Proposal Specialist I

About the role

Interested in launching your career with a dynamic team of proposal professionals focused on winning US and Canadian Federal work around the world? AECOM is hiring a Proposal Specialist I to join our Governments Marketing proposal team. No prior proposal experience is required, and recent graduates are encouraged to apply.

In this role, you will support pursuits across AECOM's Federal portfolio, including US Federal Civilian, Department of War (DoW), Canadian Federal, and other International Federal clients. You will assist with proposal development from pre-RFP positioning through submission and interviews, as required, and learn proposal best practices through hands-on work and guidance from experienced proposal leads.

The ideal candidate is a recent graduate or early-career professional with strong writing skills, a keen eye for detail, a willingness to learn the proposal process, and creative ideas for document design.

This will be a hybrid position including a combination of both remote and in-office work schedules, that can be based in, but not limited to: Arlington, VA, Atlanta, GA, Austin, TX, Charlotte, NC, Denver, CO, Waterloo, IA

Responsibilities

General

• As a Proposal Specialist and writer, support proposal leads and business line teams on pursuits, including responses to requests for qualifications (RFQ), requests for proposals (RFP), and other solicitation types, as well as shortlist interview preparation.
• Serves as part of the Governments Marketing proposal team within our Governments Marketing group.

Proposal Management and Development

• Support small to medium pursuits across the Federal portfolio, including US Federal Civilian, DoW, Canadian Federal, and International government proposals, from kickoff through submission, with guidance from an experienced proposal lead.
• Attend workshops/sessions to support the capture manager and proposal lead in development of the win strategy.
• Draft and contribute to proposal sections such as cover letters, executive summaries, past performance sections, and resumes/staffing sections, with guidance and review from experienced proposal staff.
• Assist with annotated outlines, proposal schedules, compliance lists, and content plans, and support document design and formatting.
• Observe and support Go/No-Go, positioning activities, capture strategies and greenlight analyses to learn how pursuit decisions are made.
• Support compliance by building and checking compliance matrices and verifying that proposal content addresses solicitation requirements.
• Use approved AI tools to support proposal workflows, including outlines, compliance matrices, and first drafts, while following AECOM data-handling and confidentiality guidelines and having all outputs reviewed for accuracy.
• Support reviews for assigned pursuits by tracking and incorporating reviewer comments, and apply lessons learned to improve future proposals.
• Support debriefs and gathering of client feedback on assigned proposals to ensure and demonstrate continuous improvements.
• Support proposal close-out activities.
• May participate in special projects involving various business line staff, as directed.

Minimum Requirements

• BA/BS, preferably in Journalism, English, Communications, Marketing or a related field, or an AA/two-year degree plus one year of related experience in place of the remaining two years of a four-year degree.

Preferred qualifications

• Prior proposal experience. Internships, coursework, or experience in marketing, communications, writing, or business development is a plus.
• Interest in learning about US and Canadian Federal procurement. Familiarity with Other Transaction Agreements (OTAs), Commercial Solutions Openings (CSOs), Broad Agency Announcements (BAAs), or PDB proposals is a plus.
• APMP/SMPS certification is a plus.
• Strong writing and editing skills, including grammar and style. Proposal writing experience is not required.
• A working knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, as well as desktop publishing and graphics programs (e.g., Adobe InDesign, Acrobat, Photoshop)
• Familiarity with AI tools (e.g., Microsoft 365 Copilot) and interest in applying them within the proposal workflow, such as drafting and refining content, extracting requirements, and checking compliance, with sound judgment on accuracy, confidentiality, and appropriate use of client or sensitive information.

Additional Information

• Due to the nature of the work, US Citizenship is required.
• Relocation assistance and/or per diem is not offered for this position

At AECOM, we are committed to maintaining a secure and trustworthy recruitment process and take any fraudulent hiring activity seriously. To support this commitment, all newly hired employees are required to attend an in-person Day 1 onboarding at an AECOM office location as a condition of employment.