Pursuit & Proposal Specialist

Arcadis U.S.Inc.; Sacramento (CA); On-site; USD 89,000 - 115,000; Full time

Job summary

Arcadis U.S. Inc. is seeking a Lead Proposal Manager in Sacramento, CA to drive pursuit strategy, craft competitive RFP responses, and coordinate across pursuit teams.

You will write and tailor content, interview technical staff, and ensure compliance with client requirements. The role requires 5+ years in A/E/C marketing/proposal work, strong writing and presentation skills, and proficient use of MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint and InDesign.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of A/E/C industry experience as a marketing, pursuit or proposal specialist
• Experience developing and writing proposals; thorough understanding of the RFP and proposal development processes
• Experience in capture planning / strategy development and implementation in the A/E/C industry is preferred
• Experience in persuasive writing and developing features, advantages and benefits
• Proficiency in MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint
• Experience with Adobe Creative Suite preferred, especially InDesign
• Working knowledge of Office365 Applications, SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams preferred
• CPSM or APMP Certification is preferred but not required

Responsibilities

• Lead Pursuit/Proposal management from kickoff through proposal development and interview prep, ensuring RFP requirements are met
• Write new text or tailor existing materials; interview staff; incorporate win/capture info into content
• Support interview preparation and attend client pre-proposal/debrief meetings
• Track debrief feedback and competitor proposals; provide insights for future pursuits
• Develop and implement win strategies; create compelling storyboards
• Conduct market research on opportunities, clients, projects, and competitors
• Collaborate with marketing/communications; support campaigns, awards submittals, events, white papers

Skills

Leadership

Proposal writing

Client communication

Strategic planning

MS Word/Excel/PowerPoint

Adobe InDesign

Collaboration

Time management

Education

Bachelor's degree in communications/marketing

Tools

MS Word

MS Excel

PowerPoint

Adobe InDesign

Office 365/SharePoint

Job description

Arcadis is the world’s leading company delivering sustainable design, engineering, and consultancy solutions for natural and built assets.

We are more than 34,000 people, in over 30 countries, dedicated to improving quality of life. Everyone has an important role to play. With the power of many curious minds, together we can solve the world’s most complex challenges and deliver more impact together.

Role Responsibilities/Activities:

• Pursuit and capture planning / strategy development and implementation (in partnership and collaboration with Pursuit Leaders as part of a pursuit team)
• Participate in client account planning and regional strategy efforts
• Manage development of comprehensive capture plans; develop and track action items and schedules to execute the plan
• Manage implementation of action plans to ensure the team is focused and engaged to increase win probability in advance of the RFP
• Develop and communicate effective win strategies and create storyboards
• Conduct market research and analysis on opportunities, clients, projects and competitors
• Support strategy, preparation and content development for key positioning/client meetings and events
• Proactively manage prequalification process and track targeted procurements

Proposal / Interview Phase:

• Serve as Lead Proposal Manager from kick-off meeting throughout the entire proposal development and interview preparation process, while complying with all RFP requirements, ensuring client needs are addressed and key messages are implemented (leveraging support from proposal coordinators and graphic designers)
• Write new text and/or tailor existing materials, interview staff/technical experts, incorporate win strategy/capture plan information into text, meet RFP requirements, edit content from other writers, and provide the most competitive RFP responses
• Support the interview preparation process
• Attend client pre-proposal and debrief meetings; share lessons learned and best practices across teams
• Track and organize debrief feedback and competitor proposals, provide insights for future pursuits

Other Responsibilities:

• Support proactive pipeline management in CRM
• Lead proactive management of regional project descriptions and staff resume data with support from coordinators
• Work with corporate Marketing/Communications group to support general marketing campaign and branding efforts, (i.e. award submittals, client events, white paper/presentation development, events/conferences, advertising, and public relations efforts, etc).

Required / Preferred Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of A/E/C industry experience as a marketing, pursuit or proposal specialist
• Bachelor's degree in communications, marketing, professional / technical writing, political science, English or a related field is required (or equivalent professional experience)
• Experience developing and writing proposals; thorough understanding of the RFP and proposal development processes is required
• Experience in capture planning / strategy development and implementation in the A/E/C industry is preferred
• Experience in persuasive writing and developing features, advantages and benefits required
• Proficiency in MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint required
• Experience with Adobe Creative Suite preferred, especially InDesign
• Working knowledge of Office365 Applications, SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams preferred
• CPSM or APMP Certification is preferred but not required

Skills & Abilities

The successful team member will be a high-energy and resourceful self-starter who demonstrates leadership skills and instincts. They should have an assertive, confident personality with the professional demeanor necessary to interact with clients, internal stakeholders, pursuit teams, teaming partners and others. Specifically, the successful candidate will offer:

• Leadership: Willingness and confidence to offer opinions and direction.
• Dependability: Excellent planning and organization skills - develops realistic action plans, uses time efficiently, and meets deadlines.
• Creativity: Strong creative, strategic, analytical, organizational and personal sales skills.
• Innovation: Demonstrate innovative thinking to improve/drive plans and ideas.
• Collaboration: Commitment to working with fellow marketing and proposal staff, marketing resource support staff, and client teams in an engaging, positive way.
• Agility: Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment - learns quickly and asks questions to develop a deep understanding of the organization.
• Quality & Results Orientation: Resourceful, accountable, motivated, energetic and results-oriented team player with a commitment to achieving goals and a strong service orientation.
• Market & Client Oriented: Has an external orientation and understanding that all opportunities start with knowledge of how to create value for our clients.
• Forward Thinking: Has the ability to motivate, lead by example, and encourage teamwork and effective cooperation. Demonstrates creativity, initiative, and the ability to think strategically and help teams develop and implement sound client and pursuit strategies.
• Excellent Communication & Listening Skills: The ability to prepare and present information to all levels of client and internal organizations and craft and execute clear messaging.
• Organized & Accountable: Excellent organizational skills and ability to coordinate the activities of various team members, hold people accountable, and prioritize tasks when faced with multiple priorities.
• Highly Ethical: Leads with a strong set of values aligned with Arcadis values, business principles and Health & Safety standards.

Why Arcadis?

We can only achieve our goals when everyone is empowered to be their best. We believe everyone's contribution matters. It's why we are pioneering a skills-based approach, where you can harness your unique experience and expertise to carve your career path and maximize the impact we can make together.

You'll do meaningful work, and no matter what role, you'll be helping to deliver sustainable solutions for a more prosperous planet. Make your mark, on your career, your colleagues, your clients, your life and the world around you.

Together, we can create a lasting legacy.

Join Arcadis. Create a Legacy.

Our Commitment to Equality, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging

We want you to be able to bring your best self to work every day. Our ambition is to be an employer of choice and provide a great place to work for all our people. We are an equal opportunity employer. We are dedicated to a policy of non-discrimination in employment on any basis including race, creed, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, citizenship status, disability, veteran status, or any other basis prohibited by law.

Arcadis offers benefits for full time and part time positions. These benefits include medical, dental, and vision, EAP, 401K, STD, LTD, AD&D, life insurance, paid parental leave, reward & recognition program and optional benefits including wellbeing benefits, adoption assistance and tuition reimbursement. We offer nine paid holidays and 15 days PTO that accrue per year. The salary range for this position is $88,800 - $115,000 . Actual salaries will vary and are based on several factors, such as experience, education, budget, internal equity, project and location.