Leonid Group has been retained by a leading international aerospace and defense technology company to appoint a Proposal Manager to join its US operations in Washington, DC (Hybrid).
Overview:
The organisation is building a new proposals capability across its business. This is a founding role, responsible for helping establish and run an end-to-end RFI/RFP/RFQ response function across multiple technical domains, initially focused on propulsion and expanding more broadly over time.
You will act as the central point for all proposal activity, coordinating across engineering, pricing, and commercial stakeholders to deliver high-quality, compliant, and timely submissions to U.S. prime contractors and government customers.
This is a hands-on role with significant ownership and the opportunity to help build a function from the ground up.
The Role:
Proposal & Bid Execution
• Own end-to-end coordination of RFI, RFP, and RFQ responses
• Manage fast-turnaround proposal cycles (typically ~2 weeks)
• Ensure proposals meet U.S. government and prime contractor requirements
• Assemble compliant, structured proposal packages in required formats
Cross-Functional Coordination
• Coordinate inputs across multiple business units and technical domains
• Interface with engineering, pricing, legal, and commercial teams
• Identify and engage subject matter experts across the organisation
• Ensure timely delivery of all proposal inputs under tight deadlines
Capture & Opportunity Support
• Support early-stage opportunity shaping through RFI responses
• Translate incoming requirements into actionable internal workstreams
• Contribute to bid/no-bid decisions through structured coordination
Process & Capability Building
• Help establish lightweight proposal and capture processes
• Contribute to building a scalable proposals “center of excellence”
• Improve efficiency, consistency, and repeatability of bid execution
Stakeholder Management
• Act as the central point of contact for proposal activity
• Work closely with leadership to align on priorities and deadlines
The Candidate:
Essential
• Experience in proposal management, bid management, or capture support roles
• Exposure to U.S. defence, aerospace, or government contracting environments
• Proven ability to manage RFI/RFP/RFQ processes under tight deadlines
• Strong project management and coordination skills
• Ability to work across multiple stakeholders in a matrix environment
• Comfortable operating with high autonomy and limited structure
• Must be a U.S. citizen
• Must hold, or be eligible to obtain, a U.S. security clearance
Strongly Preferred
• Experience within defence primes or aerospace organisations
• Familiarity with Shipley / APMP methodologies
• Understanding of government contracting frameworks (FAR/DFAR)
• Exposure to pricing inputs and cost models (e.g. ERP / Excel)
• Experience in proposal consulting or bid support environments
• Exposure to propulsion, aerospace systems, or complex engineering sectors
• Experience building or improving proposal processes or templates
Ideal Profile
This role would suit a mid-to-senior proposal or bid professional ready to step into a high-ownership, founding position.
You will likely:
• Thrive in ambiguous, fast-paced environments
• Prefer hands-on execution over layered corporate structures
• Be comfortable building processes from scratch
• Have experience running defence proposals end-to-end
• Be motivated by creating and scaling a new function
• Enjoy working in an entrepreneurial environment within a larger organisation
• Be comfortable collaborating with U.S. prime contractors and government stakeholders
Leonid Group Corporate Governance is a talent advisory firm that specialises in the placement of Legal, Compliance, Risk, ESG and Sustainability and Audit professionals on an international scale across the Americas, EMEA, and APAC. These are global disciplines with teams worldwide, and our network reflects this. We work with multinational corporations to help structure their departments with the best people, from the Global Chief Compliance Officer and General Counsel to the Compliance Analyst and Trade Compliance Specialist.