Senior DoD Proposal Manager

Zachary Piper Solutions is seeking an experienced Senior DoD Proposal Manager to support a growing federal contractor's business development and capture organization. This senior-level position is responsible for leading and managing the entire proposal lifecycle for competitive Department of Defense (DoD) pursuits, with a primary focus on U.S. Army acquisitions. The ideal candidate will possess deep proposal management expertise, extensive Army acquisition experience, and a proven track record of winning large-scale federal contracts valued at $85M+.

FULLY REMOTE + SECRET CLEARANCE PREFERRED

Key Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end proposal efforts from opportunity kickoff through final submission.
• Develop and manage proposal schedules, compliance matrices, outlines, storyboards, and review plans.
• Coordinate cross-functional teams including Capture, Business Development, Technical SMEs, Pricing, Contracts, HR, and subcontractor partners.
• Translate capture strategies, win themes, and discriminators into compelling proposal content.
• Manage proposal development activities while ensuring compliance with solicitation requirements.
• Lead and facilitate color team reviews including Pink, Red, Gold, and Final Reviews.
• Write, edit, and review executive summaries, technical volumes, management approaches, staffing plans, and past performance narratives.
• Ensure proposals are compliant, compelling, and aligned with customer evaluation criteria.
• Support responses to RFIs, RFQs, RFPs, and Sources Sought notices across DoD agencies.
• Maintain proposal repositories, content libraries, templates, and reusable assets.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives across proposal processes, tools, and methodologies.
• Manage multiple concurrent proposal efforts while meeting aggressive submission deadlines.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of DoD proposal management experience supporting federal government acquisitions.
• Significant experience supporting U.S. Army proposal efforts and acquisition environments.
• Proven success managing and winning competitive federal proposals valued at $85M or greater.
• Strong understanding of FAR, DFARS, and DoD source selection processes.
• Experience managing complex proposal efforts from pre-RFP through contract award.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple high-priority pursuits simultaneously.
• Exceptional proposal writing, editing, compliance, and project management skills.
• Experience collaborating with executive leadership, capture managers, and technical teams.
• Strong organizational skills with exceptional attention to detail.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.

Nice-to-Haves

• APMP Certification (Foundation, Practitioner, or Professional).
• Active Secret Clearance.
• Experience supporting major contract vehicles including GSA MAS, Army ITES-3S, and SeaPort-NxG.
• Knowledge of CMMC 2.0 requirements and cybersecurity-focused proposal efforts.
• Experience supporting cyber, IT, engineering, or professional services opportunities.
• Familiarity with competitive intelligence, capture strategy development, and Price-to-Win methodologies.
• Experience developing proposal process improvements and proposal center best practices.
• Prior experience supporting large-scale Army modernization or defense programs.

Soft Skills

• Strong leadership and proposal team management capabilities.
• Ability to thrive in fast-paced, deadline-driven environments.
• Exceptional attention to detail and compliance-focused mindset.
• Strong collaboration skills across business development, capture, operations, and executive leadership teams.
• Ability to effectively manage competing priorities and multiple proposal deadlines.
• Strategic thinker capable of translating customer requirements into winning solutions.
• Strong written communication and storytelling abilities.
• Self-motivated and capable of operating independently with minimal supervision.

Compensation & Benefits

• Base Salary: $150,000 – $173,000 annually.
• Fully remote work environment.
• Opportunity to lead strategic, high-value DoD and Army proposal efforts.
• High visibility role supporting critical growth initiatives.
• Comprehensive benefits package including PTO, paid holidays, medical, dental, vision, 401(k), and sick leave as required
• Long-term career growth supporting large-scale federal and defense pursuits.

Keywords

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