Senior Manager – Proposals
Ceres Environmental Services, Inc. is a licensed general contractor and government contracting firm specializing in disaster recovery, environmental response, and demolition operations following catastrophes such as earthquakes and hurricanes. The company has successfully executed contracts totalling over $3.2 billion in disaster recovery work, including notable responses to events like Hurricane Katrina. Ceres is an industry leader in wood waste management, arboriculture, and recycling techniques for municipal and demolition waste.
Role Overview
We are seeking an experienced and strategic Senior Manager – Proposals to lead high-priority, high-complexity pursuits across federal, state, and local government clients. This role plays a critical part in Ceres’ growth strategy by leading proposal development efforts that translate technical, operational, legal, and executive input into compelling, compliant, and competitive submissions.
As a senior leader, you will oversee the end-to-end proposal development lifecycle while managing and mentoring a growing team of Proposal Writers and Proposal Specialists based in India. In coordination with the U.S.-based Proposal team, you will partner closely with executive leadership, business development teams, subject matter experts, operations leaders, legal, contracts, and finance teams to ensure the successful delivery of high-quality, win-ready proposals under aggressive timelines.
This role requires a highly organized leader with strong proposal management expertise, exceptional writing and editing capabilities, and experience supporting government contracting and compliance-driven proposal environments.
Why this role matters:
Every proposal your team delivers helps secure the funding and partnerships that enable Ceres to provide rapid disaster response, recovery, environmental, and infrastructure solutions when communities need them most.
Key Responsibilities
Proposal Leadership & Strategy
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Lead the development and management of complex, high-value proposals, Statements of Qualifications (SOQs), RFQs, RFI and RFP responses for federal, state, and local government opportunities.
- Translate technical, operational, legal, and executive input into clear, persuasive, and client-focused proposal narratives.
- Analyze solicitations and tender documents to identify compliance requirements, evaluation criteria, risks, and proposal deliverables.
- Develop proposal strategies, compliance matrices, executive summaries, capability statements, staffing approaches, work plans, and past performance narratives.
- Collaborate with business development and operational leadership to support pursuit strategies and proposal positioning.
- Ensure all proposals are compliant, compelling, accurate, and aligned with customer priorities and Ceres’ service standards.
- Lead proposal kickoff meetings, review cycles, and submission readiness activities.
Team Leadership & Collaboration
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Work in alignment with established proposal management processes, quality standards, and strategic direction provided by Ceres’ U.S. Proposal team.
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Lead, mentor, and manage a team of Proposal Writers and Proposal Specialists based in India.
- Provide guidance, coaching, and quality oversight to ensure consistency in proposal writing, editing, formatting, and compliance standards.
- Collaborate closely with subject matter experts (SMEs), operations leaders, legal teams, contracts, finance, HR, and business development teams to gather proposal inputs and ensure alignment across stakeholders.
- Support team development through training, performance management, and continuous improvement initiatives.
Proposal Development & Quality Management
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Review, edit, and finalize proposal content, presentations, and supporting documentation to ensure clarity, consistency, compliance, and strategic alignment.
- Support the U.S.-based proposal team in maintaining and enhancing reusable proposal content repositories, including templates, resumes, project descriptions, case studies, and past performance information.
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Oversee proposal formatting and layout in Microsoft Word and other software ensuring compliance with client requirements and professional standards.
- Collaborate with graphic designers to develop visuals, infographics, and proposal materials that strengthen proposal messaging and presentation quality.
- Perform final compliance, proofreading, formatting, and quality assurance reviews prior to submission.
Operations & Process Improvement
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Manage multiple concurrent proposal efforts with competing priorities and tight deadlines.
- Oversee document version control, submission coordination, schedules, and proposal tracking activities to ensure timely delivery.
- Contribute to the development of proposal management best practices, templates, SOPs, and continuous improvement initiatives.
- Support post-submission reviews, lessons learned, and process enhancements to improve proposal effectiveness and win rates.
- Maintain awareness of industry trends, procurement updates, government contracting requirements, and regulatory changes relevant to proposal development.
Skills and Qualifications
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Bachelor’s degree in communications, English, Marketing, Business, Law, or a related field.
- 15+ years of experience in proposal development, technical writing, business communications, or proposal management, preferably supporting government contracts.
- Demonstrated success leading complex, multi-disciplinary proposals from kick-offs through submission.
- Prior experience managing or mentoring proposal writing teams, preferably in a global or offshore delivery environment.
- Exceptional writing, editing, proofreading, and verbal communication skills.
- Strong understanding of government procurement processes, proposal compliance requirements, and solicitation analysis.
- Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, PowerPoint, Excel).
- Strong organizational, leadership, stakeholder management, and time management skills.
- Ability to manage multiple deadlines and operate effectively in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
- High attention to detail and strong problem-solving capabilities.
Preferred Qualifications
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Experience supporting FEMA, disaster recovery, emergency response, environmental services, infrastructure, construction, or government contracting organizations preferred.
- APMP Certification or equivalent proposal management certification preferred.
- Experience establishing proposal processes, governance standards, and reusable content libraries preferred.
- Experience working with geographically distributed teams and cross-functional stakeholders preferred.
