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What does a proposal manager do?

Updated January 8, 2025
6 min read
What does a proposal manager do

A proposal manager specializes in creating and preparing company proposals, ensuring timeliness and accuracy. Their responsibilities revolve around producing proposal management plans, devising strategies to identify and secure opportunities, delegating tasks to various departments, and processing every requisition. They may also produce progress reports and prepare presentations for clients or higher-officials in a company. Furthermore, as a proposal manager, it is essential to lead and encourage teams to reach new heights, all while implementing the company's policies.

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Proposal manager responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real proposal manager resumes:

  • Manage proposal response from receipt of qualify leads, RFIs, RFQs or RFPs through to final product ;.
  • Manage development of responses to request for proposals (RFPs) and requests for information (RFIs).
  • Lead color team reviews of proposal strategies, storyboards, win themes and content according to Shipley proposal process.
  • Implement Salesforce for division and manage pipeline and post-award contract documentation.
  • Provide oversight of final proposal production, including desktop publishing, proofreading, editing, printing, and binding.
  • Coordinate proposal efforts with SMEs, contracts, contractors, subcontractors, finance, human resources, and sub companies.
  • Prepare business development and project-specific presentations utilizing Microsoft PowerPoint and various other graphic tools.
  • Monitor status of proposal development-relate documents for completeness, compliance with RFP requirements and inclusion of win themes and discriminators.
  • Deliver compliant, winning proposals and convincing RFIs.
  • Assemble and write design-build proposals, particularly for the DoD.
  • Direct continuing projects dedicate to CRM and operations from quote to order.
  • Direct tender, RFQ, and contract management processes in support of sales.
  • Receive, review, and extract all need information from RFQ or RFI.
  • Serve as WBOE administrator and set up WBS structure and assign WBS responsibilities to team.
  • Design and roll out the company's first formal proposal process base on the Shipley model.

Proposal manager skills and personality traits

We calculated that 8% of Proposal Managers are proficient in RFP, Proposal Management, and PowerPoint. They’re also known for soft skills such as Detail oriented, Imagination, and Technical skills.

We break down the percentage of Proposal Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • RFP, 8%

    Followed detailed RFP instructions on proposal content/requirements/restrictions/deadlines.

  • Proposal Management, 7%

    Conducted and delivered a cost to benefits analysis of selected candidates for a corporate proposal management collaborative software environment.

  • PowerPoint, 7%

    Consulted and assisted all field account managers in production of PowerPoint presentations and additional marketing materials.

  • Business Development, 6%

    Conducted Business Development, attended agency and partner meetings, working closely with inter-departmental groups to develop win-solutions for proposal efforts.

  • Subject Matter Experts, 5%

    Provided daily work direction to marketing communications specialists, proposal/technical writers, and administrative support staff and coached subject matter experts.

  • Project Management, 4%

    Develop and formulate optimal costing models and analytic pricing strategies and project management plans for various government proposals and projects.

Most proposal managers use their skills in "rfp," "proposal management," and "powerpoint" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential proposal manager responsibilities here:

Detail oriented. The most essential soft skill for a proposal manager to carry out their responsibilities is detail oriented. This skill is important for the role because "technical writers create instructions for others to follow." Additionally, a proposal manager resume shows how their duties depend on detail oriented: "created data call to the entire division to collect and create fully detailed past performance write-ups for more than 22 contracts. "

Imagination. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling proposal manager duties is imagination. The role rewards competence in this skill because "technical writers must think about a procedure or product as if they are someone who does not have technical knowledge." According to a proposal manager resume, here's how proposal managers can utilize imagination in their job responsibilities: "directed bid decisions, created themes, spearheaded creative process, and wrote proposal content. "

Technical skills. proposal managers are also known for technical skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to proposal manager responsibilities, because "technical writers must be able to understand complex information." A proposal manager resume example shows how technical skills is used in the workplace: "researched company past performance to complete technical inputs. "

Writing skills. For certain proposal manager responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "writing skills." The day-to-day duties of a proposal manager rely on this skill, as "technical communicators must have excellent writing skills to be able to explain technical information clearly." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what proposal managers do: "assisted with capture efforts and writing technical and past performance sections when needed. "

All proposal manager skills

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Compare different proposal managers

Proposal manager vs. Manager, project management

The role of a project management manager involves the planning, execution, monitoring, control, and closure of projects. Project managers oversee the scope of the entire project, the team, success or failure, and its resources. They facilitate productivity and commitment, remove obstacles, and motivate their team members. Their skills should include leadership, critical thinking, communication, negotiating, and risk management. They should also know about cost management, scheduling, and task management.

