Senior Proposal Manager

Reports to: Director of BD | Location: Hybrid/3 Days in Office at Spry HQ 

The Senior Proposal Manager runs Spry’s proposals day to day, writes core sections, and helps shape the pursuits behind them. This person can take a bid from kickoff through submission without day-to-day direction, and also supports capture, deal assessment, and pipeline work.  

This role works directly with the Director of BD, who leads capture decisions, sets proposal strategy, and owns pricing. The Senior Proposal Manager owns the proposals themselves and stays involved at every stage, often on more than one pursuit at a time. When the Director is at events or with customers, this role runs the proposal day to day, from contributor check-ins through color reviews and submission. We want someone who communicates often, adapts easily when priorities shift, and fits their app roach to the person they are working with instead of forcing one process on everyone.  

What Your Day-to-Day Looks Like (Position Responsibilities)

Opportunity Sourcing, Qualification & Capture Strategy (20%)  

• Find opportunities in SAM.gov, GovWin, agency forecasts, and partner leads, and write short briefs on the ones worth a look.  

• Assess fit, competition, incumbency, and timing, and bring a bid/no-bid recommendation to the Director.  

• Research customers and competitors to shape capture plans, win themes, and teaming options.  

• Draft call plans and help prepare for customer meetings and industry days.  

• Help the Director set capture strategy on priority pursuits and adjust it as new information comes in.  

Proposal Writing & Volume Development (25%)  

• Write technical and management sections on priority pursuits, and own short RFI, RFQ, and task order responses.  

• Interview subject matter experts and turn rough notes into clear, compliant narrative.  

• Carry win themes and discriminators through every section so the response reads as one argument.  

• Write past performance narratives that tie Spry’s work to measurable outcomes.  

• Draft executive summaries and cover letters that make the case on the first page.  

Proposal Management & Compliance (30%)  

• Run kickoffs, set schedules and writing assignments, and build compliance matrices and annotated outlines.  

• Keep contributors on schedule, adjusting check-ins to how each person works best.  

• Prepare drafts for color team reviews and work agreed comments into the final version.  

• Handle formatting, final quality checks, and on-time portal submission.  

Pipeline Management & Reporting (10%)  

• Keep the CRM current with stages, due dates, and next steps for every tracked opportunity.  

• Prepare pipeline reports and help the Director run pipeline reviews.  

• Check that pricing volumes match the technical and management volumes, and flag gaps to the Director, who owns pricing.  

Content Library & Past Performance (10%)  

• Keep past performance summaries, resumes, and boilerplate current and easy to find in SharePoint.  

• Pull strong language from each bid into the library after submission.  

• Work with the Director so capture content and past performance write-ups stay consistent.  

Debriefs, Events & Ad Hoc Support (5%)  

• Request and document debriefs, then use them to fix what isn’t working in the process.  

• Attend selected industry days and events when it helps a pursuit, roughly 5% of the time.  

• Pick up ad hoc leadership requests tied to proposals and growth.

What Success Looks Like in This Role

• Proposals go out on time and compliant, without last-minute scrambles.  

• Bids keep moving when the Director is at events or with customers.  

• Drafts reach color reviews in good shape, so reviewers spend their time on strategy instead of cleanup.  

• The pipeline holds enough qualified opportunities to choose from, and weak ones get dropped early.  

• The Director spends less time on research, drafting, and CRM upkeep, and more time with customers.  

• Debrief feedback shows more evaluator strengths and fewer weaknesses over the first year.  

Required Qualifications

• 7+ years of federal proposal experience, including leading several proposals from kickoff to submission.  

• Strong writing is mandatory. Candidates share samples of volumes they wrote, and finalists complete a writing exercise.  

• Experience coordinating proposals, including compliance matrices, schedules, and color team reviews.  

• Experience helping shape capture strategy, win themes, and bid/no-bid recommendations.  

• Experience finding and qualifying federal opportunities in SAM.gov, GovWin, or similar tools, and supporting pipeline management in a CRM.  

• Working knowledge of FAR basics, Sections L and M, and common federal contract vehicles.  

• A clear, frequent communicator who stays steady when plans change and adjusts their approach to the people they work with.  

• U.S. citizenship and eligibility to obtain a security clearance. No active clearance is required; Spry sponsors clearances for eligible candidates.  

Preferred Qualifications

• APMP Practitioner or Shipley certification.  

• Experience at a small business where one person covered capture, proposal, and pipeline work.  

• Exposure to DoD, Federal Civilian, or National Security customers.  

• Experience reviewing pricing volumes for compliance and consistency with technical volumes.  

Targeted Growth Goals

• Goal 1: Clean, Clear, and Reportable Pipeline. Keeps the CRM current from first lead through submission, so pipeline reviews show where each pursuit stands.  

• Goal 2: Proposal Development & Win Support Objectives. Writes and coordinates proposals, so responses are compliant, well argued, and on time.  

• Goal 3: Growth & New Business Objectives. Helps a small team bid on more opportunities by finding and qualifying opportunities early and shaping strategy before the RFP drops.  

• Goal 4: Metrics-Driven Proof Points for Past Performance Database / Resume. Writes and maintains past performance narratives that tie Spry’s work to measurable outcomes.  

Why This Role Matters

• It puts one person on the full pursuit cycle, from finding a deal to submitting the response.  

• It gives the Director time back for bid decisions, pricing, and customer engagement.  

• It keeps capture and proposal work connected, so what we learn early shows up in the response.  

• It reduces reliance on consultants for research and core proposal work.