Trilon Group

Infrastructure consulting for transportation and water

Proposal Director

Proposal ManagementUpdated on Nov 13

Full-timeRemote in USA$125k - $135k /yr

About the Job

Requirements

A bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications, Business, English, or a related field is required; equivalent relevant experience may be considered.
Eight or more years of progressive experience in proposal development, marketing, or business development in the architecture, engineering, construction, or environmental industry.
Demonstrated experience leading complex requests for qualifications and requests for proposals, qualifications-based selection procurements, and SF-330 submissions, and/or managing multiple concurrent pursuits.
Experience leading and developing proposal or marketing professionals, including in a matrixed or multi-office structure.
Strong writing, editing, proofreading, and quality-control skills; strong project management, prioritization, and deadline discipline.
Working knowledge of customer relationship management and proposal systems; proficiency with Microsoft Office and Adobe Acrobat.
Ability to work effectively with executives, technical professionals, project managers, client account managers, and business-unit leaders.
Ability to translate technical information into clear, persuasive, client-focused messaging; influence across business units; maintain attention to detail while keeping pursuit strategy and business objectives in view; manage high-volume, deadline-driven work; escalate risks, resource constraints, or compliance concerns appropriately; and build repeatable processes and accountability across cross-functional teams.
Ability to travel among Waggoner offices and work occasional extended hours or flexible schedules to meet proposal deadlines and submission requirements.

Responsibilities

Run the single enterprise intake for proposal and marketing support, maintain a priority list reviewed weekly at business-unit pursuit calls, and log side-channel requests as exceptions.
Facilitate Stage 2 go/no-go decision records with the Client Account Manager and business-unit leader using the multi-gate enterprise form, and confirm decisions are documented.
Ensure staged pursuits above set net-fee thresholds have the appropriate full or short capture plan; open plans at the specified stage, update them at shortlist and selection, close them with cost-to-pursue, and back-fill live pursuits.
Support Client Account Managers with quarterly Client Account Plan data refreshes, including financials, backlog, pipeline, and contract basis; format plans to the enterprise template and submit them to leadership.
Prepare tailored task-order capture plans for awarded on-call programs with the responsible Client Account Manager.
Lead and manage the end-to-end proposal process for requests for qualifications, requests for proposals, statements of qualifications, letter proposals, and other competitive pursuits across business units and Atakapa Services.
Partner with Client Account Managers, capture leads, business-unit leaders, and technical staff to develop pursuit strategy, positioning, win themes, and proposal approach.
Facilitate proposal kickoffs, set schedules and compliance matrices, assign responsibilities, manage deadlines through submission, and route request-for-proposal contract terms for legal review before certification.
Lead compliant, compelling, client-focused content development and provide strategic editing and quality control for narratives, resumes, project sheets, and cover letters.
Oversee interview and presentation preparation for shortlisted pursuits, including content, messaging, and rehearsal.
Manage competing deadlines and allocate proposal resources across business units based on the priority list and business-unit needs.
Maintain the enterprise proposal log and report proposal volume, workload, cycle time, hit rate by business unit, and pursuit outcomes monthly to the Chief Clients & Markets Officer and business-unit leaders, and weekly during the controlled-operation period.
Keep pursuit records in Deltek Vantagepoint current with the customer relationship management stage standard, including stage, probability, Client Account Manager, dates, and fees; coordinate with the Deltek administrator and flag records that fail standing rules.
Conduct win/loss debriefs on every decided pursuit and feed lessons into the content library and the next capture plan for that client.
Represent Waggoner in the Trilon proposal community and adopt tools and shared resources where they shorten proposal cycle time.
Own the enterprise experience archive for people, credentials, projects, clients, roles, and outcomes, built from the company database, as the single source for resumes, project sheets, and SF-330 content.
Coordinate periodic resume updates with employees and operational leaders; partner with the Chief People’s Office to validate titles, tenure, education, and licensure; keep priority-one resumes current within 90 days.
Operate the departure gate by changing resume status and checking live proposals at separation so departed key personnel are not named in submissions.
Maintain current SF-330 Part II data, project sheets, boilerplate, and reusable qualifications material; tailor resumes and qualifications to specific pursuits.
Serve as the primary leader for proposal operations and establish clear ownership, accountability, and expectations across the pursuit process within the Company model.
Lead, coach, develop, and manage workload for the matrixed proposal and marketing team; set standards and professional-development plans in coordination with business-unit leaders.
Identify process-improvement, technology, and automation opportunities that improve proposal efficiency and quality; introduce tools only where their supporting process is proven.
Support annual planning and resource forecasting for proposal and marketing needs, and promote consistent brand standards and messaging across proposals and qualifications material.

