Proposal Manager

Excella is a transformative technology firm that helps organizations unlock new possibilities. We believe the key to helping clients challenge the status quo and reach new heights lies in our talented people. That's why we're committed to developing talent and providing opportunities for career growth at every stage. Join our collaborative team dedicated to solving complex problems with sustainable solutions while building your future as a leader. At Excella, you're empowered to make lasting impact, turning today's challenges into tomorrow's mission successes.

• Workplace locations look different for everyone. Excellians are a distributed workforce and whether you're working from your home office or a client site, we support a flexible work/life integration regardless of your location.
• We offer top of industry medical, dental, and vision benefits with multiple options to choose from such as an employer-contributed health savings account, infertility coverage, and orthodontia so you can select the plan that works best for you.
• Regardless of what stage of life you're in, Excella wants to support you. We provide 8 weeks of Parental Leave, discounted pet insurance, and a membership with 3 back-up emergency child or elder care days annually – all available to you on your first day.
• Starting day one, every employee is bonus eligible and receives 15 days of paid vacation, 6 federal holidays, and 4 floating holidays.
• Doing your best work means having the best tools Excella's TechEleX program provides you with multiple options to suit your technology needs. Choose between a variety of Mac or PC devices, and to ensure your hardware remains current, at the end of a 3-year period Excella will replace your existing computer with a new model from the program. Plus, we'll even give you the original device to keep for your personal use
• With Excella's Annual Internet Reimbursement benefit, all employees receive an additional $25 per month to help offset the cost of internet access. This initiative reflects our commitment to supporting you in staying connected and productive, no matter where you work.
• We'll invest in your career by providing 3 days of paid professional development every year, including an allowance for registration fees to attend classes, conferences, or obtain professional certifications.
• We encourage mindfulness and overall well-being through employee wellness events, a HeadSpace membership, as well as access to TalkSpace and mental health coverage through our medical plans.

Overview:

The Proposal Manager leads the end-to-end proposal management process across all markets and client segments at Excella. This role ensures the timely development, compliance, and delivery of high-quality proposals and related submissions that advance Excella's strategic growth goals. In addition to managing Excella's proposal operations, tools, and templates, this leader is responsible for designing and driving AI-enabled process improvements that increase proposal quality, speed, and competitiveness. The Proposal Manager will play a pivotal role in shaping how Excella leverages emerging technologies and artificial intelligence to enhance efficiency, consistency, and innovation in proposal development. 

The core purpose of this role is to manage and continuously improve Excella's proposal development lifecycle—ensuring compliant, high-quality, and persuasive submissions that position the company for successful recompetes and new business wins.

Responsibilities:

1. Oversee and Innovate the Full Proposal Lifecycle

• Lead all proposal activities from pre-solicitation through submission, ensuring seamless coordination across capture, BD, and delivery teams to meet deadlines, compliance standards, and quality expectations.
• Continuously improve and modernize proposal operations by integrate platforms (e.g., GovWin, MS Copilot, Claude) to automate administrative tasks, support intelligent content reuse, improve time-to-delivery, using workflows that enhance efficiency. 
• Champion Excella's human + AI collaboration model—balancing automation with professional judgment, ethical use, and brand voice—and foster a proactive, solution-forward mindset that moves teams beyond compliance toward insight-led, differentiated proposal submissions.

2. Ensure Compliance and Submission Quality

• Exercise full ownership and accountability for the compliance, accuracy, and quality of all proposal submissions. 
• Serve as the authoritative final compliance decision-maker, ensuring every deliverable meets or exceeds solicitation requirements, FAR/DFARS regulations, and Excella's internal quality standards. 
• Rigorously validate all volumes and artifacts through structured compliance checks, AI-enabled cross-verification, readability and tone analysis, and adherence to approved templates and messaging frameworks.
• Drive the development of submissions that are not only fully compliant but strategically compelling—clearly communicating Excella's value, differentiators, and alignment with evaluator priorities.
• Hold proposal contributors accountable for meeting quality benchmarks and ensuring no gaps, inconsistencies, or risks to compliance remain at submission.

3. Facilitate Proposal Strategy and Win Messaging

• Collaborate with BD, Capture Managers, and SMEs to define win themes, discriminators, and value propositions.
• Use AI-driven insights and past performance analytics to tailor proposal messaging to agency missions and priorities.
• Guide teams to apply proactive, solution-forward principles and best practices—teaching, tailoring, and taking control of the proposal narrative to emphasize Excella's strategic and technical strengths.

4. Drive Proposal Operations, Governance, and Continuous Improvement

• Oversee proposal processes, templates, and content management systems for efficiency, consistency, and scalability. 
• Maintain an AI-assisted proposal content library to enable smart reuse of past performance data, resumes, and narratives.Partner with technical and compliance leaders to ensure ethical and compliant AI use aligned with federal acquisition standards.
• Conduct post-submission retrospectives to identify process and content improvements, and apply lessons learned to refine workflows and win strategies.
• Partner with technical and compliance leaders to ensure ethical and compliant AI use aligned with federal acquisition standards.
• Conduct post-submission retrospectives to identify process and content improvements, and apply lessons learned to refine workflows and win strategies.

5. Coordinate Resources and Develop Team Capability

• Forecast proposal workload, allocate resources, and manage scheduling to ensure coverage across pursuits.
• Foster collaboration and cross-functional coaching so teams can confidently challenge the status quo in solution narratives and proposal strategy.
• Train, coach, and mentor proposal staff and SMEs to strengthen proposal literacy, technical writing, and showcasing the proposed solution.

6. Measure and Report Proposal Performance

• Track key performance indicators (win rate, compliance rate, timeliness stakeholder satisfaction) and report trends to SSG leadership.
• Develop dashboards integrating AI analytics to identify bottlenecks, forecast success probabilities, and support data-driven decisions.
• Use findings to continuously refine proposal strategy, resource planning, and process effectiveness.

7. Strengthen Cross-Functional Collaboration and Business Development Integration

• Collaborate with BD, Capture, and Strategic Solutions teams to align proposal content with Excella's solution portfolio and market strategy.
• Facilitate information sharing between proposal and delivery teams to ensure solutions are feasible, differentiating, and reflective of client priorities.
• Serve as a strategic partner in advancing Excella's enterprise growth goals through high-quality, insight-driven proposal execution.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in communications, business, or a related field required; advanced degree preferred.
• APMP certification or equivalent proposal management training strongly preferred.
• 10+ years of experience managing federal proposal processes, including RFP response development and submission.
• Proven track record of achieving high compliance and win rates in competitive federal or commercial environments.
• Demonstrated understanding of federal acquisition regulations (FAR, DFARS) and compliance requirements.
• Proven experience managing proposal operations and leading cross-functional teams in a matrixed environment.
• Strong writing, editing, and communication skills with exceptional attention to detail and organization.
• Experience with proposal management and AI-enhanced platforms (e.g., RFPIO, Loopio, GovWin, ClickUp AI, MS Copilot, ChatGPT, Jasper).
• Demonstrated AI literacy—including prompt engineering, knowledge management, and ethical use of generative tools within regulated environment.
• Ability to design and implement new workflows that integrate technology and automation into proposal operations.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with proactive problem-solving skills and the ability to work autonomously while collaborating effectively across teams.

Excella is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law. Excella is committed to providing access, equal opportunity, and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, its services, programs, and activities. To request reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, contact or

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