Job Description:

Proposal Lead

This is an exciting opportunity for someone with good communication skills and an eye for detail that enjoys being part of an enthusiastic and determined team. The Proposal Lead is the single point of contact to the pursuit Bid Manager for all aspects of the proposal from pursuit strategy and proposal development to content creation and editing.

The Proposal Lead role is typically involved on the largest deals (Class A and B). They engage in the request for information (RFI) and request for proposal (RFP) stages and assist with, or lead, the creation of messaging collateral including the Solution on a Page (SOAP) and Message Map.

After the arrival of the RFP Proposal Lead is responsible for the effective operation of the proposal team and the delivery of the document, applying the global best practice operating model. You may lead a team of other proposal professionals, assigned as the pursuit demands require, and will use their proposal skills and those of the team to best meet the needs of the proposal plan.

They must understand the business context of the opportunity and the essence of the DXC offering, messaging, client, solution, differentiators and win themes. Success in the role is based on knowing the client and their industry and then eliciting and translating the DXC perspective into a client-oriented story through the proposal, orals, and other written collateral.

The Proposal Lead is also responsible for working with the Pursuit Team and Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to provide guidance and coaching on how to deliver the messaging and story for maximum client impact and differentiation of our winning story against competitors. They should also be able to provide writing support to the rest of the pursuit members. On smaller deals they may cover all proposal tasks including working on the strategy and messaging (SOAP, Message Map and Executive Summary), managing the proposal process and writing.

Key requirements

Pursuit Strategy

• Supports proposal strategy development as a contributor to Win Strategy Labs and other pre-RFP planning activities that help the pursuit team plan and shape client deliverables
• Determines the right proposal resource mix and engagement plan based on complexity of the deal
• Builds trusted relationships with key stakeholders (Sales, Solution Consultant, Lead Practice Architect) to identify and capture proposal the big idea
• Leads Proposal Storyboarding and Digital Strategy by actively participating in strategy sessions for example, Client Solution Strategy, Win Strategy Lab and Solution Design Workshops
• Facilitates and owns workshop to develop the Message Map
• Owns the development of the Proposal Executive Summary; engaging with SE/AE and consulting other stakeholders and Industry domain experts
• Advises on changes required to the Proposal Blueprint framework, where this is applied, based on client requirements and evaluation criteria
• Ensures consistency of messaging across proposal lifecycle through multiple deliverables, for example, proposal documents, orals session slides
• Provides ongoing assistance and guidance to the pursuit team throughout the proposal life cycle

Proposal Development

• Attends kick off meetings, regular deal review forums, and working sessions, as a source of knowledge and deeper understanding of the client and deal business context
• Applies insights into the client organisation and the DXC solution to elicit the knowledge of contributors, and facilitates ease of readability of the proposal story
• Actively works to clarify the meaning of proposal content with team members to ensure consistency of core messages
• Researches the client organisation, its media, marketing, and approach to articulate what the client organization stands for; knows the client graphic and written style; and briefs and coaches the team on the client’s ‘hot buttons’

Proposal Management

• Analyses RFx/bid requirements and tailors the proposal blueprint to ensure compliance and responsiveness to the client’s evaluation criteria
• Oversees the proposal development process including initial proposal content creation and design, and production of graphics, quality reviews, and production
• Develops proposal production plan and communicates with support areas for efficient execution
• Sets up file structure in SharePoint for proposal files
• Ensures writers understand RFP requirements and meet proposal deadlines
• Ensures proposal best practices are followed and delivers completed written proposal responses against agreed RFP deadlines, escalating issues as required
• Tracks the status of each client deliverable and escalates issues in a timely manner
• Uses DXC-branded proposal-related tools, templates, and packaging
• Plans and conducts quality reviews and applies changes required
• Leads the production team to produce, quality check, and deliver the final documents (hard copy or electronic)
• Delivers a quality and complete proposal, on time

Content Creation

• Collaborates effectively with all relevant internal and external key stakeholders to populate and update content
• Partners with the sales lead for the content and approach to the Executive Summary and other client communications, assisting sales and deal leaders to ensure maximum impact in each communication opportunity
• Identifies and re-works pre-written content as relevant to client-specific requirements
• Develops a writing style and vocabulary to appeal to the client’s own values and culture
• Proofreads and edits content written by subject-matter experts (SMEs) to ensure that it is compelling and convincing, that messaging and win themes are followed and to achieve "One Voice“ throughout all proposal deliverables
• Works cooperatively with the pursuit team contributors and the owners of the business offerings
• Balances the need to develop an optimal proposal (client story, proposal language, and presentation) with the flexibility to adapt in the interests of timely delivery
• Applies insights into the client organisation and the DXC solution to elicit the knowledge of contributors, and facilitates understanding and readability of the proposal story
• Actively works to clarify the meaning of proposal content with team members, given the diversity of specialisations and styles in the team, working with them to revisit and ensure consistency of core messages
• Develops and makes available on SharePoint writing training tools, sources, templates, and guidelines that guide pursuit teams across the global sales hub
• Researches the client organisation, its media, marketing and approach, to articulate what the client organisation stands for; knows the client graphic and written style; and briefs and coaches the team on the client’s ‘hot buttons’
• Presents new proposal content to the content management team for potential re-use.

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