Vice President, Marketing (RFP)

adamsstreetpartners; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Adams Street Partners in Chicago seeks a VP, RFP & Business Communications to lead the global RFP, RFI, and DDQ program and to own executive-level content for firm-wide communications. This hybrid role partners with Investor Relations, Compliance, Investment teams, and senior leadership to drive strategy and quality.

The ideal candidate combines exceptional writing craft with strong business judgment, executive presence, and a track record of managing and developing teams in a fast-paced

Qualifications

• Senior leadership experience in a communications or marketing function.
• Demonstrated excellence in executive writing for complex proposals.
• Ability to lead and develop a high-performing RFP team across cross-functional partners.

Responsibilities

• Own Adams Street's global RFP, RFI, and DDQ program strategy and execution.
• Mentor and develop the RFP team with a focus on writing quality and business judgment.
• Balance workload and deadlines across a high-volume pipeline in a cross-functional setting.
• Serve as final quality control for high-stakes opportunities and governance.
• Drive content governance, process improvements, and reporting.

Skills

RFP writing

Team leadership

Executive writing

Content strategy

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor's degree or MBA (Communications/Marketing/Finance)

Tools

Content management system

AI-assisted drafting

Job description

Adams Street Partners ("Adams Street") is a global private markets investment manager that has nearly $76 billion* in assets under management. The firm is 100% employee-owned, which fosters a positive and unique culture of collaboration, intellectual rigor, integrity, and a commitment to professional development. For the eighth year in a row, Adams Street was named one of Pension & Investments' Best Places to Work in Money Management in 2025.

Employees operate as a single global team, integrating the expertise of the firm's investment professionals across five strategies: primary investments, secondary investments, growth equity, private credit, and co-investments. Adams Street is considered a private markets pioneer and was inducted into the Private Equity Hall of Fame in 2000.

The firm was founded more than 50 years ago, and clients include leading public and corporate pension plans, foundations, endowments, insurance companies, registered investment advisors, and high net worth individuals worldwide.

Adams Street has offices in Abu Dhabi, Austin, Beijing, Boston, Chicago, Hong Kong, London, Munich, Menlo Park, New York, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo and Toronto.

* As of June 30, 2026. Adams Street Partners' methodology to calculate Assets Under Management (AUM) is based on fund net asset value (NAV), plus unfunded commitments, plus leverage, but excluding the effect of subscription lines of credit. The prior AUM methodology was based on investor commitments minus commitments to fully liquidated underlying partnerships. Such change in methodology was effective July 2026; however, for periods shown prior to December 31, 2025, Adams Street continues to use the previous methodology. This updated methodology more closely aligns with (i) the amount of assets managed on behalf of investors and (ii) the amount of capital available to make direct and/or partnership investments. Amounts stated by investment advisers in regulatory filings ('regulatory AUM') have a prescribed methodology, which may, in some circumstances, differ from the methodology such adviser uses for other purposes, including marketing efforts. Additional information is available upon request.

VP, RFP & Business Communications

Adams Street Partners is seeking an accomplished Marketing & Communications leader to head our global RFP function within the Marketing organization. This is a senior leadership role for a proven writer and people manager who can both produce the firm's most complex, highest-stakes executive RFP responses and set the strategy, standards, and team structure that allow Adams Street to compete at scale as one of the world's premier private markets investment managers.

The ideal candidate combines exceptional writing craft with strong business judgment, executive presence, and demonstrated success managing and developing a team. While executive RFPs, RFIs, and DDQs remain the core of the function, this leader will also own a broader portfolio of firmwide business communications, partnering closely with Marketing, Investor Relations, Compliance, Investment teams, and senior firm leadership, including Partners.

This is a hybrid role based in Chicago, with a flexible mix of remote and in-office work.

What You Will Do

Team & Function Leadership

Own the strategy, quality, and day-to-day execution of Adams Street's global RFP, RFI, and DDQ program across all product lines and regions

Manage, mentor, and develop a team of RFP and Business Communications professionals, providing hands-on coaching on writing, business judgment, and career growth

Set priorities and allocate resources across the team's active pipeline, balancing workload, deadlines, and business priority across a high-volume, deadline-driven request queue

Serve as the primary point of escalation and final quality control for the most complex, highest-visibility, and largest-mandate opportunities

Represent the function in cross-functional governance forums and drive alignment on process, roles, and standards across Investor Relations, Investment teams, and Shared Services

Executive-Level Writing & Content Ownership

Produce and edit executive-level responses for the firm's most sensitive and complex RFPs, RFIs, DDQs, and firm awards

Clearly articulate Adams Street's investment capabilities, processes, performance, and thought leadership to institutional and wealth audiences

Partner directly with subject matter experts, senior Investment professionals, and Partners to translate complex investment concepts into clear, persuasive, client-ready messaging

Own governance and quality standards for the RFP and content management system, ensuring resources remain accurate, current, and consistent firmwide

Process, Technology & Reporting

Drive continuous improvement of RFP processes, tools, and content infrastructure (including content management and AI-assisted drafting platforms), identifying and implementing efficiency gains

Develop and present reporting