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Proposal Manager

What is a Proposal Manager? Discover the skills and responsibilities that define this role.

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Introduction to the world of Proposal Management

Have you ever encountered a piece of writing that deeply resonated with you? It spoke directly to you and your company’s needs, demonstrating a clear understanding of your challenges. This connection speaks to the heart of Proposal Management, where resonating with your client is fundamental.

The Proposal Management world is a diverse one, so to summarise it in this introduction may not do it justice. However, to scratch the surface, the goal of Proposal Management is to win business; to take a client’s request for proposal (RFP) and craft a competitive, winning response. To win new business means leading your company towards a future of growth and prosperity.

Proposal Management harnesses the needs and desires of clients in order to present them with the solution to their organisation’s needs. It’s not simply about putting together proposal content that meets a client’s specifications. It's about developing, creating and delivering a strategic and emotionally evocative proposal that engages the client and conveys a key message: why our solution is the best.

Proposal Management is the cohesive effort of teams and individuals to develop a winning proposal in response to a client’s RFP. The camaraderie between Proposal Managers, subject matter experts, Bid / Proposal Writers, and everyone involved in developing the proposal is crucial. Imagine the shared sense of achievement and elation when your team’s proposal wins! Crafting winning proposals plays a key role in securing business opportunities and, thus, the overall success of a business.

What does a Proposal Manager do?

A Proposal Manager serves a similar function to the central nervous system in the human body, conveying all the right messages that are critical to success. The role is crucial from the initial emergence of an opportunity, through its analysis and development, to the creation of the final proposal.

Central to the role of a Proposal Manager is understanding people, from clients to, subject matter experts and proposal teams.

Without the Proposal Manager, much like without the central nervous system, there would be no co-ordination, no process, no strategy, no direction and, therefore, no ability to win.

A proposal demands an exceptional level of detail, from meeting the word count to presenting a detailed technical solution that meets and exceeds client needs. A Proposal Manager needs to interpret the requirements, balance the expectations and predict the competition, all while motivating and leading a proposal team.

Key responsibilities of a Proposal Manager

Within the job description of a Proposal Manager, you’ll often find a diverse set of responsibilities. Proposal Managers are responsible for proposal development, including maintaining schedules, organising resources, coordinating inputs and reviews, ensuring bid strategy implementation, ensuring compliance, resolving internal team issues, and providing process leadership.

Much like a lion leading the hunt of its pride, the Proposal Manager must define the tactics, foresee the challenges, delegate tasks, and direct the team.

The role requires understanding a client’s needs, constraints and aspirations, and translating them into a structured and cohesive proposal. A Proposal Manager must communicate with other teams within the organisation that maintain relationships with the client, and often directly with the client themselves, to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the client’s long-term goals.

The proposal should align with the company's strategies. The client needs to be assured that they are making the right investment. It is the Proposal Manager's responsibility to ensure that the team delivers a proposal that reassures the client of this. This is done by managing resources and working to time constraints, whilst maintaining a healthily competitive environment to drive the proposal to the winning position.

What skills does a Proposal Manager need? 

A successful Proposal Manager will master a specific set of skills. This includes:

  • Exceptional writing and communication skills, and the ability to articulate clearly and influentially.
  • The ability to encourage collaboration and creativity whilst maintaining sight of the client’s requirements. Proposal Managers often need to engage with a diverse group of stakeholders.
  • Project Management skills and the ability to enable efficient organisation of resources to meet strict timelines.
  • Maintaining oversight of the proposal content to ensure that the client’s requirements are clearly addressed and that the finished proposal is in alignment with the organisation’s bid strategy.
  • Attentive and detail-oriented, to work to the constraints and demands set out in the client’s request for proposal.

How much does a Proposal Manager get paid?

Recent salary data1 indicates that the average pay for a Proposal Manager ranges between £54,688 (USD$73,129) to £74,401 (USD$99,490).

On average, Proposal Managers earn 19% more than Proposal Writers2 and have experienced around a 4% increase in salaries when compared to 2024 earnings.

As for the projected demand of this role, US labour statistics anticipate a 6% growth rate from 2018 to 20283.

How to become a Proposal Manager?

  • Certifications and Training: There are several certifications for each step of the journey, whether you’re just starting out or wanting to certify your existing abilities. The Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP) offers professionally-recognised certifications worldwide. Credible certifications are a method of validating an individual’s expertise and commitment to the Bid and Proposal profession.
     
  • Join APMP: Joining communities such as APMP can be a game-changer.  The success of its members is central to the Association; it is at the core of its mission. The Association facilitates networking opportunities with like-minded professionals, promotes the sharing of knowledge and experience, and creates insights and practical resources for the development of individuals and the industry.


If you are beginning your journey and want to know how you can propel yourself into the Proposal Management world, you can pursue certifications, join communities and job search for roles such as Proposal Coordinator, Proposal/ Bid Writer, Proposal Specialist, Proposal/ Bid Administrator.

Insights from the field: A Bid Manager's reflections

Skills such as writing, organisation, editing, and attention to detail are essential in proposal management. The profession is fast-paced and continually evolving. That’s where APMP certification adds value — helping even experienced professionals keep pace with emerging trends and best practice.

In this interview, Pawel Fleischer, a Business Development Manager and Bid Manager, discusses his background, journey into bid management, and experiences in the defense and space sectors.

Fleischer highlights the lengthy and complex nature of projects in defense and aerospace, noting that success in these fields takes years and involves high entry thresholds. 

He also talks about passing the APMP Foundation training and exam, choosing this certification to demonstrate his expertise in Business Development and Bid Management.

Conclusion

To conclude, if you’re looking for a career to engage, excite and challenge you, then Proposal Management may be for you. The role provides endless opportunities for personal and professional growth, through experience, education and community.

Being at the core of business success, Proposal Management is an indispensable function. If you’re looking for a sign to lead you to your future career, this is it. 

Sources

1 Sources include salary data collected by Indeed and ZipRecruiter.
2 Data Proposal Manager salaries compared to Proposal Writers is provided by Loopio.

3 Data of the anticipated demand for Proposal Managers is provided by Zippia.