Sentara is hiring a Proposal Lead!

This position is fully remote!

Overview 

This project manager role is a Proposal Lead for Sentara. This individual will lead end-to-end proposal development—planning, coordinating, and delivering compliant, compelling, and on-time responses to RFPs and related solicitations. They will foster collaboration across cross-functional teams in a fast-paced environment to shape win themes, coordinate content, manage risk and exceptions, and ensure every submission meets requirements and advances strategic objectives.

Key Responsibilities

•    Proposal Strategy & Planning: 

o    Lead RFP preparation, intake, bid/no bid facilitation, and development of proposal strategies and win themes in partnership with Sales and leadership.
o    Translate RFP requirements into a structured plan (outline, compliance matrix, schedule, resource plan).
o    Drive the creation and iteration of custom materials (e.g., Executive Summary) aligned to client needs and differentiators.

•    Schedule, Tasks & Dependency Management

o    Build and manage detailed proposal workplans, timelines, milestones, and ownership across cross functional contributors.
o    Identify and manage constraints and dependencies; maintain visible dashboards for stakeholders.
o    Coordinate parallel workstreams for complex submissions with overlapping deadlines.

•    RFP Requirements & Compliance

o    Own the compliance matrix; ensure all specifications, forms, certifications, and submission instructions are met.
o    Track Q&A, addenda, and clarifications; adjust plans and content as requirements evolve.
o    Run pre submission quality and compliance checks; ensure packaging, formatting, and final assembly meet all criteria.

•    Cross Functional Leadership & Facilitation

o    Facilitate proposal/kickoff meetings, content development sessions, and review cycles.
o    Coordinate inputs from subject matter experts (SMEs) including Actuary/Finance, Operations, Clinical, and other divisions.
o    Serve as central point of contact with Sales for draft development and tracking.

•    Content Orchestration & Quality

o    Orchestrate content development: assign sections, set guidance, and manage version control.
o    Ensure clarity, consistency, brand/style adherence, and persuasive storytelling across proposal.

•    Project Closure

o    Conduct retrospectives/lessons learned; document improvements and update templates, playbooks, and libraries.
o    Archive submissions and artifacts according to policy and records requirements.

•    Documentation & Reporting

o    Produce status reports and executive updates; maintain traceability from requirements to submitted content.
o    Maintain templates, checklists, and process documentation to drive repeatability and scale.

•    Data, Insights & Continuous Improvement

o    Capture win/loss feedback; analyze trends (including public/FOIA data and market signals) to inform future strategies.
o    Investigate, recommend, and lead implementation of improvements to proposal practices, policies, tooling, and templates.

•    Team Leadership & Development

o    Provide day to day leadership of proposals; forecast resource needs; coordinate surge support (writers, editors, designers).
o    Coach writers, vendors, and SMEs on process and quality standards.

Qualifications

Required

•    3–5+ years managing complex proposals and/or large cross functional projects with overlapping deadlines.
•    Demonstrated expertise in project lifecycle management, including compliance, scheduling, cross functional coordination, and stakeholder communications.
•    Strong writing and editing skills; ability to synthesize SME input into clear, persuasive content and executive summaries.
•    Proficiency with productivity and collaboration tools (e.g., Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint/Teams, Asana or similar project management tools). 
•    Proven ability to lead without formal authority, influence stakeholders, and drive accountability to deadlines.
•    Excellent organizational skills, attention to detail, and risk/issue management discipline.

Preferred

•    Experience in healthcare/health plan or similarly regulated industries.
•    APMP Foundation/Practitioner and/or PMP/CAPM (or equivalent) credentials.
•    Familiarity with industry best practices.
•    Experience coordinating legal/privacy/security responses and exception processes.
•    In-depth experience in proposal platforms/content libraries.

Other details

•    Fast paced, deadline driven environment with multiple concurrent proposals.
•    Occasional evening/weekend work during peak cycles; limited travel to Virginia Beach office as needed for proposal production, team meetings.

Education 

• High School / GED (Required) 

• Bachelor’s Degree (Preferred)  

Certification/Licensure 

• One of the following certifications or equivalent (Preferred):  

• Project Management Institute Certified Associate Project Manager (CAPM)  

• Project Management Institute Project Management Professional (PMP)  

• Project Management Institute Agile Certified Practitioner (ACP)  

• Scrum, SAFe or equivalent  

Experience 

• 2+ years of experience in project management/project coordination, or a similar role (Required) 

• The following experience is strongly preferred:  

• Healthcare (Preferred) 

• Care delivery (ambulatory, hospital, post-acute), health plan, corporate/shared services (Preferred) 

•  Technical project management (Preferred)

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