Pursuit Lead, Proposals for Construction & Water

Wharton-Smith, Inc.; Sanford (FL); On-site; USD 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

Wharton-Smith Construction Group is seeking a Proposal Specialist to join our Sanford, FL team. You will lead pursuit efforts for commercial construction and water/wastewater projects across the Southeast, managing all proposal phases from strategy to delivery.

The ideal candidate has 3–5 years in proposal development, pursuit management, and marketing, with strong writing, editing, and presentation skills. This role reports to the Marketing Manager and may require travel and overtime.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications, English, Business Administration, or a related field; or equivalent professional experience.
• 3-5 years of experience in proposal development, pursuit management, marketing, or related disciplines.
• Construction, Architecture, Engineering, or related industry experience is highly desired.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary pursuit teams and coordinating proposal efforts.
• Experience preparing and coaching teams for formal interviews and presentations.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to interact effectively at all organizational levels.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to collaborate, negotiate, and build consensus among diverse stakeholders.
• Proven ability to write, proofread, edit, and organize proposal and presentation content.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively while managing multiple priorities and deadlines.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
• Ability to travel up to 15%.
• Must be authorized to work for a U.S. employer.
• Fluency in English required.

Responsibilities

• Under the direction of the Marketing Manager, coordinate, compile, and track proposal materials to meet client deadlines and ensure all proposal requirements are fully satisfied throughout the pursuit lifecycle.
• Lead the preparation, production, and delivery of proposals, qualifications packages, presentations, and other marketing documents.
• Write and edit project summaries, staff resumes, project descriptions, and other supporting pursuit content.
• Ensure proposal materials align with client requirements, corporate branding standards, and industry best practices.
• Proofread, edit, and standardize proposal content for grammar, spelling, formatting, consistency, and overall quality.
• Maintain and update project information databases and marketing resource libraries throughout proposal, construction, and post-construction phases.
• Prepare and coach teams for formal interviews, shortlist presentations, and client selection meetings.
• Facilitate and lead pursuit strategy meetings with multidisciplinary teams.
• Manage multiple concurrent pursuit efforts while maintaining schedules and deliverable deadlines.
• Attend project milestone events for assigned projects.
• Participate in shortlist interviews and final client selection presentations.
• Coordinate award submissions and industry recognition programs.
• Support general marketing and communications initiatives as assigned.
• Some travel and overtime will be required.

Skills

Proposal development

Pursuit management

Marketing

Leadership

Communication

Project management

Editing/proofreading

Collaboration

Education

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

Tools

Adobe Creative Cloud

InDesign

Photoshop

Illustrator

Microsoft Office

Job description

Wharton-Smith Construction Group is seeking a Proposal Specialist to join our Sanford, FL team. You will lead pursuit efforts for commercial construction and water/wastewater projects across the Southeast, managing all proposal phases from strategy to delivery.

The ideal candidate has 3–5 years in proposal development, pursuit management, and marketing, with strong writing, editing, and presentation skills. This role reports to the Marketing Manager and may require travel and overtime.