Proposal Specialist

Are you someone with strong leadership and administrative skills? Do you enjoy building relationships and working collaboratively in a team environment with both internal and external stakeholders? Are you a trusted partner and a problem solver? As someone with excellent communication skills and business acumen, you will thrive in our fast-paced and agile environment.

Your Opportunity

Dillon Consulting is seeking motivated candidates to fill two available positions for a Proposal Specialist to join our Business Development and Sales (BDAS) group. The addition of a new Proposal Specialist is part of an exciting new approach to managing our proposal sales operations in Dillon!

This key role within the BDAS Team requires a detail-oriented professional who collaborates effectively, in a fast-paced environment that is highly deadline oriented. The ideal candidate is a high energy, team player passionate about creating proposals that are more effective, efficient, and engaging.

We offer flexible work hours and hybrid work arrangement options to help balance the competing demands of work and personal life. At Dillon, we operate as one team. This position is available at any of Dillon’s offices in Canada.

Proposal Specialists report directly to the Proposal Support Manager and works closely with the Manager of Pursuits, Submission Managers, Marketing Specialists, Graphic department, and other executives/associates, on assigned pursuits. They are responsible for the direct, hands-on production of proposals and presentation materials and the development, growth, execution, and representation of the Dillon brand. The role is specialized for individuals with a high attention to detail, outstanding writing and editing abilities, outstanding time management skills, expert knowledge of the Microsoft Office Suite, and a passion for learning new tools to support and drive proposal development.

If you are driven by reliability, achievement, continuous development and creativity then our values align and we highly encourage you to apply for this exciting role.

What your day will look like

Proposal Development & Execution

• Prepare professionally written responses to proposal documents that address client requirements and are compliant, accurate, concise, and effective; ensuring professional and easy-to-understand final products through writing, copy editing, formatting, and selection of supporting materials.
• Responsible for the end-to-end management of the proposal development and submission process including coaching technical content authors and submission managers to enhance proposal response process and improve win rate.
• Use of AI and Proposal Management Software to create and polish winning proposal submissions.
  Lead and collaborate with Business Unit Managers and various cross-functional teams.
• Collaborate with the Business Development & Sales and Marketing departments to write and develop clear, persuasive, accurate descriptions of corporate content and experience that resonate with our clients and are technically correct, on brand, tangible, and engaging.
• Collaborate with the Graphics department to develop innovative design templates to take our proposals to the next level and wow our clients.
• Coordinate and conduct kick-off and other meetings/calls; ensuring that all key cross-functional areas are represented; and develop detailed action plans and timelines/schedules based on submission requirements and deadlines.
• Leverage project management skills to define and manage the proposal response process, section assignments, and schedule (including intermediary and final reviews) to ensure internal deadlines are met and final deliverables are of the highest quality.
• Coordinate proposal production with internal/external resources, including editing, formatting, printing, distribution, and delivery of final materials to the client.
• Oversee a proposal coordinator that is supporting the same Business Unit, checking on any workload capacity constraints, assisting with their ongoing development, and providing any required guidance.
• Support business and proposal development process improvements.

Learning & Development

• Commit to self-development and ongoing learning and professional development.

What you will need to succeed

• Minimum five years’ experience with preparing proposals and tender submissions.
• Post-secondary education in an administration, marketing, business, or communications field.
• Experience with using various AI tools and proposal management/development software will considered an asset.

• Advanced skills in Microsoft Word and experience with large and complex document formatting.
•  Proficient with Microsoft Excel.
• Strong business writing, editing, and communication skills.
• An aptitude for formatting, editing, layout and making written content sound like “one voice.”
• Excellent attention to detail and a high regard for accuracy and quality.
• Understanding of basic financial terms and functions, along with experience working with budgets and schedules (e.g., Gantt charts).
• Strong interpersonal, organizational, and time management skills with the ability to work successfully in a fast paced environment with changing workload demands.
• Experience in a professional services consulting firm (environmental/engineering/planning) is considered an asset.
• Experience using proposal management software platforms considered an asset.
• Experience with Adobe Creative Suite (In-Design, Illustrator, and Photoshop), Microsoft Project and PowerPoint considered an asset.
• APMP Certification considered an asset.

Why choose Dillon

Dillon is powered by people who are technically proficient, passionate about socially important projects, and motivated to deliver superior, tangible results. We strive to remain at the forefront of technology and innovation, and are empowered to continually grow and develop. 

We live our core values:

• Reliability: words result in actions that build trust;
• Achievement: do the work to hit the target;
• Continuous development: always learning; always adapting; always growing;
• Creativity: discover new possibilities;
• Courage: do the things that matter, especially when it’s hard;
• Inclusiveness: enabling belonging to draw strength from our differences.

In addition, we offer:

• Employee share purchase plan
• Dillon is 100% employee owned and share ownership is open to all full-time regular employees
• A competitive compensation package
• Comprehensive health benefits
• Generous retirement savings plan
• Student loan repayment assistance with matching employer contributions
• Flexible work hours 
• Dillon values its staff and the contributions that are made each day and understands that work arrangements can differ based on personal needs and business needs.  We are taking a trust-based approach to offer a variety of flexible work options to help balance the competing demands of work and personal life.
• Learning and Development opportunities
• As a knowledge-based business, the organic growth of our knowledge and skills occur through our work performance and roles. The creation and sharing of knowledge allows us to take local knowledge to scale, capture lessons learned through experience, and continuously improve service delivery. The development of self and others is an evident and measured core behaviour within our organization
• We use a composite approach to development including coaching to build the how, mentoring to share lessons, advising to round out perspectives, and co-creation of knowledge through internal learning opportunities
• Focus on Innovation
• The ability to anticipate, examine, and adopt new and innovative solutions is a crucial driver for the continual and progressive advancement of our business performance. In our culture, people are empowered to reflect and question current practices and seek forward looking solutions to today’s problems and tomorrow’s opportunities
• Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP)
• A variety of EFAP tools and online resources to support well-being are available to all employees
• Wellness Subsidy
• Our employees can take advantage of wellness subsidy that can be put towards expenses for a variety of health and/or wellness related activities such as gym membership, purchase of home fitness equipment, yoga classes  and dance classes

About Dillon

Dillon is a proudly Canadian, employee-owned, professional consulting firm specializing in planning, engineering, environmental science, and management. We partner with clients to provide committed, collaborative, and inventive solutions to complex, multi-faceted projects. With over 20 offices and more than 1000 employees across Canada, Dillon offers a wide range of services related to building and improving facilities and infrastructure, protecting the environment, and developing communities.

Now operating for over 75 years, we continue to strive for excellence in everything we do. Dillon has been listed as one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies for the past 18 years and has the distinction of having achieved Platinum Club member status in this program.

Health & Safety at Dillon

Prospective employees are expected to fully align with Dillon's core commitment to Health & Safety. This includes active, ongoing engagement with our Health & Safety processes and platform, and the active, ongoing identification and reporting of health and safety hazards.

Employment Equity, Diversity & Inclusion at Dillon

Dillon is committed to the principles of employment equity, inclusiveness, and diversity within our organization. We strive to achieve a workplace where opportunities are based on skills and abilities and that respects and values differences.

Inclusion is more than a word to us, it is the way we choose to run our business. We encourage you to contact us if you require accommodation during the interview process. We would love to hear from you!