[Hiring] Proposal Specialist @CDW

Role Description

As the "quarterback" of each pursuit, the Proposal Specialist leads the end-to-end proposal process for RFPs, RFIs, RFQs and similar solicitations, running color team reviews from assignment through submission, supporting post-submission activities and coordinating all resources across sales, technical, pricing, contracts, legal, program management, partners and vendors into one cohesive response. The role calls for both a strong persuasive writer and a disciplined project manager. The Proposal Specialist uses content library/knowledge management platforms and company-approved generative AI tools to produce compliant, compelling, win-focused responses efficiently. The ultimate goal of the role is to increase win rates and drive revenue.

What You Will Do:

• Opportunity Assessment & Planning:
  • Analyze solicitations for requirements, evaluation criteria, instructions and risks; build compliance matrices and outlines mapping each requirement to an owner.
  • Research the customer's priorities, constraints and hot buttons, the incumbent and the competitive landscape.
  • Provide relevant context and input for sales-led bid/no-bid decisions.
• Proposal Leadership & Project Management:
  • Build a schedule backward from the due date, define roles and track actions, risks and dependencies.
  • Manage concurrent proposals, hold contributors accountable without direct authority, escalate issues early.
• Color Team Review Process:
  • Plan, facilitate and adjudicate Kickoff, Pink (first draft), Red (final draft), Gold (page by page compliance); coordinate Green (pricing) reviews owned by sales or technical leads.
• Strategy, Win Themes & Writing:
  • Work with the opportunity team to develop the win strategy, win themes, discriminators and value propositions.
  • Write, edit and tailor persuasive, accurate, compliant content in one voice, aligned to evaluation criteria.
• AI & Content Library:
  • Use company-approved generative AI tools to analyze and deepen understanding of solicitations, draft and refine content, summarize requirements and speed up reviews.
  • Verify AI output, protect confidential data, and grow the content library, templates and boilerplate.
• Compliance, Production & Submission:
  • Ensure compliance with instructions, forms, certifications, formatting and page limits; manage final assembly, quality control and on-time submission, including via portals.
• Post-Submission Support:
  • Support clarifications, Q&A, orals, BAFOs and protests as needed, in a supporting rather than leading role.
  • Request and conduct debriefs, capture lessons learned, support award transition and close out opportunities.
• Department Contribution:
  • Join training, department and process-improvement initiatives, industry days and pre-proposal conferences; share best practices with peers.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent relevant work experience.
• Two or more years of proposal writing, proposal management, project management, technical/business writing or editorial experience.
• Excellent writing, editing and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple deadline-driven projects at the same time.
• Strong attention to detail and a focus on compliance.
• Working proficiency with generative AI tools and a willingness to adopt new technology.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, SharePoint) and Adobe Acrobat.
• Sound judgment, composure under pressure and constructive communication with all levels of the organization, including executives.

Requirements

• Public sector or government procurement knowledge, including contracts, T&Cs and purchasing requirements.
• General knowledge of IT products, services and solutions.
• Experience with proposal content/RFP response platforms and structured color team reviews (e.g., Shipley).
• APMP certification (Foundation or Practitioner) or PMI certification (CAPM or PMP).

Benefits

• Pay range: $71,000 - $100,000 depending on experience and skill set.
• Annual bonus target of 5% subject to terms and conditions of plan.
• Benefits overview: https://cdw.benefit-info.com/
• Salary ranges may be subject to geographic differentials.