Desired Qualifications

APMP certification.
Experience with Deltek Vantagepoint.
Experience with Adobe InDesign.

The Director of Plans & Proposals leads the development, coordination and delivery of the plans and proposals through which Waggoner wins work: go/no-go decision records, capture plans, Client Account Plan production, and high-quality, compliant proposals and qualifications packages. The role owns the enterprise proposal process end to end, runs the single intake and priority list for enterprise growth support, maintains the proposal log and the reporting cadence that keeps business-unit leaders and the Chief Clients & Markets Officer informed, and keeps pursuit records in Deltek Vantagepoint current with the Trilon CRM stage standard.

The Director is also responsible for the enterprise experience archive — employee proposal resumes, project descriptions, qualifications content and boilerplate — and for the standards, templates and content libraries that make every submission consistent. The role leads a matrixed team of proposal and marketing professionals seated in the business units, strengthens pursuit strategy and win rate across the enterprise, and operates the Win Work model as its primary user and steward.

Plans — the artifacts

Run the single enterprise intake for proposal and marketing support and maintain one priority list, reviewed weekly at the business-unit pursuit calls; log side-channel requests as exceptions.
Facilitate the go/no-go decision record at Stage 2 (Opportunity) with the Client Account Manager and business-unit leader, using the multi-gate enterprise form; confirm a documented decision.
Ensure every Staged pursuit above a set net fee carries a capture plan — full capture plan at one limit and above, short below — opened at separate stage, updated at shortlist and selection, and closed with cost-to-pursue; back-fill live pursuits.
Support Client Account Managers on Client Account Plans: quarterly data refresh (financials, backlog, pipeline, contract basis), formatting to the enterprise template, and submission to leadership.
Prepare tailored task-order capture plans for awarded on-call programs with the responsible CAM.

Proposals

Lead and manage the end-to-end proposal process for RFQs, RFPs, SOQs, letter proposals and other competitive pursuits across the business units and Atakapa Services.
Partner with Client Account Managers, capture leads, business-unit leaders and technical staff to develop pursuit strategy, positioning, win themes and proposal approach.
Facilitate kickoffs, set schedules and compliance matrices, assign responsibilities, and manage deadlines through submission; route RFP contract terms for legal review before certification.
Lead development of compliant, compelling, client-focused content; provide strategic editing and quality control for narratives, resumes, project sheets and cover letters.
Oversee interview and presentation preparation for shortlisted pursuits, including content, messaging and rehearsal.
Manage competing deadlines and allocate proposal resources across business units based on the priority list and business-unit needs.

Records, reporting and learning

Maintain the enterprise proposal log; report proposal volume, workload, cycle time, hit rate by business unit and pursuit outcomes monthly to the Chief Clients & Markets Officer and business-unit leaders, and weekly during the controlled-operation period.
Keep pursuit records in Deltek Vantagepoint current with the CRM stage standard — stage, probability, Client Account Manager, dates and fees — with the Deltek administrator, and flag records that fail the standing rules.
Conduct win/loss debriefs on every decided pursuit and feed lessons into the content library and the next capture plan for that client.
Represent Waggoner in the Trilon proposal community; adopt tools and shared resources where they shorten proposal cycle time.

