Federal Proposal Manager

About APTNEXUS

Since our founding 2012, APTNEXUS has empowered federal agencies and commercial enterprises to navigate the complexities of the digital landscape. As a quality-driven small business, we specialize in the seamless delivery of IT modernization and elite cybersecurity solutions. We help our clients modernize and fortify their technology stacks -ensuring their most critical data and assets remain resilient, optimized, and secure in an evolving threat environment.

Clearance:

• None required. U.S. Citizenship and the ability to sign a non-disclosure agreement are required.

Salary Range:

• $115,000 to $145,000 (final offer based on education, certifications, and relevant experience). Qualified 1099 independent consultants will be considered.

Position Overview:

As a Federal Proposal Manager, you will own the end-to-end proposal lifecycle for AptNexus pursuits across the federal IT and cybersecurity market. Reporting to executive leadership on a small, fast-moving team, you will be the single accountable owner of compliance, schedule, and narrative quality on every bid, and you will translate complex cybersecurity and IT solutions into clear, evaluator-friendly prose. Your duties and responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

• Own the end-to-end proposal lifecycle for assigned pursuits, from solicitation release through submission, evaluation notices, and award or debrief.
• Shred RFPs, RFQs, and RFIs, deconstructing Sections B, C, L, and M into an ironclad compliance matrix that maps every requirement and evaluation factor to a named author, section, and page allocation.
• Build and enforce reverse-timeline schedules with defined milestones, production windows, and risk buffers, and re-baseline the matrix and schedule as amendments and bidder question responses are issued.
• Develop annotated outlines, storyboards, and writing assignments; plan and facilitate Pink, Red, and Gold Team reviews and drive comment adjudication to closure.
• Drive inputs from technical subject matter experts, capture, pricing, contracts, executives, and teaming partners, holding all contributors to deadline without direct line authority.
• Thread win themes, discriminators, and customer pain points through every volume, and perform substantive single-voice editing to unify content from multiple authors.
• Manage document architecture and final production, including templates, strict page limits, cross-references, and graphics integration, and submit through SAM.gov, GSA eBuy, and agency portals.
• Coordinate teaming and pricing inputs, support post-submission clarifications, discussions, and orals, and maintain reusable assets including the past performance repository and key personnel resumes.

Education:

• Bachelor's degree in English, Communications, Business, Information Technology, Cybersecurity, or a related field. An additional four (4) years of directly relevant federal proposal management experience may be substituted for the degree requirement.

Minimum Experience:

• Minimum of 5 years of hands-on experience managing federal proposals, with a demonstrated record of on-time, compliant submissions.
• Demonstrated proficiency in the Shipley proposal development methodology or a comparable structured framework, including formal color team review discipline.
• In-depth working knowledge of the FAR and agency supplements, and of federal contract vehicles including IDIQs, GWACs, BPAs, GSA Multiple Award Schedule, and 8(a) sole source and competitive set-aside procurements.
• Information technology and/or cybersecurity background sufficient to interrogate subject matter experts and independently draft credible technical content. Familiarity with NIST Risk Management Framework, NIST SP 800-53, NIST SP 800-171, FISMA, and FedRAMP is highly desirable.
• Demonstrated ability to influence without authority and to maintain calm, decisive control under compressed deadlines, paired with exceptional writing and single-voice editing skills under hard page limits.
• Advanced Microsoft Word skills, including styles, section breaks, cross-references, and automated tables of contents; experience with proposal collaboration platforms such as SharePoint, Privia, or Responsive; and experience applying generative AI tools with sound judgment on source verification and protection of proprietary information.
• Federal government contracting experience is mandatory. Prior support to a small business or 8(a) contractor, oral presentation coaching, and capture or price-to-win experience are strong pluses.
• Certification:
• • Shipley Proposal Management certification or documented formal training in a comparable structured proposal methodology, is strongly preferred.
  • The following certifications are desirable, but not required:
  • • Shipley Certified Proposal Manager, or completion of Shipley federal proposal coursework
    • APMP Foundation, Practitioner, or Professional certification; Project Management Professional (PMP); or CompTIA Security+ or a comparable IT or cybersecurity certification
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to brief executives concisely and give direct, constructive feedback to authors.
• Ability to work independently in a fully remote environment with minimal supervision, with exceptional attention to detail and discretion in handling proprietary and competition sensitive information.