Proposal Writer

Role

Produce professionally written proposal and pitch content that superbly articulates the organisation’s value proposition and win themes. This is a highly networked role that requires a forensic attention to detail and the ability to work under pressure and demanding deadlines. The Proposal Writer plays a leading role in ensuring the effective co-ordination and timely completion of tenders. The Proposal Writer is involved in sixteen Bid Lifecycle stages. The effort / commitment required at each stage varies and is shown in our core role overlay. The Proposal Writer is typically engaged to help develop the value proposition and articulate the win themes and solution narrative. It is heavily involved throughout the Proposal Phase and typically exits after Clarification Questions have been submitted.

Experience

Proven skills in writing and editing proposal content within a complex business environment. The Proposal Writer will be experienced in leading storyboarding sessions, participating in key review meetings / final document review, content sign-off, and document production. Excellent written English language skills are essential for this role. Experience of coordinating / managing and updating a knowledgebase system is also desirable.

Understand the basics of prompt engineering for generative AI and how it can be used for proposal writing, content creation, tone adjustment, and task automation.

Core Responsibilities

• Re-write / edit proposal responses from a variety of stakeholders, typically involving contributions from sales, marketing, product teams, finance, commercial, legal and delivery
• Ensure win themes are articulated in such a way to meet / exceed the client’s requirements
• Deliver completed written proposal responses to the Proposal Manager against agreed RFP deadlines, escalating issues as required
• Work with brand marketing and proposal teams to define the brand style and voice for proposal writing, ensuring this is consistently applied across all content
• Lead storyboard sessions with bid / proposal team members
• Undertake market research for the kick-off and solution meetings
• Proactively develop and manage a network of subject matter experts
• Assist the Bid / Proposal Manager in developing a proposal structure
• Identify and re-work existing pre-written content where relevant
• Ability to coach sales and solution / SME teams in writing best practice
• Present and tag all new proposal content to the Knowledgebase Manager for potential re-use
• Knowledge of proposal automation software
• Communicate and influence at a senior level
• Excellent time management / prioritisation skills
• Forensic attention to detail and meticulous proofreading skills

Reporting Line

In a large corporate / multinational, the Proposal Writer will be part of a larger team that has defined roles and responsibilities. Typically, the role will report into a Head of Bid / Proposal Management or a business unit lead such as Commercial / Marketing Manager. In a small-medium sized enterprise, the Proposal Writer responsibilities are typically combined with the responsibilities of the standalone Bid / Proposal Manager. The role will report into a Sales / Marketing or Managing Director.

Measure of Success

Typical measures of success include error-free, grammatically correct on-time proposal content, high scoring proposals answers against client RFP criteria and achievement of internal SLAs.

Qualifications

Strong academic background (degree level) in English Language or equivalent is desirable. Creative Writing Qualification. APMP Foundation (Practitioner or Professional level) desirable.

Salaries

There is a wide variation of Proposal Writer salaries across geography and industry. Our most recent UK Salary Guidance has all the information you need.

Contract vs. Permanent

Contract Proposal Writers typically earn between 20-50% more than their permanent equivalent. However, competition for roles is high and clients demand extremely high standards of proposal writing. You can review our available Contract Proposal Writers and Bid Writers here.

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