responses to RFQs and RFPs, and shortlist interviews.
• Report to the Marketing Team Lead within our Governments Marketing group.
• Lead large, complex, priority must‑win pursuits from capture through to interview stage.
• Facilitate workshops/sessions to support capture managers in developing win strategies.
• Analyze debriefs and apply lessons learned to enhance strategy and reviews.
• Create detailed annotated outlines, first‑draft content, compliance lists, and capture and proposal schedules.
• Write proposal sections such as cover letters, executive summaries, past performance sections, management approaches, and staffing sections.
• Participate actively in Go/No‑Go, capture strategy, and greenlight analyses and drive compliance with delegation of authority guidelines.
• Facilitate color reviews (pink and red team) for assigned pursuits, applying lessons learned to improve proposal and win plan.
• Serve as a reviewer on color reviews for priority pursuits led by others.
• Ensure quality and compliance of deliverables.
• Support debriefs and gather client feedback on proposals to demonstrate continuous improvement.
• Maintain proposal and project filing on the secure server and CRM; stay familiar with top IDIQs and project managers.
• Contribute to strategic planning that includes evaluating marketing intelligence, identifying customer concerns, and developing win strategies.
• Contribute to development and implementation of internal training programs on core processes, tools, and practices.
• Lead special projects involving BL staff as directed by the Governments Marketing Lead.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree, preferably in Journalism, English, Communications, Marketing or a related field, and 6+ years of related proposal experience, ideally within the US Federal Civilian and/or DoD client sectors or equivalent.
• Working knowledge of and interest in the A/E industry, including AECOM’s Federal clients, projects, and competitors.
• Evidence of successful leadership of multi‑disciplinary or multi‑geography proposals valued >$20 million.
• Thorough understanding of effective proposal and presentation best practices and tools.
• Demonstrated experience applying industry best practices and procedures to support positioning and client or business development processes.
• Strong proposal writing and editing skills, including grammar and style.
• Strong working knowledge of desktop publishing software (Adobe Creative Suite), graphics programs (InDesign, Illustrator, Acrobat, Photoshop), word processing (Word), spreadsheet (Excel), and presentation (PowerPoint).
• Working knowledge of collaborative tools such as Microsoft Teams and SharePoint.
• Initiative, skill, and personal commitment to manage multiple projects and details concurrently.
• Professional demeanor and excellent interpersonal skills.
• Ability to exercise discretion with confidential/sensitive issues.
• Ability to work independently and with others.
• Diplomacy with peers and internal clients in handling challenging situations.
• Resourceful problem solver.

Preferred Qualifications

• 8+ years of related proposal experience, ideally within the US Federal Civilian and/or DoD client sectors.
• APMP/SMPS certification.
• Understanding of CRM, Salesforce experience.

Additional Requirements and Benefits

• US citizenship required.
• Relocation assistance and/or per diem not offered.
• All newly hired employees must attend an in‑person Day 1 onboarding at an AECOM office location as a condition of employment.

EEO Statement

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we believe in your potential and keep all your information confidential according to EEO guidelines. All information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.