Proposal Manager

About the role

• Title: Proposal Manager
• Company: Heven AeroTech
• Location: Sterling,VA
• FLSA: Exempt
• Reports To: Director of Business Development

Role Summary

The Proposal Manager leads the end-to-end development of compliant, compelling, and competitively differentiated proposals in response to government and commercial solicitations (RFPs, RFIs, RFQs, and BAAs), as well as Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) solicitations issued through OT consortia and directly by OT authorities.

Serving as the central point of coordination between Business Development, Capture, Engineering, Contracts, Pricing, and Program Management, this role owns the proposal schedule, compliance matrix, and color team review process from capture handoff through submission, ensuring every proposal - FAR-based or OTA - reflects Heven Aerotech's win themes, technical solutions, and value proposition while meeting all solicitation and regulatory requirements.

Essential Responsibilities

• Analyze solicitation documents (RFP/RFI/RFQ/BAA) to develop compliance matrices, proposal outlines, and win strategy alignment with Capture and Business Development leadership.
• Develop and maintain integrated proposal schedules, including milestones for storyboarding, drafting, color team reviews (Pink, Red, Gold), and final production.
• Facilitate proposal kickoff meetings, ensuring writers, subject matter experts (SMEs), and reviewers understand assignments, win themes, and evaluation criteria.
• Identify staffing needs and coordinate with functional leads to secure proposal writers, SMEs, and reviewers for each pursuit.
• Lead proposal development for Other Transaction Agreements (OTAs) under 10 U.S.C. §§ 4021 (prototype) and 4022 (follow-on production), including submissions made through OT consortia (e.g., SOSSEC, S2C2, NSIN, DEFENSEWERX) and directly to government OT authorities.
• Tailor proposal structure and response strategy to OTA solicitation instructions, which follow consortium- or agency-specific formats rather than standard FAR-based Sections L and M.
• Coordinate with Contracts on OTA-specific terms unique to these vehicles, including intellectual property rights, cost-share provisions, and milestone-based payment structures.
• Track consortium membership requirements, base agreement terms, and call-specific deadlines across the OT consortia Heven Aerotech participates in, given the growing volume of OTA pursuits.
• Guide and, where necessary, author technical, management, and past performance volumes in coordination with SMEs, ensuring content is responsive, compliant, and persuasive.
• Translate technical and engineering input into clear, customer-focused narrative aligned with win themes and discriminators.
• Coordinate the development of graphics, tables, and other visual aids that strengthen proposal clarity and competitiveness.
• Manage proposal templates, boilerplate libraries, and past performance/resume repositories to improve efficiency across pursuits.
• Maintain a detailed compliance matrix mapping every solicitation requirement (Sections L and M, or equivalent) to proposal content, ensuring full responsiveness.
• Lead Pink, Red, and Gold Team reviews; incorporate reviewer feedback and drive resolution of open issues to closure.
• Ensure final proposal packages meet all formatting, page limit, and submission requirements prior to release, including electronic upload to portals such as SAM.gov or agency-specific systems.
• Coordinate final proofreading, editing, and production (print and electronic) to ensure a polished, error-free submission.
• For OTA submissions, ensure responses conform to the applicable consortium's proposal instructions and base agreement terms rather than the FAR/DFARS compliance matrix process used for traditional contracts.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for proposal-related matters across Business Development, Capture, Engineering, Contracts, Pricing/Finance, and Program Management.
• Coordinate with the Contracts team to ensure terms and conditions, representations, and certifications are properly addressed.
• Partner with Pricing/Finance to integrate cost volume narrative with technical and management volumes, ensuring a consistent and compliant overall submission.
• Brief executive leadership on proposal status, risks, and resource needs throughout the proposal lifecycle.
• Conduct after-action reviews (lessons learned) following each proposal submission and customer debrief; incorporate findings into process improvements.
• Develop and maintain proposal development procedures, templates, and training materials to build organizational proposal maturity (e.g., Shipley-based methodology).
• Track proposal win/loss metrics and support continuous improvement of the capture-to-proposal handoff process.

Qualifications & Experience

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Business, English, Communications, Engineering, or a related field; equivalent experience considered in lieu of degree.
• Minimum 5-7 years of experience managing proposals in a government contracting environment, preferably within the defense or aerospace industry.
• Demonstrated experience managing the full proposal lifecycle, including compliance matrix development, color team reviews, and production for complex, multi-volume submissions.
• Strong working knowledge of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) as they pertain to proposal submissions.
• Direct experience preparing and submitting proposals under Other Transaction Agreements (OTAs), including through OT consortia; working knowledge of 10 U.S.C. §§ 4021-4022 and how OTA acquisition differs from FAR-based procurement.
• Excellent writing, editing, and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate complex technical content into clear, persuasive proposal narrative.
• Proven ability to manage multiple concurrent proposal efforts under tight deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Project) and Adobe Acrobat.
• Professional working proficiency in English (spoken and written) is required to perform the responsibilities of this role.
• This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship. Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States without employer sponsorship, now or in the future.
• If this role requires access to information controlled under U.S. export control laws (ITAR/EAR), applicants must also qualify as a "U.S. person" under 22 CFR §120.62 (U.S. citizen, U.S. national, lawful permanent resident, or protected individual such as an asylee or refugee).

Preferred

• Active or recent DoD security clearance, or the ability to obtain one.
• Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP) Foundation, Practitioner, or Professional certification.
• Shipley or similar proposal development methodology training.
• Experience with proposal automation and knowledge management tools (e.g., SharePoint, Privia, RFPIO/Loopio).
• Familiarity with ITAR/export control considerations affecting proposal content and distribution.
• Existing membership familiarity or prior submission experience with specific OT consortia relevant to Heven Aerotech's pursuits.

Physical Requirements

• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
• Frequent use of hands and fingers for typing, writing, and operating office equipment.
• Ability to communicate verbally and in writing with internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to work extended hours, including evenings and weekends, during proposal crunch periods to meet solicitation deadlines.
• Occasional travel to customer sites, industry conferences, and company facilities to support capture activities and color team reviews.
• Visual acuity sufficient to review detailed technical, contractual, and pricing documents.
• Ability to lift and carry up to 20 pounds occasionally (e.g., proposal materials, binders, presentation equipment).

Benefits Overview

Heven Aerotech offers a competitive benefits package designed to support the health, financial security, and overall well-being of our employees and their families. Benefits in protectional, dental, and vision coverage, retirement plans, paid time off/sick, and additional protections such as critical illness, hospital indemnity, accident coverage, and short- and long-term disability.

Posted Salary Range

$110,000—$130,000 USD