Experience archive, resumes and qualifications

Own the enterprise experience archive — people, credentials, projects, clients, roles and outcomes — built from the company database; keep it the single source for resumes, project sheets and SF-330 content.
Coordinate periodic resume updates with employees and operational leaders; partner with Chief People’s Office to validate titles, tenure, education and licensure; keep priority-one resumes current within 90 days.
Operate the departure gate: change resume status and check live proposals at separation so no departed key person is named in a submission.
Maintain current SF-330 Part II data, project sheets, boilerplate and reusable qualifications material; tailor resumes and qualifications to specific pursuits.

Leadership and strategic responsibilities

Serve as the primary leader for proposal operations and establish clear ownership, accountability and expectations across the pursuit process within the Company model.
Lead, coach, develop and manage workload for the matrixed proposal and marketing team; set standards and professional-development plans in coordination with business-unit leaders.
Identify process improvements, technology and automation opportunities that improve proposal efficiency and quality, introducing tools only where the process they support is proven.
Support annual planning and resource forecasting for proposal and marketing needs; promote consistent brand standards and messaging across all proposals and qualifications material.

Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications, Business, English or a related field; equivalent relevant experience may be considered.
Eight or more years of progressive experience in proposal development, marketing or business development in the architecture, engineering, construction or environmental industry; APMP certification preferred.
Demonstrated experience leading complex RFQ/RFP responses, qualifications-based selection procurements and SF-330 submissions, and/or managing multiple concurrent pursuits.
Experience leading and developing proposal or marketing professionals, including in a matrixed or multi-office structure.
Strong writing, editing, proofreading and quality-control skills; strong project management, prioritization and deadline discipline.
Working knowledge of CRM and proposal systems; Deltek Vantagepoint experience preferred. Proficiency with Microsoft Office and Adobe Acrobat; Adobe InDesign preferred.
Ability to work effectively with executives, technical professionals, project managers, client account managers and business-unit leaders.

Knowledge, skills and abilities

Strategic thinker able to translate technical information into clear, persuasive, client-focused messaging.
Leadership and interpersonal skills that influence across business units without direct authority.
Exceptional attention to detail while holding the overall pursuit strategy and business objectives in view.
Ability to manage high-volume, deadline-driven work without sacrificing quality, and judgment about when to escalate risks, resource constraints or compliance concerns.
Ability to build repeatable processes and drive accountability across cross-functional teams.

Success measures

On-time, compliant submissions; every submitted version archived and the fee reconciled in Vantagepoint.
100% of Stage pursuits above set targets carry a capture plan.
Proposal log current weekly; hit rate, workload and cycle time reported by business unit monthly.
Priority-one resumes current within 90 days; SF-330 data updated at least annually; zero departed key personnel named in a submission.
Win/loss debrief completed on every decided pursuit at targets and above, with lessons recorded in the content library.
Development and performance of the matrixed proposal team; user-readiness and adoption measures from the opperating model.

Physical requirements and work environment

This position operates primarily in a hybrid setting (office/remote). The role requires travel among Waggoner offices and occasional extended hours or schedule flexibility to meet proposal deadlines and submission requirements.

Other duties

This job description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities or qualifications associated with the position. Responsibilities may be modified or assigned based on business needs.

About the Company

Trilon Group

Infrastructure consulting for transportation and water

Trilon Group provides infrastructure consulting in transportation, water, and municipal systems in the Mid-Atlantic region. It works by partnering with local governments, municipalities, and private clients to deliver planning, design support, and project management through fee-based engagements, expanding capabilities through alliances with firms like Rinker Design Associates and Wilson Engineers. The company differentiates itself with a platform-style growth approach backed by private equity and a People First culture focused on talent development. Its goal is to expand service offerings and market presence in the Mid-Atlantic by building scalable partnerships and using capital to support growth.

Company size: 51-200
Company stage: Growth Equity (Non-Venture Capital)
Total funding: $200M
Headquarters: Denver, CO
Founded: 2021

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