Strategic Pursuit Manager

If you think your skills, experience and aspirations make you a good match for this position, we encourage you to apply. This position may be filled anywhere in the United States. Our regional offices include:  Western Region (Irvine, Los Angeles, San Diego, Portland and Seattle), Great Lakes Region (Buffalo, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Toronto), Central Region (Dallas, Denver, Houston, and St. Louis), or Eastern Region (Arlington, Baltimore, Boston, and New York City).  Preference may be given to candidates that can work in any of our US offices.   As part of the application process, candidates are required to submit 2-3 work samples that demonstrate proficiency with Adobe InDesign and other layout software such as PowerPoint, 1-2 writing samples (i.e. project descriptions, employee bios, proposal cover letters, etc.) and an example of how you approach managing a large, complex pursuit. Please redact proprietary/confidential information as needed. Note: We acknowledge that developing these items is highly collaborative. That said, we’re looking for examples where you had a primary role in their creation. You’ll be given time to present your work during the interview — we’re interested in “how” you present your work, too.   ABOUT THE ROLE Are you a master of organization, a natural leader and a strategist at heart? This role blends the precision of project management with the finesse of high-stakes proposal development. Think of it as being a “Project Manager with a PhD in proposals.” As a Strategic Pursuit Manager, you’ll be part of our Brand, Marketing and Business Development (BMBD) team, reporting to our National Marketing Pursuits Leader and working closely with Market Leaders, Strategists and Subject Matter Experts, orchestrating large, multi-functional teams to pursue the firm’s most ambitious targets.   Success requires anticipating roadblocks, managing up with big personalities and thriving in deadline-driven environments. With a passion for puzzles and processes, you’ll bring strategic thinking, exceptional organizational skills and creativity to navigate complex challenges.   At our firm, where marketing is a valued partner, you’ll contribute to a culture of collaboration, resilience and winning. If you’re driven to create clarity, inspire teams and deliver results while ensuring the journey is as enjoyable as the destination, this is your opportunity to make an impact at one of the world’s most innovative design firms.   HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL DO Strategic Proposal Marketing

• Work with pursuit teams to develop pursuit strategies, including partnering with opportunity leaders and pursuit strategists to drive capture planning efforts, providing business intelligence on clients, competitors and CannonDesign.
• Facilitate and participate in strategy sessions and workshops related to assigned large/mega-scale strategic pursuits. This includes driving the established agenda, guiding a creative brainstorming process, challenging and testing ideas, developing pertinent action items and assignments, and documenting the intelligence, outcomes and next steps.
• Bring discipline and rigor to the Go/No Go process and capture management planning phase.
• Establish and manage pursuit budgets and costs for all strategic pursuits within your purview.
• Partner with proposal content team, Subject Matter Experts and Pursuit Strategists to ensure messaging is translated into a compelling narrative with thematic graphic representation throughout the proposal, interview and other related deliverables.
• Collaborate with technical staff for proposal content and write/review/edit original content for clarity, compliance and key messages.
• Manage BMBD production team to meet deadlines and create compelling, compliant and high-quality proposals, interviews and other collateral, as needed.
• Lead the pursuit team on presentation phase, including presentation coaching.
• Work with Opportunity Leader to ensure win/loss debriefs are completed and captured — and leverage lessons learned to inform future pursuits.
• Coach and mentor marketing specialists and senior marketing specialists across regions in proposal management and production.

Firm Knowledge & Subject Matter Expertise

• Develop strong, in-depth knowledge of the firm’s portfolio, personnel and brand (to understand how we express ourselves visually and verbally) to connect with clients and differentiate ourselves in the marketplace.
• Develop subject matter expertise (across markets, typologies, services, technology or other) that adds value to our marketing initiatives and pursuit activities.

