Job Description:

Surround yourself with like-minded people who are passionate about technology and love a good challenge.

Charles River Analytics has a new, exciting opportunity for an experienced Proposal Coordinator to support our cutting-edge scientists and software engineers. In this highly visible position, the Proposal Coordinator will provide critical, advanced coordination and desktop publishing for government-issued Requests for Proposals (RFPs), white papers, presentations, reports, and other products developed or supported by Charles River Analytics.

You will create templates and figures with MS Word and Adobe Illustrator, prepare submissions for final production, and perform quality assurance. Proposal management tasks include analyzing submission requirements, preparing and leading kick-off meetings, developing proposal schedules, and shepherding proposals through final submission. This position requires a flexible schedule, since work occasionally occurs after normal business hours to meet anticipated delivery deadlines. Additional Production support requests may include poster design and printing, general formatting support, and assisting with contract deliverables.

The successful candidate must be able to work independently, complete assignments with urgency, be self-motivated, and demonstrate initiative to learn new technologies and processes. You must be able to work in an environment that includes several concurrent assignments with quick turn-around times and numerous revisions under strict deadlines. The ability to retain a professional “customer service” attitude and during such times is essential.

Major Responsibilities/Activities:

• Analyze requirements for federal government Requests for Proposals (RFPs), Broad Agency Announcements (BAAs), Grants.gov Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs), and other solicitations.
• Create fully compliant templates in MS Word with complex formatting and styles that adhere to the instructions from the solicitation.
• Review proposals, reports, and presentations to ensure consistency, continuity, and quality.
• Verify that final proposal submissions comply with solicitation requirements (formatting, content, page count, schedule, costs, deliverables, and milestones) while following corporate standards, format, and template styles.
• Coordinate between technical and administrative staff about financial and contractual inputs.
• Develop, update, and maintain boilerplate content.
• Act as the focal point of contact for proposal submissions, and track ongoing reviews by technical and administrative staff.
• Take responsibility for the entire production of proposal documents, including copying, binding, and/or uploading to a website.
• Track and monitor the status of proposal reviews and cost inputs. Ensure accuracy between technical and cost volumes.
• Create, modify, and edit pages in the corporate wiki.
• Maintain and enter data into Salesforce.
• Provide Charles River staff with expertise on MS Word and MS PowerPoint.
• Create graphics (system architecture diagrams, Gantt charts) using Adobe Illustrator (and occasionally Photoshop and InDesign).
• Modify Adobe Acrobat documents and forms.

Requirements:

• MS Office. Advanced, expert knowledge of Microsoft Word is required. Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) Certification or equivalent work experience. Expert knowledge in MS Word of templates, styles, tables, review, references, merging multiple documents, find/replace, fields, Quick Parts, table of contents, etc. Ability to quickly and accurately edit and reformat documents while under time constraints. Strong MS Outlook user; familiarity with calendars, mailing lists, searching and organizing emails in Outlook. Advanced knowledge of PowerPoint is preferred and working knowledge of MS Excel helpful, but not required. High level skill and understanding of the basic principles of page layout, including the integration of figures and tables, is required.
• Adobe Creative Cloud. Ability to create various diagrams in Adobe Illustrator, which include text, shapes, symbols and arrows. Experience with InDesign, Photoshop, and Acrobat helpful, but not required.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Fast learner. Highly computer literate. Smiles under pressure.
• Exceptional problem-solving skills.
• Impeccable reading comprehension. Create compliant templates for proposal writers, including guidance and boilerplate text from previous submissions.
• Personal accountability. Efficient work style with a strong sense of urgency. Work effectively and independently in high-pressure team environment to manage multiple tasks in parallel. Ability to adapt to changes in program schedules and priorities. Multi-task and adjust to changing situations with little interruption in work. Demonstrate initiative, self-motivation, and self-discipline. Flexibility to work extended hours during peak times.
• Well-versed in Windows. Comfortable navigating in complicated folder hierarchies and able to copy, rename, and move documents. Easily navigate websites and understand proposal upload directions from solicitation.
• Familiarity with entering data into a database and performing queries. Experience with Salesforce a plus.
• Minimum two to five years of experience in similar role. Prior experience in a Government contracting, scientific, or academic environment is strongly preferred, but not required.
• Strong oral and written communications skills including the ability to articulate questions to technical writers and topic authors when clarification is required. Exceptional interpersonal skills; must be able to work independently and interact effectively with all levels of the organization.
• Candidates should be prepared to show examples of their previous page layout and graphic design work if available.
• U.S. citizenship is required.

Benefits:

• Charles River Analytics offers competitive compensation plus bonus and profit-sharing, with an attractive benefits package including: 100% employer-paid medical and dental insurance, as well as vision, life and disability insurance, paid maternity/paternity leave, tuition reimbursement, monthly gym allowance, free parking, generous paid time off, and a casual environment. We are also accessible by public transportation.