Senior Proposal Manager

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

The Senior Proposal Manager is responsible for the overall leadership, coordination, and management of activities associated with the development, review, approval, and administration of proposals and budgets in response to Requests for Proposals (RFPs). This role manages the proposal process from initial RFP intake through final submission, working cross-functionally with Business Development, Operations, Finance, Legal, Contracts, and other subject matter experts to ensure proposals are accurate, competitive, compliant, and aligned with sponsor requirements. The Senior Proposal Manager supports the development of proposal strategy, pricing assumptions, budget models, timelines, vendor inputs, and related documentation while driving accountability, meeting deadlines, and maintaining high standards of quality, consistency, and professionalism throughout the proposal lifecycle.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Develop high-quality, compliant, and client-focused written business proposals and budgets for CRO, CRU, and Corelab services in response to Requests for Proposals (RFPs), Requests for Information (RFIs), and related sponsor requirements.
• Coordinate, organize, and lead the proposal team from RFP intake and kick-off through final submission, sponsor follow-up, and contract award, ensuring all contributors understand scope, timelines, responsibilities, and deliverables.
• Establish, maintain, and manage proposal development process, communications, schedules, and deadlines to ensure timely completion of proposal and budget deliverables.
• Monitor proposal progress, identify activities that are behind schedule, assess barriers to completion, and develop and implement effective corrective action plans to keep deliverables on track, escalating to team leadership where needed.
• Schedule and conduct RFP Strategy Calls, proposal and budget review meetings with management and cross-functional stakeholders to confirm assumptions, resolve open items, evaluate risks and ensure alignment with sponsor requirements and internal standards, and obtain final approvals.
• Prepare and distribute meeting minutes, action items, and follow-up communications to bid team members to support accountability, timely decision-making, and completion of assigned tasks.
• Incorporate senior management feedback, operational input, pricing assumptions, and final review comments into proposal text, budgets, and supporting documentation.
• Incorporate vendor budgets and vendor assumptions into Clinilabs' budget, and related proposal text to support complete and accurate sponsor submissions.
• Create, review, edit, and finalize proposal and budget drafts to ensure accuracy, completeness, consistency, compliance, formatting quality, and alignment with the approved scope of work, including thorough self-QC.
• Assemble, submit, file, and archive final proposal materials, budgets, correspondence, assumptions, and supporting documentation in accordance with departmental processes and applicable recordkeeping requirements.
• Maintain and update proposal workload tracker to support visibility into team workload, proposal volume, and turnaround times.
• Serve as a primary liaison between Business Development, Operations, Finance, Legal, Contracts, and other bid team members throughout the proposal lifecycle.
• Mentor, train, and support junior members of the proposals team, including providing guidance on proposal processes, budget development, sponsor communications, quality expectations, and departmental best practices.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Salary range between $115,000 - $125,000. Final compensation is based on skills, experience, location, and overall expertise.

TRAVELING

Between home office and New Jersey office, as needed.

Approximately 5% travel as required.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in business, life sciences, healthcare administration, finance, or a related field, with at least five years of experience in proposal development, proposal management, budgeting, contracts, or related clinical research operations; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Strong knowledge of the clinical research industry, including Phase I-IV clinical trials, CRO operations, sponsor expectations, RFP/RFI processes, proposal lifecycle management, and clinical trial budget development.
• Demonstrated ability to develop high-quality, compliant, and client-focused proposal text and budgets, including full-service clinical trial budgets, clinical site budgets, and Corelab budgets, in support of global clinical trials; knowledge of regulatory and site start-up budget requirements for European trials is mandatory.
• Ability to review and interpret protocols/SOAs, RFP materials, sponsor requirements, bid grids, assumptions, scopes of work, vendor inputs, and operational feedback to support accurate pricing, comprehensive budget development, risk identification, proposal strategy, and alignment with clinical trial operational requirements.
• Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Excel, including the ability to develop, maintain, and analyze complex budget models, pricing tools, formulas, client bid grid mapping to support proposal development, costing, and financial decision-making.
• Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, SharePoint, and proposal development software.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to edit, proofread, summarize complex information, and prepare clear, accurate, and persuasive proposal materials for internal and external stakeholders.
• Strong organizational and project management skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities, establish timelines, coordinate deliverables, track progress, and meet aggressive deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to lead cross-functional proposal teams, facilitate meetings, assign responsibilities, follow up on action items, and collaborate effectively with Business Development, Operations, Finance, Legal, Contracts, and senior management.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to identify risks, resolve barriers to proposal completion, reconcile budget assumptions, and recommend practical solutions.
• Demonstrated attention to detail, accuracy, confidentiality, sound judgment, and service orientation when managing sensitive client, financial, contractual, and operational information.
• Ability to build and maintain effective working relationships with internal teams, sponsors, vendors, subcontractors, and other external partners through professional communication, collaboration, and personal influence.
• Experience implementing or improving proposal templates, costing tools, budget models, standardized procedures, process documentation, and departmental best practices is preferred.