Apply on Employer Site

ECS · 13 hours ago

Director of Proposal Operations

Fairfax, VA

Full-time

Hybrid

Director/Executive

10+ years exp

ECS is a leading mid-sized provider of technology services to the United States Federal Government. They are seeking a Director of Proposal Operations to lead and manage the full proposal development lifecycle process, ensuring high-quality and compliant proposals. The role involves strategic oversight, collaboration across departments, and mentoring a team of proposal professionals.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)Cloud InfrastructureComplianceConsultingCyber SecurityInformation TechnologyMachine LearningSecuritySoftware

No H1B

Security Clearance Required

U.S. Citizen Only

Responsibilities

Direct, mentor, and coach the proposal team, including Proposal Managers, Analysts, Technical Writers, and Graphic Designers, fostering professional growth and development

Grow next generation proposal talent with heavy emphasis and adoption in generative AI

Develop and implement proposal strategies in collaboration with corporate leadership, ensuring alignment with company strategic goals and objectives

Be responsible for workload and schedule management and oversight of the entire Proposal Operations team

Lead job architecture design efforts across proposal job family, categories, and levels

Support corporate scaling initiatives to expand ECS proposal development capabilities

Improve, architect, implement, and govern the proposal development lifecycle to ensure maximum efficiency, compliance, and alignment with corporate strategic goals

Lead the development and continuous enhancement of a comprehensive Proposal Operations framework, maintaining base content libraries, templates, SOPs, and training materials

Champion and drive the integration of new proposal tools and technologies, specifically Generative AI, into the proposal process and provide guidance on effective use of AI for proposal development and prompt engineering techniques to maximize utility and quality output from proprietary AI tools

Conduct and lead debrief assessment meetings to discuss and analyze recent wins and losses, document lessons learned and develop strategies to drive continuous improvement

Deliver proposal-related training to growth teams when knowledge gaps exist

Proactively identify and develop strategies to mitigate proposal delivery and compliance risks

Ensure all proposals comply with federal regulations and customer requirements and are incorporated into a cohesive and persuasive form

Conduct quality reviews and continually improve quality review processes to ensure proposals are clear, concise, and compelling

Manage proposal resources, including staff, budgets, licensing, purchasing, surge suppliers, and external vendors. This includes determining and justifying the need for additional team members, developing position descriptions, and recruiting and making hiring decisions

Allocate resources effectively to meet proposal deadlines and objectives and judiciously communicate to leadership Proposal Center budget, workload, projected needs, and business issues

Support and champion Salesforce adoption as a proposal management and resource management tool

Monitor and understand the ECS enterprise pipeline and prioritize requests for resources to include supporting bids in capture

Regularly liaise with BU leadership and account managers throughout ECS to fuel greater engagement and drive value add to win deals

Weekend and evening hours and quick-turn projects are routinely required; On-site, in-person presence in Fairfax, VA, as needed

Work closely with Business Development, Capture Management, Solution Architecture, Contracts, Subcontracts, Pricing, and Technical Teams to develop and implement winning strategies

Facilitate communication across departments to ensure proposal alignment with customer pain points and requirements

Work with proposal managers, capture managers, solution architects, and delivery teams to develop a compelling proposal story

Qualification

Proposal ManagementFederal Contracting KnowledgeGenerative AI ExperienceLeadershipProposal Collaboration SoftwareProcess ImprovementShipley CertificationProject ManagementTeam ManagementCommunication Skills

Required

Bachelor's degree in Business, Communications, English, Marketing, or similar field (or 15 years of Federal proposal experience in lieu of degree)

Minimum of 10 years of progressive experience in proposal development responsibilities

Minimum of 5 years managing all types of solicitation responses, including full and open single and multi-award proposals, BPAs and IDIQs valued at $150M-$1B with various cost types including FFP, CPFF, T&M, CPAF, etc

Minimum of 5 years in a management/supervisor/leadership role

Experience managing a proposal development organization

Experience in managing multiple oral proposals and coaching multiple oral presentations teams and/or experience managing GSA FEDSIM proposals

Extensive knowledge of federal contracting and procurement processes across the federal government

Proven track record of winning complex federal contracts

Strong leadership, organizational, and project management skills

Excellent written and verbal communication abilities

Proficiency in proposal collaboration software, including MS SharePoint, MS Office, MS Teams, Adobe Acrobat, and proposal automation tools/applications

Shipley Certification or APMP Foundation certification or equivalent

1 or more years' experience leveraging Generative AI tools and prompt engineering for various aspects of the proposal development lifecycle process

Preferred

Experience managing 30+ team of proposal practitioners of DC Metro based and geographically dispersed

Master's degree in Business Administration, Management, Marketing, Project Management, Information Technology Management, or similar fields

APMP Practitioner, Capture Practitioner, or Professional certification

Formal training in Generative AI for proposals

APMP Micro Certifications

Demonstrated commitment to maintain, improve, and broaden knowledge and skills as evidenced by 20+ Continuing Education Units (CEUs)/Continuing Professional Development (CPDs) within the past two years

Early career serving as a proposal coordinator, proposal writer, or proposal graphics designer. Prior experience as a Capture Manager a plus

Prior experience building out and supporting bids requiring Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) development

DC Metro located candidates

TS clearance with SCI eligibility

Company

ECS

Glassdoor3.6

ECS is a fast-growing 4,000-person, $1.2B provider of advanced technology solutions for federal civilian, defense, intelligence, and commercial customers.

Founded in 2001

Fairfax, Virginia, USA

1001-5000 employees