Director of Proposals

NIKA is hiring for a Director of Proposals to lead and elevate our enterprise-wide proposal function in support of strategic growth across federal markets. This role serves as a key member of the Business Development leadership team and is responsible for driving the development of compliant, compelling, and winning proposals.

The Director will oversee the full proposal lifecycle, establish and enforce best-in-class processes, and lead a high-performing team supporting priority pursuits. This position directly manages two Senior Proposal Managers, while partnering closely with Capture Managers, Operations, and Executive Leadership to shape win strategies and translate them into successful submissions.

This is a highly visible role with direct impact on NIKA's growth trajectory and contract win rate.

Named a Top Workplace by the Washington Post, NIKA is a well-established company that is focused on growth within an entrepreneurial environment. We work with governments to operate and manage their real property. Our operations management, engineering, and project management services provide our customers with value and expertise to ensure operational readiness for complex and mission-critical facilities. NIKA benefits include PTO, holidays, medical/dental/vision insurance, 401k matching, and an understanding of work/life balance.

Key Responsibilities

Proposal Leadership & Execution

• Lead the end-to-end proposal lifecycle from pre-RFP planning through submission and post-submittal activities.
• Ensure all proposals are compliant, compelling, and aligned with win strategies and evaluation criteria.
• Provide strategic oversight on priority pursuits, including shaping messaging, themes, and discriminators.
• Serve as proposal lead for high-value, complex bids and critical task orders.
• Establish proposal schedules, outlines, compliance matrices, and production plans.

Team Leadership & Development

• Manage, mentor, and develop a proposal team.
• Foster a high-performance, accountable, and collaborative proposal culture.
• Provide coaching on writing, editing, and proposal strategy to continuously elevate team capability.
• Balance workload and resources across concurrent pursuits.

Strategy & Cross-Functional Integration

• Partner with Capture Managers and BD leadership to integrate capture strategy into proposal execution.
• Lead proposal kickoff meetings, color team reviews (Pink/Red/Gold), and recovery efforts.
• Ensure technical, management, and past performance volumes clearly reflect NIKA's value proposition.
• Collaborate with SMEs, partners, and subcontractors to develop winning content.

Process Excellence & Infrastructure

• Own and continuously improve NIKA's proposal processes, tools, and templates.
• Maintain and evolve the corporate proposal content library, ensuring accessibility and quality.
• Implement best practices for version control, compliance tracking, and production workflows.
• Drive innovation in proposal development, including use of automation, graphics, and data visualization.

Quality & Compliance

• Ensure strict adherence to solicitation requirements and Section L/M instructions.
• Oversee quality control of all proposal deliverables, including writing, editing, and formatting.
• Ensure consistency, clarity, and persuasive messaging across all volumes.
• 12-15 years of federal proposal management experience, with increasing responsibility in leadership roles.
• Demonstrated success leading proposals for federal government contracts (DoD, DHA, USACE, NAVFAC, etc.).
• Proven experience managing complex, high-value proposals and multiple concurrent pursuits.
• Strong leadership experience managing proposal teams and coordinating cross-functional contributors.
• Expert knowledge of the federal acquisition process, RFP structure, and evaluation methodologies.
• Exceptional writing, editing, and communication skills with the ability to translate technical concepts into compelling narratives.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, PowerPoint, Excel) and proposal development tools.
• Advanced proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop)
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment with competing priorities.
• Experience supporting facilities, engineering, O&M, and BOS contracts.
• Familiarity with tools such as GovWin, SAM.gov, and proposal automation platforms.
• Experience developing graphics, data visualizations, and executive-level proposal content.
• Must be a U.S. Citizen.

Education

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited university in Business, Communications, English, or related field required.

Preferred:

• APMP certification or equivalent proposal training is a plus.
• Experience with Govcon CRM Pipeline tools such as NextStage or other tools.

NIKA provides equal employment opportunity to all individuals regardless of their race, color, creed, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by state, federal, or local law. Further, NIKA takes affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and employees are treated during employment without regard to any of these characteristics. Discrimination of any type will not be tolerated.