Proposal Writer / Manager (for a Creative Agency)

Taoti Creative is looking a Proposal Writer / Manager to join our agency's business development team!

(Sorry in advance for the long read.  But this is your career we’re talking about here!  It’s worth the extra detail, right?  The right fit is critical for both of our sakes, so please forgive us in advance for the verbosity.)

Now, about the job…

It’s one thing to have the brilliant ideas and technical knowledge to put together a solution for a client.  But it’s another thing to be able to write it down and articulate it in a clear, concise, and compelling way. Taoti is looking for a Proposal Manager who can writing interesting proposals and manage the submission process. At Taoti our business development approach is extremely collaborative, so it’s not like we throw an RFP at you, lock you in a dark room, and say, “here, write a response to this.”  As our opportunities come in or our team finds them, we evaluate, qualify, and strategize about how to win it.  As a team (of which you will be part), we decide which opportunities to pursue and what our big ideas are.  That’s where you step up.  You borrow bits form old proposals, take ideas from our team, add in your own two cents, and set out to write the world’s best proposal that wins over our soon-to-be client.  

Please note: this job is for a full time, in-house position.  Which is not to say that teleworking from time to time cannot be accommodated when there is good reason to do so, but generally speaking, this is an in-house role, 5-days per week.

What we're looking for 

• You write unbelievably well and can authentical adopt our agency tone and voice.
• And you know how to write compelling copy that stands out, gets attention and makes an impression
  
• You have 2-4 years of proposal writing experience.  
• You WANT to write proposals.     

• You know Word inside and out.  You’d never dare to format a heading without applying a style.  You know how to create dynamic TOCs.  You could teach Clippy a thing or three.   
• While you may not be an artist, you know how to make a fine looking document (or ask for help when you need some design input).  
• You’re collaborative.  You’re not afraid to ask teammates questions about how to tackle a client need 

Some typical responsibilities

• Work with the Business Development team to determine opportunities to pursue. 
• Read RFPs and RFIs to help evaluate if Taoti is the right fit for that client. 
• Ideate on win themes and strategies on pursued opportunities. 
• Seek ideas from other team members on technical or creative approaches for the proposal. 

• Budget, concept, and write a winning proposal that match the client’s needs. 
• Socialize the proposal with others, including SME and other senior leaders. 
• Manager the process of reviewing the proposal and submitting it. 

Tips for getting onto the short list…

• Stand out.  When you apply, make an impression.
• Even though we’re a full service agency, we do more than our fair share of web development.  So experience with Drupal and/or Wordpress is a HUGE plus.  If you’ve got it, tell us about it!
• Show—don’t tell—us how great you are.
• We can tell a lot by the documents someone creates.  Doesn’t matter what it is, but we’d love to see some documents you’ve put together.
• Talk to us about your favorite tools.
• Give us some insight into your general PM philosophies.
• Tell us why you want to work at Taoti, specifically.  And what was wrong with your last gig that makes you want to leave?
• Show us your passion and energy.  We like passion and energy.
• And for the general list of "here's what we look for in a Taotian," please check out https://taoti.com/blog/culture/the-seven-habits-of-highly-effective-taotians-2025-edition/. 

So what on earth is a Taoti??

Established in 1996, Taoti Creative is a boutique, full-service creative agency located on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.  We are privately owned and have no corporate overlords (nothing personal, WPP.)  We do stuff like web development, social media management, branding, experiential marketing, video, AR/VR, etc.  Our mission is to ‘move the needle’ for our clients.  We leverage technology, creativity, and innovation to generate meaningful and measurable results for our clients—that’s what drives us.  Speaking of clients, they’re about 50% non-profits, 25% commercial, and 25% federal government.  Some of our customers include World Bank, USAID, DC Water, Discovery Education, American Chemical Society, Jane Goodall Foundation, and dozens of ‘National Association of _____________,’ etc.  Our full time team of about 70 employees is about 65% in-house and 35% remote.  We hail from over 15 countries.  And for the last four years in a row, we’ve made the Inc5000 list of fastest growing companies in the United States.  There’s of course plenty of additional information on our website.  If you’ve not done so already, be sure to check out our culture video: https://vimeo.com/289302105.  Or if you’re feeling virtual, here’s guided tour of the office in 360 video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7KkzdmSGTM (Warning: not suitable for printers.)

What’s the corporate culture like?

• And for the general list of "here's what we look for in a Taotian," please check out https://taoti.com/blog/culture/the-seven-habits-of-highly-effective-taotians-2025-edition/. 

What about benefits?

• 3 weeks PTO for starters.  You gain more with tenure.  
• 100% company-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance.  (50% for qualifying dependents.) 
• Paid family leave for men and women (including PTO plus short and long term disability options.) 
• 3% retirement plan matching (plus access to a financial advisor).  
• Home buyer help (including a $1200 closing credit) 
• Mobile phone reimbursement 
• You can opt for a company-supplied PC or Mac laptop.  
• Charitable contribution matching 
• Tax-free metro benefits 
• A sincere respect for work/life balance 
• Money and time off allocated for professional development (also increases with tenure) 
• A diverse team hailing from over 12 countries last time we checked 
• A very hip/cool/funky/quirky office space on Barracks Row, in the heart of Capitol Hill.  Just 2 blocks from the metro!   
• Of course, the above is a quick list.  See the handbook for all the gory details. 
  

Next steps… 

If you’re qualified and interested, please apply on our website (www.taoti.com/careers.)  Please note that these job ads often get placed onto other websites with their own application systems (we’re looking at you Jooble!)  And some sites (looking at you Indeed!) have made up random salary ranges (Indeed!)  So please be sure you're applying on our website. 

Pretty please, no recruiters.