If we compare the average proposal manager annual salary with that of a manager, project management, we find that managers, project management typically earn a $14,247 higher salary than proposal managers make annually.While the two careers have a salary gap, they share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both proposal manager and manager, project management positions are skilled in rfp, business development, and project management.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a proposal manager are more likely to require skills like "proposal management," "powerpoint," "subject matter experts," and "compliance matrices." On the other hand, a job as a manager, project management requires skills like "risk management," "portfolio," "customer service," and "on-time delivery." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.

On average, managers, project management reach similar levels of education than proposal managers. Managers, project management are 1.0% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Proposal manager vs. Contact center manager

A contact center manager is responsible for supervising and assisting the contact center staff in providing the highest customer service by responding to customers' inquiries and concerns and resolving their complaints. Contact center managers monitor the staff's performance and efficiency and strategize techniques to increase productivity and customer relations. They also provide regular coaching to identify the team members' strengths and weaknesses and to customize individual plans to reach goals and objectives. A contact center manager must have excellent communication and leadership skills, especially in encouraging the team to achieve maximum efforts and development.

A career as a contact center manager brings a lower average salary when compared to the average annual salary of a proposal manager. In fact, contact center managers salary is $30,798 lower than the salary of proposal managers per year.A few skills overlap for proposal managers and contact center managers. Resumes from both professions show that the duties of each career rely on skills like "rfp," "project management," and "crm. "

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that proposal manager responsibilities requires skills like "proposal management," "powerpoint," "business development," and "subject matter experts." But a contact center manager might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "professional development," "ivr," "center management," and "qa."

In general, contact center managers achieve lower levels of education than proposal managers. They're 8.5% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Proposal manager vs. Communications project manager

A communications project manager is in charge of overseeing the development of internal and external communication materials. Their responsibilities typically revolve around performing research and analysis to identify client or company needs, developing effective communication strategies, coordinating different teams to ensure the quality and accuracy of projects, setting objectives and goals, and managing schedules and budgets. Furthermore, as a manager, it is essential to lead and encourage the team to reach goals, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations, including its vision and mission.

On average, communications project managers earn lower salaries than proposal managers, with a $3,504 difference per year.Using the responsibilities included on proposal managers and communications project managers resumes, we found that both professions have similar skill requirements, such as "rfp," "powerpoint," and "business development.rdquo;

The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, proposal managers are more likely to have skills like "proposal management," "compliance matrices," "federal government," and "rfis." But a communications project manager is more likely to have skills like "web content," "status reports," "communications projects," and "hr."

Most communications project managers achieve a similar degree level compared to proposal managers. For example, they're 2.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Proposal manager vs. Consultant/project manager

Consultants/project managers act as planners, leaders, and advisors in business enterprises. These professionals facilitate meetings and establish positive relationships with vendors, management, and clients. They make customer visits, maintain industry knowledge, procure third-party software and hardware, and deliver projects. It is also part of their duty to manage complex initiatives in an individual business unit or organization. Their skills include analytical, time and cost management, problem-solving, interpersonal skills, and proficiency in project management software.

Consultant/project managers average a higher salary than the annual salary of proposal managers. The difference is about $12,076 per year.According to resumes from proposal managers and consultant/project managers, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "rfp," "business development," and "project management. "While some skills are required in each professionacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities, there are some differences to note. "proposal management," "powerpoint," "subject matter experts," and "compliance matrices" are skills that commonly show up on proposal manager resumes. On the other hand, consultant/project managers use skills like project scope, customer satisfaction, manage project scope, and cash flow on their resumes.The average resume of consultant/project managers showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to proposal managers. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 2.1% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.4%.

Types of proposal manager

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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