Management & Operations

• Work with National Marketing Pursuits Leader and Regional Marketing Team Leaders to influence training and ongoing development of Marketing Specialists.
• Provide peer review and oversight for accuracy and quality of content.
• Self-review all work for accuracy and quality of content.
• Work with Opportunity Leaders to accurately document progress through the Strategic Pursuit Process in Salesforce.
• Work with our Marketing Content Manager to preserve custom proposal content for use on future pursuits.
• Establish, improve and model marketing best practices.

Other

• Up to 25% travel expected.
• May participate in external marketing activities.

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL NEED

• Bachelor's degree in business, marketing, communications or a related field required.
• Minimum of 8 years of related work experience required.
• Related experience working in a proposal management role for a professional services firm required.
• Related experience working in the Architecture, Engineering and/or Construction industry preferred.
• Strong proficiency with InDesign, Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• Familiarity with Deltek CRM Vision, Salesforce and Miro is a plus.

Core Competencies:

• Excellent time and project management skills.
• Able to manage up, down and across large and dynamic teams to resolve conflicts and maintain progress.
• Able to “own the process” and earn trust among creative thinkers and strong personalities, including external partners.
• Strong attention to detail in every phase of the pursuit to maintain cohesion, accuracy and compliance, and avoid errors/gaps that weaken proposal impact.
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to facilitate collaboration that creates clarity and alignment across the entire team.
• Strategic thinker able to translate a multitude of activities into plans, goals and role assignments with measures to ensure implementation.

  The salary range for this position is $90,000 to $107,100 annually.  This salary range is the range we believe is the anticipated range of possible base compensation at the timing of the posting. We may ultimately pay more or less than the anticipated salary range for the position. Employees may be eligible for discretionary bonuses. We offer a full benefit package including medical, dental and vision coverage and flexible spending account options and voluntary insurances. We have paid time off, flex-time schedules, remote work options and a 401k plan and employee perk programs. For a general overview of our benefits, please visit our careers page at https://www.cannondesign.com/careers/benefits. Actual compensation may vary from posting based on geographic location, work experience, education and/or skill level.   ABOUT OUR FIRM CannonDesign is a design practice where strategy, experience, architecture, engineering, and social impact converge. We don’t just dream up solutions — we create and bring them to life in ways to solve some of the biggest challenges facing our clients and the society. At the heart of everything we do is Living-Centered Design, a bold commitment to using our talents to not just improve the world but to truly reshape it for the better. It’s more than a philosophy — it’s who we are, and it drives us to make a meaningful, lasting difference every day.   ABOUT WORKING HERE

• We are relentless in our pursuit of client adoration (not simply satisfaction). Consistent delivery of the best service is what we are about.
• We are committed to ensuring our practice is equitable for all employees, representative of the communities around us – and focused on the future of design. We advocate for equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts through the leadership of our DEI Council, Employee Resource Groups and other community advocacy initiatives.
• We’re about communication and transparency here. If you want to talk to someone about an idea you have, or a challenge that needs addressing, we’re ready for you.

  Please note that candidates can only apply to our positions on our company Careers site. It's not uncommon for scammers to create positions that look legitimate on other sites; never enter your information or apply for CannonDesign positions on any platform. Should an issue arise that you feel we should be aware of, please contact us. Please provide your resume and portfolio when applying.   As a condition of employment, all employees are expected to complete mandatory training, including compliance training, within required timeframes and adhere to our internal policies and our Code of Conduct.   CannonDesign is an Equal Opportunity Employer. CannonDesign is committed to maintaining a work environment that is free from any and all forms of unlawful discrimination and harassment. It is therefore the firm’s policy to prohibit discrimination and harassment against any applicant, CannonDesign employee, vendor, contractor, or client on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, pregnancy, veteran status, genetic information, citizenship status, or any other basis prohibited by law. It is also CannonDesign’s policy to prohibit any and all forms of retaliation against any individual who has complained of harassing or discriminatory conduct, or participated in a firm or agency investigation into such complaints. Apply