Proposal Manager Team Lead, Strategic Pursuits

Overview

Proposal Manager Team Lead, Strategic Pursuits at HDR. HDR is seeking a highly motivated individual to partner with our Transportation Business Group Strategic Pursuit Leaders (SPL). This role reports to the Strategic Pursuits Team Lead and will have a number of direct reports. The individual is an important partner to the SPLs, managing workload assignments so that the entire proposal manager team produces winning, professional, competitive proposals on highly visible, complex opportunities.

Responsibilities

• Work with all TBG Strategic Pursuit Leaders on a consistent basis to know and understand needs and levels of support to carry out appropriate tasks during pre-positioning and proposal production phases.
• Supervise the proposal managers across all strategic pursuits, including determining whether travel is necessary or not.
• Understand active pursuit and proposal schedules in order to make work assignment adjustments, offering proper coverage of all activities across the operation.
• Manage the proposal managers to coordinate and complete any and/or all parts of a pursuit or proposal phase deliverables, including adding staff when deliverables are voluminous, complex, and/or under very tight deadlines.
• Mentor proposal managers on improving proposal execution processes and procedures while enhancing the use of production tools and software. This mentoring includes interpersonal communication, personal time management, and conflict management strategies.
• Conduct routine performance appraisals for team members.
• Serve as a Proposal Manager where and when appropriate (see Proposal Manager position).

Proposal Management & Coordination

• Foster a self-directed, accountable team culture by delivering high-quality, review- and client-ready materials.
• Lead the full proposal lifecycle, from kickoff through final production and interview, owning all deliverables and driving a smooth, efficient process.
• Develop and manage pursuit organization tools, including schedules, compliance matrices, templates, and assignment dashboards, using collaborative online platforms. Includes capturing meeting notes and action items, translating key themes and client priorities into a focused capture plan.
• Review and interpret RFPs to create clear, actionable compliance matrices that guide proposal development.
• Coordinate input from internal teams and external subconsultants, maintaining alignment and clear communication throughout.
• Track and communicate progress, manage deadlines, and adjust priorities to keep the team and deliverables on schedule.
• Support content development by preparing early drafts, capturing meeting notes, and distilling key themes and differentiators into a focused capture plan.
• Proactively communicate workload needs and availability.

Content Development & Quality

• Write, edit, and format non-technical proposal content to ensure clarity and consistency.
• Work closely with specialized experts to write and visualize technical approaches and project understanding information.
• Work closely with staff to develop qualifications, bios, data, forms, and terms to be accurate and compliant.
• Support the creation of storyboarding, benefit statements, message development, project profiles, and additional data and materials to demonstrate our aligned qualifications and differentiators.
• Research project background and tailor content accordingly.
• Author and review draft proposal text for consistency, brand voice, and grammar to remove errors and redundancy.
• Integrate risks/issues identified by the pursuit team and translate them into the PSOE (problem, solution, outcome, evidence) table. Work with graphic designers to produce visuals that represent this technical information in a reader-friendly format.
• Identify gaps in draft proposal text that need to be addressed or written, based on capture planning, PSOE exercises, RFP requirements and other resources.

Visual & Layout Skills

• Compose and format documents with reader-friendly graphic/layout skills using InDesign. Expect an intermediate level of InDesign skills with an interest in training up to an advanced level of use.
• Engage marketing resources, including coordinating with graphic designers, market sector and business class data keepers, and layout artists as needed. Communicate progress with the Strategic Pursuit Leader assigned to the pursuit.
• Collaborate with technical leads to develop draft presentation materials and work with graphic designers to transform complex technical content into clear, engaging visuals.
• Provide clear direction and timely communication to achieve high-quality deliverables.
• Develop materials, such as interactive presentations, leave-behinds, and other brand-specific deliverables to help communicate key messages and differentiators.

