Proposal Manager

About This Role

This Proposal Manager role drives the sales process, manages customer relationships, and delivers high-quality, competitive proposals that meet customer needs and align with company objectives. The position involves collaborating across internal teams to ensure seamless execution of proposals and contracts while maintaining a strong focus on process development and operational efficiency. It suits a candidate with exceptional organizational and communication skills, a solutions-oriented mindset, and the ability to lead a sales process that supports the company

Responsibilities

• Lead the preparation, review, and submission of high-quality proposals, ensuring compliance with customer requirements and alignment with company goals
• Manage proposal schedules and critical deadlines, ensuring timely and accurate submissions
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams -including engineering, legal, finance, and operations -to gather inputs for proposals and address technical, commercial, and financial considerations
• Build and maintain strong relationships with key Navy accounts, industrial clients, and the Sales Representative Network, ensuring a high level of customer service and responsiveness
• Accept orders, maintain customer records, and complete required documentation
• Identify and qualify prospective customers
• Review contracts including terms & conditions and special requirements
• Support continuous improvement; implement initiatives to improve process efficiencies
• Lead and help implement strong processes, data analytics, and key performance indicators (KPIs)
• Research market trends and competitor activities to identify opportunities for improvement and growth
• Track pricing, cost histories, and win/loss data to inform pricing strategies and improve future performance
• Ensure smooth handoff to Project Management teams upon contract award to facilitate seamless execution
• Other duties as assigned

Requirements

• Bachelor -s degree in a relevant field (Business, Engineering, or related discipline), or equivalent experience
• 5+ years of experience in Sales Management, Regional Sales, or Proposal Management, preferably within the marine, defense, or manufacturing industries
• Strong understanding of sales processes and proposal development, with experience managing long-cycle projects
• Excellent organizational, communication, and collaboration skills with a strong attention to detail
• A strong understanding of the market, products, service offerings and customer base or the ability to quickly learn
• Experience in development, implementation and execution of a sales strategy and system
• Ability to create and maintain strong relationships with customers, employees and sales representatives
• Very proficient in Microsoft Office Suite, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook
• Experience working with an ERP system required (LN preferred)
• Financial acumen with the ability to demonstrate sound judgment with financial decisions
• Travel < 5%
• Must be Canadian Citizen or permanent resident of Canada for greater than 5 years
• Able to obtain NATO security clearance (Secret Level) through Canadian Contract Security Program

About the Company

Fairbanks Morse is looking for a Proposal Manager to join our team.