Senior Proposal Manager

Appian Corporation; McLean (VA); On-site; USD 100,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) plan with company match

Paid parental leave

Medical, dental, and vision plans

Job summary

Appian is seeking a Senior Proposal Manager in McLean, VA to lead a regional team of proposal professionals and accelerate enterprise deal velocity. You will mentor talent, align with regional sales, and drive compliant, high-quality proposals across multi-million dollar opportunities.

You will shape content strategy, improve processes, and directly impact revenue in the AI-Powered Process Automation space while collaborating with Sales, Legal, and Technical teams.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree; writing-intensive fields preferred.
• 8+ years direct proposal development in a fast-paced corporate environment.
• 5+ years in direct public sector proposal development.
• Thorough understanding of U.S. federal and state/local procurement processes.
• Strong writing, editing, document formatting, and executive communication.
• High proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, PowerPoint, Excel).

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and mentor a regional team of proposal professionals through performance management, career mapping, hiring, and enablement.
• Manage regional team workloads and resource allocation for balanced utilization and flawless proposals.
• Collaborate with regional sales leadership to align on regional revenue targets.
• Directly manage complex or high-value proposal efforts when needed at executive level.
• Governing repositories and ensuring reusable proposal collateral and boilerplate material.
• Drive planning, workforce development, and initiatives around proposal processes and tool adoption.

Skills

Proposal management

Public sector proposals

Team leadership

Executive communication

Microsoft Office Suite

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Ombud

Loopio

RFPIO

Job description

Here at Appian, our values of Intensityand Excellencedefine who we are. We set high standards and live up to them, ensuring that everything we do is done with care and quality. We approach every challenge with ambition and commitment, holding ourselves and each other accountable to achieve the best results. When you join Appian, you’ll be part of a passionate team dedicated to accomplishing hard things, together.

Lead a high-performing team of proposal strategists to orchestrate winning, high-stakes narratives that secure global enterprise accounts and drive market share.

ABOUT THE TEAM

The Appian Proposal Team is a high-impact, global function dedicated to fueling our corporate growth within the AI-Powered Process Automation market. We act as the critical bridge between our cutting-edge technology and global enterprise clients, ensuring our value proposition is clearly articulated in competitive bidding scenarios. By partnering closely with Sales, Legal, and Technical teams, we turn complex technical capabilities into winning business solutions.

THE OPPORTUNITY

As a Senior Proposal Manager at Appian, you step into a pivotal leadership role where your people management skills directly accelerate our enterprise sales velocity. This is your opportunity to build, mentor, and scale a world-class regional proposal team while acting as a strategic advisor to regional sales executives on multi-million dollar deals. At Appian, you will have the autonomy to drive operational process improvements, shape content strategy, and directly impact revenue generation within the high-growth Enterprise-Grade Orchestration space.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Lead, coach, and mentor a regional team of proposal professionals through active performance management, career mapping, hiring, and continuous enablement.
• Manage regional team workloads, staffing assignments, and resource allocation to ensure balanced utilization and flawless proposal execution across the region.
• Collaborate closely with regional sales leadership and stakeholders to anticipate proposal-support needs and align on regional revenue targets.
• Directly manage complex or high-value proposal efforts when workload capacity demands or deal complexity requires executive-level intervention.
• Govern internal content- and knowledge-management repositories, ensuring the creation, maintenance, and strategic improvement of reusable proposal collateral and boilerplate materials.
• Drive organizational planning, workforce development, and strategic initiatives related to proposal processes, compliance, and tool adoption.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree (degrees in writing-intensive fields such as English, Communications, or Business are preferred).
• 8+ years of direct proposal development experience in a fast-paced corporate environment.
• 5+ years of direct public sector proposal development experience.
• Possess a thorough understanding of the U.S. federal and state/local government procurement processes.
• Demonstrated ability to motivate, lead, and develop high-performing teams while executing rigorous RFP/Proposal lifecycle best practices.
• Exceptional skills in professional writing, editing, document formatting, and executive stakeholder communication.
• High level of proficiency with the Microsoft Office Suite (Word, PowerPoint, Excel).

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience with Google Suite, enterprise CRM systems, and dedicated Proposal Management Systems (e.g., Ombud, Loopio, Responsive/RFPIO).
• Experience working complex deal captures.
• Proven experience leading strategic change management, technology adoption, or process optimization within a sales operations ecosystem.
• We value experience with enterprise SaaS platforms or Federal Systems Integrators.

#ProposalManagement#RFPOperations#GovernmentContracting#SalesOperations#EnterpriseSoftware

#LI-MB1

The base salary range per provided represents a good faith and reasonable estimate of the range at the time of posting. Actual compensation will be dependent on a number of factors including, but not limited to, the candidate’s relevant work experience, qualifications, internal peer equity, and market and business conditions that exist when extending an offer. Sales roles may be eligible to participate in a commission plan subject to the terms of the applicable plans and policies.

In addition, Appian provides generous benefits offerings that include a 401(k) plan with company match, flexible time off, paid parental leave, medical, dental, and vision plans, life insurance, disability insurance, wellness programs, flexible spending accounts, health savings account contributions, an employee referral bonus program, and learning and development resources. Certain positions may be eligible for equity awards.

Pay and benefits are subject to change at any time, consistent with the terms of any applicable compensation, commission, bonus, or benefit plans.

Base Salary Range

$100,000 - $200,000 USD

Tools and Resources

• Training and Development: During onboarding, we focus on equipping new hires with the skills and knowledge for success through department-specific training. Continuous learning is a central focus at Appian, with dedicated mentorship and the First-Friend program being widely utilized resources for new hires.
• Growth Opportunities: Appian provides a diverse array of growth and development opportunities, including our leadership program tailored for new and aspiring managers, a comprehensive library of specialized department training through Appian University, skills based training, and tuition reimbursement for those aiming to advance their education. This commitment ensures that employees have access to a holistic range of development opportunities.
• Community: We’ll immerse you into our community rooted in respect starting on day one. Appian fosters inclusivity through our 8 employee-led affinity groups . These groups help employees build stronger internal and external networks by planning social, educational, and outreach activities to connect with Appianites and larger initiatives throughout the company.

Appian offers a comprehensive benefits package designed to support your health, wellbeing, and financial future. Benefits may include health coverage, Employee Assistance Program (EAP) with free mental health support, life and disability insurance, an Employee Stock Purchase Program (ESPP), a retirement/pension plan, wellness dollars, tuition reimbursement, family-forming benefits and more. Benefits vary by country—please ask your Talent Acquisition contact for details specific to the location you are applying to.

About Appian

Appian provides AI automation for the most important business processes at the world’s largest organizations. Our platform is known for its unique power, reliability, and scale. We’ve been automating processes for more than 25 years and have proven expertise in enterprise operations. For more information, visit appian.com .

Appian is an equal opportunity employer that strives to attract and retain the best talent. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

Appian provides reasonable accommodations to applicants in accordance with all applicable laws. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please contact us by email at [e-mail] . Please note that only inquiries concerning a request for reasonable accommodation will be responded to from this email address.

Artificial Intelligence & Automated Screening Notice:

We use artificial intelligence tools to assist our recruiting team in reviewing applications, screening and filtering resumes, assessing qualifications, and identifying whether a candidate possesses skills relevant to this position. The system evaluates candidate-provided data against predefined job requirements and competencies. Please be advised that this process does not involve automated rejection or hiring decisions. AI tools function as preliminary screening aids. Human personnel review all recommendations and retain final authority over who advances in the hiring process.

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