Senior Proposal Writer

Role: We are looking for someone who can do much more than write grammatically correct paragraphs. A winning proposal writer understands what the evaluator is asking, why they are asking it, what evidence will make the response credible and how to make the answer easy to score. You should be willing to tell an SME, 'This technically answers the question, but it will not win us points - we need to make it stronger.' You should be comfortable starting with a blank page, interviewing busy subject-matter experts, challenging vague statements, finding proof for claims and turning fragmented input into a clear and compelling story. Most importantly, we want someone who treats the final submission as their personal product. Proposal Development Analyze RFPs, RFQs and RFIs and translate requirements into compliant response structures. Develop proposal outlines, compliance matrices and writing plans. Draft and edit executive summaries, technical approaches, management plans, transition plans, implementation approaches, staffing plans, quality-management approaches, past performance, corporate experience and other response sections. Adapt content to the agency and requirement rather than relying on generic boilerplate. SME Collaboration Conduct focused interviews with technical, delivery, recruiting, finance and management SMEs. Translate technical concepts into clear evaluator-friendly language. Identify unanswered requirements, unsupported claims and weak differentiators. Own follow-ups required to complete assigned sections. Proposal Strategy & Review Apply established win themes, differentiators and customer priorities throughout the response. Connect features to customer outcomes and measurable benefits. Participate in structured reviews and incorporate feedback quickly. Perform compliance, consistency and quality checks, including contradictions between technical, management, staffing, schedule and pricing narratives. Content Library Develop and continuously improve reusable proposal content. Maintain past-performance narratives, case studies, corporate qualifications and recurring technical/management responses. Retire outdated or weak content rather than blindly reusing it. Team Leadership Provide day-to-day writing guidance and coaching to the existing Proposal Writer. Establish writing examples and quality standards. Help improve the team's ability to write concise, persuasive and evaluator-friendly responses. Required Experience & Skills 4-7 years of professional proposal-writing experience. Direct experience responding to U.S. government RFPs; SLED experience strongly preferred. Excellent U.S. business English and professional editing ability. Demonstrated experience with compliance-driven proposals, compliance matrices and structured response outlines. Ability to understand IT and professional-services concepts sufficiently to write credible technical content. Strong research and interviewing skills and ability to manage multiple deadlines. Preferred Qualifications / Experience APMP certification. Experience in IT services, staffing, cloud, data, AI, application modernization, cybersecurity or digital transformation. Experience writing both staff-augmentation and deliverables/solution-based proposals. Experience supporting oral presentations or interviews. Familiarity with responsible use of generative AI for proposal productivity. The Personality We Are Looking For Takes pride in the final product and notices details other people overlook. Does not accept vague SME answers just because the SME is senior. Is comfortable rewriting their own work repeatedly. Understands that compliant is the minimum bar, not the definition of a winning proposal. Works calmly under pressure and takes feedback professionally. Helps junior team members become better rather than protecting knowledge. What Success Looks Like Within the first 90 days, this person should materially improve first-draft quality, evaluator focus, consistency and reusable content, while beginning to coach the existing writer toward a stronger proposal-writing standard.