For Exothera’s CDMO services, we are looking for a Proposal Manager to support our growth within this new field. As part of the Sales & Business team, the role of the Proposal Manager is, together with the sales and operational teams, to assess new client requests and prepare proposals containing the most suitable solutions. By following the process of business acquisition flow, the Proposal Manager will ensure the production of high-quality proposals and a high level of internal & external communications to promote the acquisition of new customers and projects. He/She will strongly contribute to the achievement of business and financial goals.
We offer the possibility to play a key role in the achievement of our revenue targets, as well as actively contributing to the continuity of Exothera’s growth.
RESPONSIBILITIES
The main responsibilities of the Proposal Manager will be to:
- Manage the proposal development process from initiation to submission, including the development of proposal timelines, outlining proposal content, and coordinating inputs from cross-functional teams.
- Ensure that proposals are developed to the highest standard of quality, accuracy, and completeness.
- Analyze RFP, RFQ and/or RFI received by prospects
- Organize, attend and lead technical teleconferences with prospects and appropriate stakeholders (SMEs, experts…) to better qualify customer’s requirements
- In strong collaboration and interaction with appropriate stakeholders:
- Assess the feasibility of the project in terms of materials and resources.
- Consolidate project’s baselines (scope, timelines, budget) – Develop competitive budgets and pricing.
- Identify potential risks for completion and define mitigation strategies.
- Build the most appropriate tailored solution leading to the structuring and drafting of a competitive proposal
- Respect and meet timelines for delivery of proposals.
- Create, update, and share KPIs on pipeline and proposals performance.
- Once contractual documents are signed, ensure proper coordination of project handover, by reaching out to appropriate stakeholders and organizing handover meetings.
- Ensure continuous improvement of the overall proposal’s quality by gathering feedback and implementing them. This will be reflected by routinely reviewing and revising high-level and detailed proposal template language, costing models, standard FTE estimates, and standard timeline templates as needed – seeking input from the appropriate subject matter experts and relevant colleagues (for early phase and/or late-stage/commercial opportunities).
- Coordinate, organize, and lead customer visits together with the Business and operation team: definition of agenda, facility tours, and working sessions with Prospect.
- Support sales operations, by providing workload estimation and timings to the capacity planning team.
- Interact and update the CRM system, ensuring that it accurately reflects proposal requests and revisions. Ensure that proposal documentation is properly archived and maintained in the company’s document management system.
- On an ad hoc basis being active in a commercial role, creating leads, bringing in new deals/opportunities
KEY REQUIREMENTS
- Bachelor’s / Master’s/Ph.D. Degree in Biological/Biochemistry Sciences.
- Minimum 5 years of biopharma and/or CDMO experience of which a minimum of 3 years in a cross-functional role.
- Experience working within a Contract Manufacturing Organization preferred
- Understanding of Nucleic Acids analytical and manufacturing process a plus
- Good listening skills to listen and understand customer needs, previous client-facing interaction required
- Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to communicate complex scientific and technical information to non-experts
- Strong analytical skills allowing to quickly and efficiently qualify customer needs and extract useful information
- Strong ability to coordinate work with diplomacy, and collaborate with Subject Matter Experts and other team members
- Good understanding of financial aspects: FTE evaluation, costing, and pricing
- Excellent organizational and personal time management skills, as well as communication (written and verbal)
- Pragmatic, proactive, and able to balance priorities
- Well-organized, structured, and rational approach
- Presenting work with an eye for detail and lay-outing
- Project management skills, including the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.