Proposal Specialist

SUMMARY: The Proposal Specialist supports the growth of Service Management Systems by leading the development, design, and production of high-quality proposals and long-form business development materials. This role is primarily responsible for managing the full proposal lifecycle, including planning, content coordination, document design, and final production.

Working closely with business development, operations, and marketing teams, the Proposal Specialist ensures all deliverables are accurate, visually compelling, and aligned with company standards and expectations. This role requires strong collaboration across departments to gather information and produce customized proposals and materials that support customer pursuit efforts.

This role reports directly to the Director of Business Development Operations and Quality Systems for day-to-day direction and accountability and works in close collaboration with the SMS Holdings Vice President of Marketing, as well as business development, operations, and other internal departments to support proposal development and delivery.

Essential Job Duties and Responsibilities:

Includes the following, but is not limited to:

• Leads the planning, coordination, and production of proposal responses and other long-form business development materials across multiple business verticals, ensuring accuracy, consistency, and on-time delivery.
• Manages complex proposal workflows, including timelines, task assignments, internal reviews, and final production.
• Collaborates closely with business development, operations, marketing, and leadership teams to gather content, align messaging, and ensure proposals accurately reflect operational capabilities and customer requirements.
• Designs and formats complex, long‑form documents, including proposals and business development materials, using Adobe InDesign to ensure a professional, visually compelling, and brand-consistent presentation.
• Develops and delivers business development collateral aligned with proposal and pursuit efforts.
• Maintains proposal templates, content libraries, and best practices to improve efficiency and consistency over time.
• Tracks proposal outcomes and supports reporting on the effectiveness of business development initiatives, identifying opportunities for improvement.
• Ensures all proposal deliverables adhere to established brand standards, templates, and formatting guidelines.
• Coordinates the assembly of proposal content from multiple contributors, ensuring consistency in tone, formatting, and messaging across all sections.
• Analyzes market trends and competitor behavior to adjust strategies as needed.
• Maintains a strong understanding of company services, processes, and standards.
• Handles sensitive and confidential information with professionalism and discretion.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Graphic Design, Communications, Business Administration, or a related field required, with a minimum of three (3) years of experience developing clear, compelling long-form content, such as proposals or business development materials. Must be at least 18 years old.

COMPETENCIES AND SKILLS:

Strong professional communication skills, including written, verbal, and presentation abilities, with the ability to interact effectively with executives and cross-functional teams.

Excellent organizational and time management skills, with the ability to manage multiple concurrent deadlines, prioritize competing assignments, and maintain a high level of accuracy in a fast-paced, deadline-driven proposal environment.

Strong editing, proofreading, and content coordination skills, with the ability to ensure clarity, consistency, and professionalism across proposal and business development materials.

Demonstrated problem-solving skills and the ability to exercise sound judgment and make independent decisions on matters of importance to the business.

Ability to handle sensitive and confidential information with professionalism and discretion.

COMPUTER SKILLS:

Advanced proficiency in Adobe InDesign required, with demonstrated ability to design, format, and produce high-quality proposals and business development materials. Strong understanding of document layout, visual hierarchy, and maintaining brand consistency across complex, long-form documents.

Proficient in Microsoft Word for content editing, formatting, and coordination of proposal materials. Highly organized in managing electronic files, templates, and version-controlled documents.

Experience with SharePoint or similar document management systems is a plus. Familiarity with Adobe Creative Suite tools (Illustrator, Photoshop) preferred. Ability to quickly learn and adapt to new software and internal systems.

LANGUAGE ABILITY:

Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals. Ability to write routine reports and correspondence. Ability to speak effectively before groups of customers, the public, or employees of an organization.

MATH ABILITY:

Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals. Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percent and to draw and interpret bar graphs, pie charts, and other reporting materials.

CERTIFICATES AND LICENSES:

No certifications required.

REASONING ABILITY:

Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate, but may be louder in certain environments.

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand; walk; use hands to finger, handle, or feel
• Reach with hands and arms and talk or hear.
• The employee is occasionally required to stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl.
• The employee is frequently required to sit and occasionally required to climb or balance.
• The employee may frequently lift and/or move more than 20 pounds.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include Close vision, Distance vision, Peripheral vision, Depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

Minimal travel may be required for this role, at the approval of their manager.

We are proud to offer the following benefits:

• Insurance: Medical with available FSA and/or HSA, Dental, Vision, Short-Term and Long-Term Disability, Life, and Accidental Death and Dismemberment, Critical Illness, and Accident.
• Paid time off: Vacation, sick time and/or PTO (Only where required by local requirements and contract agreements), Paid Leave (only where required by law), Holidays (salaried positions only), Bereavement Leave, Jury Duty Leave.
• Bonuses: Employee Recognition Awards, Employee Referral Bonus Program (hourly employees only), Bonus Program (designated management and executive level positions only).
• Other: 401K Retirement Savings Plan, Vehicle Allowance (DM positions and above only).