Proposal Engineer

Zutari; Pretoria; On-site; ZAR 550,000 - 850,000; Full time

Job summary

Zutari in Pretoria is seeking a Proposal Manager to provide operational, coordination, and administrative support to the Business Development Director. You will manage pipeline tracking, bid coordination, client research, and bid submissions, enabling the BD team to submit high-quality proposals on time.

You will coordinate inputs from technical, commercial, legal and partner teams, prepare briefing notes, and maintain proposal content and CVs.

Qualifications

• 5–10 years’ experience in mining, oil, gas or consulting.
• Experience supporting EOIs, RFQs, and RFP submissions.
• Exposure to proposal preparation, document management, and bid processes.
• Experience working with multidisciplinary teams (technical, commercial, legal).
• Familiarity with CRM systems, tender portals, and proposal tools advantageous.
• Experience in mining, oil, gas, infrastructure, or related sectors advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Lead and coordinate end-to-end bid processes for assigned opportunities.
• Translate RFPs and ToRs into structured, compliant proposals.
• Develop outlines, compliance matrices, win themes, and value propositions.
• Drive inputs from technical, commercial, legal, and partner teams.
• Maintain proposal tools, CVs, project sheets, case studies, and standard bid content.
• Ensure proposals are submitted on time and in line with client requirements.
• Maintain and track the Resources Business Unit pipeline.
• Log opportunities and support BD decision-making with market research.

Skills

Bid management

Proposal coordination

Stakeholder engagement

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in engineering / Quantity Surveying

Professional registration

Tools

CRM systems

Tender portals

Proposal tools

Job description

Description

Behind every transformative infrastructure project is a network of people, systems, and ideas working in sync.

We are a leading buildings, infrastructure engineering and advisory firm with over 90 years of experience across Africa and the Middle East. While our work shapes physical infrastructure, from schools to stadiums, dams to bridges, it is powered by the strength of our people and the systems that support them.

We are seeking individuals who bring clarity, structure, and insight to complex environments, enabling our teams to deliver meaningful, sustainable impact at scale.

Role overview

The Proposal Manager role provides operational, coordination, and administrative support to the Business Development Director.process. The role focuses on pipeline tracking, proposal coordination, client research, and bid support, ensuring efficient execution of the sales process. This role does not own client relationships or originate opportunities but enables the business development team to operate effectively by ensuring high-quality submissions, accurate reporting, and timely coordination across internal and external stakeholders.

Role responsibilities

Bid Management & Proposal Delivery – Primary Focus

• Lead and coordinate end-to-end bid processes for assigned opportunities.
• Translate RFPs and ToRs into structured, compliant, high-quality proposals.
• Develop proposal outlines, compliance matrices, win themes, and value propositions.
• Drive inputs from technical, commercial, legal, and partner teams.
• Maintain proposal tools, templates, CVs, project sheets, case studies, and standard bid content.
• Ensure proposals are submitted on time and in line with client requirements

Pipeline & Opportunity Management

• Maintain and track the Resources Business Unit pipeline.
• Apply structured qualification criteria to support go/no-go decisions.
• Report on pipeline health, deadlines, risks, values, probabilities, and next actions.
• Support opportunity shaping through research, positioning inputs, and internal coordination.
• Maintain accurate opportunity data in Client Relationship Management (CRM) systems and trackers.
• Support client engagement planning, preparation, and follow-up.
• Conduct client, market, competitor, and project research.
• Develop client and project intelligence packs to support BD decision-making.
• Identify new opportunities and log these for review by the Business Development Director.
• Prepare briefing notes, meeting agendas, and follow-up action trackers.

Technical Business Development Contribution

• Contribute to technical positioning by translating client needs into relevant Zutari solutions.
• Support preparation of project references, capability statements, team structures, and CV selections.
• Engage with technical teams to ensure proposal content reflects delivery capability.
• Support client-facing technical discussions where required and under BD leadership guidance.
• Assist with the setup of technical teams for bids and early-stage opportunities.
• Support pricing strategies by coordinating assumptions, exclusions, resource inputs, and commercial information.
• Assist in implementing growth strategies and business development priorities.
• Support preparation of commercial governance documentation.
• Contribute to business development process improvement, tools, templates, and reporting systems.
• Participate in win/loss reviews and support continuous improvement initiatives.
• Act as an interface between business development and technical teams to ensure timely information flow.Support resource mobilisation for proposals and early-stage opportunities.
• Track actions, responsibilities, deadlines, and dependencies across bid teams.
• Support utilisation through agreed technical, proposal, and business development tasks.
• Coordinate with Sales Enablement, technical teams, commercial teams, and leadership as required.
• 5–10 years’ experience in mining, oil, gas or consulting
• Bachelor’s degree in engineering / Quantity Surveying
• Professional registration
• Experience supporting EOIs, RFQs, and RFP submissions
• Exposure to proposal preparation, document management, and bid processes
• Experience working with multidisciplinary teams (technical, commercial, legal)
• Familiarity with CRM systems, tender portals, and proposal tools advantageous
• Experience in mining, oil, gas, infrastructure, or related sectors advantageous

We believe that a diverse workforce is key to our business success. We seek the best people for our jobs based on their skills, qualifications, and experience. We embrace the principle of equal opportunity in employment and we work towards eliminating all forms of unlawful discrimination in our employment practices. In support of diversity and the equal opportunity principle, preference will be given to individuals from designated groups within South Africa.