Quality Control & Compliance Checks

• Create schedules and time blocks to conduct appropriate reviews of content and graphics throughout the production period.
• Monitor progress of the proposal process, with timely follow-up, to ensure internal proposal deadlines and quality processes are being met.
• Work with Strategic Pursuit leaders to meet expectations of quality-driven materials, including graphics and format of proposal elements.
• Take the initiative to perform or request support for technical editing and compliance reviews to obtain grammatical accuracy and alignment with RFP requirements.
• Consistently improve and evolve efficient processes for producing high-quality materials.

Pre-positioning, Collateral & Material Management

• Research project background, news articles and Board/Council meetings and keep collected data organized in a collaborative online platform or tool.
• Gather and refine resumes, project information, histories, photographs, and other information and data so all materials are current and effectively support key differentiating sections of the proposal.
• Develop materials, such as interactive presentations, leave-behinds, and other brand-specific deliverables to help team members communicate key messages.
• Engage with leadership in the coordination and analysis of marketplace, client, and project-specific research.
• Partner with marketing communications team to develop and promote our company-wide sector qualifications and marketing collateral materials for positioning purposes in advance of an RFP release.

Continuous Process Improvements

• Learn, use, and teach others current and effective AI tools and other software, resulting in more efficient processes and quality deliverables.
• Support proposal quality by monitoring against best practices and industry standards
• Contribute to continuous improvement through internal and external debriefs
• Serve as a subject matter expert, advocate, and actively follow HDR procedures, policies, protocols, and best practices, including standard file management and archiving procedures

Qualifications

• A minimum of 8 years relevant industry experience
• Demonstrated "self-starter" with a history of completing projects with limited oversight
• Experience in sales and developing effective win strategies
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Proficient in Microsoft Office applications, including Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint
• Proficient in Adobe Creative Cloud applications, including InDesign
• Deep knowledge of the A/E/C industry\'s standard approach to procurement of professional services
• Demonstrated ability to motivate and inspire others
• Demonstrated experience in winning high-value contracts in the A/E/C industry
• Demonstrated experience in writing compelling content based on information from technical staff

What We Believe

HDR is our company. Together, we build on each other's life experiences and perspectives to make great things possible every day. This shapes our collaborative culture, encourages organizational trust and connects us closer to the clients and communities we serve.

Our Commitment

As employee owners, we all have a role in creating an inclusive environment where each of us is welcomed, valued, respected and empowered to bring our authentic selves to work every day.

Our eight Employee Network Groups (Asian Pacific, Black, Hispanic/Latino(a), LGBTQ+, People with Disabilities, Veterans, Women, Young Professionals) help create a sense of belonging and foster a supportive environment where everyone is empowered to engage and contribute. Each group has an executive sponsor and is open to all employees.

We provide a comprehensive benefits package that promotes employee ownership, employee health, performance, and success, which includes medical, dental, vision, short and long-term disability, life insurance, an employee assistance program, paid time away, parental leave, paid holidays, a retirement savings plan with employer match, employee referral bonus and tuition reimbursement. The expected compensation range for this position depends upon skills, experience, education and geographical location. (Stated benefits are for full-time regular positions. Temporary and part-time roles eligible for limited benefits.) California: $123,893 - $176,990 ; Colorado: $106,999 - $176,990 ; Connecticut: $123,893 - $176,990; Hawaii: $118,262 - $168,945; Illinois: $112,630 - $176,990 ; Maryland: $118,262 - $168,945; Minnesota: $101,367 - $168,945; Montana: $101,367 - $144,810 ; Nevada: $112,630 - $160,900; New Jersey: $129,525 - $201,125 ; New York: $112,630 - $201,125 ; Ohio: $112,630 - $160,900; Rhode Island: $118,262 - $168,945 ; Washington D.C.: $135,156 - $193,080 ; Washington State: $106,999 - $193,080;

Locations

Primary Location: United States-Colorado-Denver

Other Locations: Multiple United States locations; see posting for full listing.

Details

• Industry: Marketing/Communications
• Schedule: Full-time
• Employee Status: Regular
• Business Class: Marketing and Admin
• Job Posting: Aug 29, 2025

HDR is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We consider all qualified applicants, regardless of criminal histories, arrest and conviction records.

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