Senior Proposal Lead: Budgets & Strategy

Clinilabs; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 115,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

Clinilabs is seeking an experienced Senior Proposal Manager to lead the full lifecycle of client proposals and budgets from RFP intake through final submission.

You will collaborate with Business Development, Operations, Finance, Legal, Contracts, and subject matter experts to ensure compliant, high-quality submissions aligned with sponsor requirements. Travel between home office and New Jersey office, ~5% as needed.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in business, life sciences, healthcare administration, finance, or related field; 5+ years in proposal development, budgeting, or clinical research operations.
• Strong knowledge of CRO operations, RFP/RFI processes, and clinical trial budgeting.
• Ability to develop high-quality, compliant proposal text and full-service budgets for global trials.
• Experience with budget models, pricing assumptions, and vendor inputs.

Responsibilities

• Develop high-quality, compliant proposals and budgets for CRO, CRU, and Corelab services in response to RFPs/RFIs.
• Lead the proposal team from intake to final submission, ensuring clear scope, timelines, and deliverables.
• Establish and manage the proposal development process, schedules, and deadlines.
• Monitor progress, identify delays, and implement corrective actions to meet deadlines.
• Schedule strategy calls and reviews with stakeholders to confirm assumptions and approvals.
• Distribute meeting minutes, action items, and follow-up communications to drive accountability.
• Incorporate senior management feedback and vendor budgets into proposal text and documentation.
• Create, review, and finalize proposal drafts for accuracy and formatting quality.
• Assemble, submit, file, and archive final materials per departmental processes.
• Maintain proposal workload tracker for visibility into capacity and timelines.
• Mentor junior team members on processes, budgeting, and sponsor communications.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Skills

Cross-functional leadership

Proposal management

Budget development

Pricing strategy

Editing and written communication

Project management

Vendor coordination

Process improvement

Attention to detail

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor's degree in business, life sciences, healthcare administration, finance, or related field

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Word

PowerPoint

Outlook

SharePoint

Proposal development software

Job description

Clinilabs is seeking an experienced Senior Proposal Manager to lead the full lifecycle of client proposals and budgets from RFP intake through final submission.

You will collaborate with Business Development, Operations, Finance, Legal, Contracts, and subject matter experts to ensure compliant, high-quality submissions aligned with sponsor requirements. Travel between home office and New Jersey office, ~5% as needed.