Proposal Writer Job Descriptions, Average Salary, Interview Questions

We are searching for a proposal writer to join our team of writers at [Your Company Name] in creating engaging and persuasive proposals. A proposal writer is responsible for gathering information, formatting each proposal according to company guidelines, and obtaining approval before sending proposals out to sources. You must have excellent organizational skills, work well under deadlines, and be able to communicate effectively in writing. The perfect candidate for this position cares about facts and details as well as writing in a convincing manner.

Typical duties and responsibilities

• Attend kickoff meetings to determine project scope
• Help create project schedules and deadlines
• Conduct research
• Edit documents for accuracy and clarity
• Incorporate feedback and revisions
• Collaborate with graphic designers during layout
• Present proposals to potential investors and business partners

Education and experience

This position requires a bachelor’s degree in journalism, english, mass communications, or a related field.

Required skills and qualifications

• Strong attention to detail
• Ability to adhere to brand voice, tone, and style guidelines
• Excellent organization and communication skills
• Solid background in Microsoft Word and Excel
• Strong interpersonal and presentation skills
• Ability to work on tight deadlines

Preferred qualifications

• 8+ years of prior relevant experience
• Exceptional written and oral communication skills

The proposal writer is responsible for developing winning proposals through strategic messaging, ensuring we’re articulating the best story and value to clients in compelling and differentiated ways, developing innovative deliverables to visually tell that story, and strong project management.

Are you a match?

• You are endlessly curious – Don’t know something? You Google it. Meet someone in a completely foreign profession? You ask questions until you know every aspect of what it’s like. Your ultimate research topic? Developing skills to live to your fullest potential
• You are extremely resourceful – You believe answers are just lying in wait and so you look under every proverbial rock
• You adore crafting a great story and you speak human – You see how facts and figures can come together to be compelling and persuasive. You strongly dislike the word “utilize” and love it when you get to write in a more conversational style
• You think two minds are better than one – while you take pride and ownership of your work, you love it when collaborating improves the end result
• You catch the details – You aren’t one of those people who sees one question in an email, but misses the other two. You check your list. In fact, you check it twice
• You are “all over it” – You self-start. Even if you can’t do something right away, you’ll email the person to let them know you’ll be on it very soon. You know how to lead the horse to water and you kill it with stellar communication and a well-thought out plan
• Word is your friend – You know all the ins and outs and lovingly work around every glitch
• You are an adrenaline junkie – Pressure? That only makes you focus better

Essential duties and responsibilities

• Proposal strategy and writing – With limited supervision or guidance, help pursuit teams identify winning strategies by understanding the buyer’s needs, challenging the status quo, and creating proposals that are customized and tailored to the decision maker
• Proposal management – Own project management by creating timelines/responsibility assignments and driving continuous communication. Identify and remove barriers of progress, escalating issues as needed to theStudio Leader
• Collaboration – Help facilitate a high level of collaboration between multiple stakeholders. When needed, work directly with theStudio’s content leader and national industry marketing leaders to help refine content strategy/messaging to best position the firm to win
• Innovation and Creativity – Develop innovative and creative proposal presentations (digital presentations/videos/interactive PPs and PDFs) to increase our likelihood of winning proposals
• Communication – Participate and play an active role in regular meetings to share best practices, information, problem solving, etc., with other team members. The proposal writer is expected to be a generator of best-in-class proposals and best practices that can serve as a model for other members of the team
• Tracking – Comply and use CRM database to track all proposal information required to develop weekly, monthly, and quarterly reports. Ensure data is accurate and updated real-time
• Training and sharing best practices. Serve as a training resource and brand ambassador sharing approaches and learnings from pursuits. Actively share best practices
• Other duties as assigned

We are looking for a creative, outgoing, out-of-the-box thinker to join our marketing team! The Proposal Writer will partner with internal and external Executives, Project Managers, and Business Development Leads to prepare compliant winning RFQ /RFP responses as well as activities that support our growth initiatives.

Job specifications

• Coordinate, write, edit, and produce responses to Solicitations, SOQs, RFQs, RFPs, ITBs; this includes research, technical content, graphics, page layout, and design
• Ability to work with multiple department leads to assemble materials and manage the entire proposal process from start to delivery
• Read and analyze Solicitations, SOQs, RFQs, RFPs, ITBs, and edit proposal content for spelling, grammar, consistency, and compliance with requirement
• Prepare PowerPoint presentations, leave-behinds, and handouts for interviews with prospective clients
• Assist with tracking and inputting opportunities into Cosential and weekly meetings
• Schedule and participate in strategy meetings
• Attend pre-proposal meetings and debriefings as needed
• Assist with other business development/marketing functions, as necessary
• Update & maintain the marketing department’s documentation and databases (i.e. resumes, project portfolios, photos, references, licenses and certifications, project history, etc.)

Communication skills required

Must have excellent project and time management skills with keen attention to detail while being highly organized. Excellent writing and proof-reading skills. Ability to multitask and handle multiple deadlines and assignments.

Experience required

2+ years of experience providing proposal and presentation coordination and marketing support in the A/E/C industry.

We are currently seeking a Proposal Writer to join our highly motivated and experienced Federal Proposal team.

Work you’ll do

• Support bid opportunities for new business pursuits
• Write executive summaries and pursuit materials that articulate our strategic messaging in a compelling and persuasive manner
• Capture, shape, and synthesize information to reflect a cohesive message, written in one voice
• Translate technical information and business jargon into clear, consistent, and grammatically correct content
• Demonstrate a finely-tuned ability to sift through a discussion, extracting the most significant information and action items
• Collaborate with graphic designers, project managers, pursuit coaches, and client service teams to build creative and innovative material
• As part of company’s growth efforts, candidate from time to time participates in coding and design challenges to build working prototypes

Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree in English, journalism, communications, humanities, computer science, or related disciplines
• 2+ years of prior relevant experience
• Exceptional written and oral communication skills
• A quasi-journalistic ability to quickly grasp specialist knowledge and make it clear for external parties
• Strong executive presence
• Agility and speed in executing strong writing
• Intellectual curiosity and ability to “get smart quick” on a wide variety of topics
• Ability to prioritize and multitask within a fast-paced, challenging, and deadline-driven environment