Senior Pursuit & Proposals Manager

Cooley is seeking a Senior Pursuit & Proposals Manager to join the Marketing and Client Development team.

About Cooley: Cooley is a global law firm with an expansive practice and more than 3,000 employees and partners worldwide. We value and celebrate diverse perspectives and strive to create a workplace where every individual can thrive. At the core of Cooley’s success is the exceptional talent and unwavering spirit of our people. We embrace individuality while fostering a ‘one-firm’ culture where collaboration and creativity thrive. Our people are the foundation of our success and the driving force behind everything we do.

Hybrid Schedule Philosophy: As part of the Cooley culture, we recognize and appreciate the value of being together, in person, to build comradery with others in the office and to be a contributing member of the Cooley office. However, we also appreciate the benefits and flexibility that come from remote working. As such, the default assumption for employees and partners is a hybrid schedule: some in-office presence and some work from home days absent certain essential in-office roles that require five (5) days/week in-office.

Position summary: This role is part of the Pursuit and Proposals Team, which supports pursuit, pitch, and proposal execution for priority opportunities, while also helping shape win strategy, coach teams, and build a more consistent and scalable pursuit model. Responsible for managing the development and execution of high-impact proposals and pursuits, ensuring clear, compelling messaging aligned to client needs and differentiated win strategies. Specific duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

Position responsibilities:

• Proposal & Pitch Management: Manage the development of high-impact proposals and pitch materials, ensuring teams deliver clear, compelling, and well-structured content for high-priority opportunities.
• Team Leadership & Resource Deployment: Lead the pursuit and proposal team, managing the deployment of resources to ensure the right support is allocated to the right opportunities across the firm.
• Win Strategy Implementation: Help define the win themes, positioning, and messaging that differentiate the firm, ensuring rigor in how opportunities are shaped before materials are developed.
• Client Context Alignment: Work with pursuit teams to align their strategy to specific client needs, ensuring the firm’s value proposition is relevant to the target audience.
• Execution of High-Importance Pursuits: Provide direct support for the firm’s largest or most significant pursuits, ensuring they receive the necessary attention and tactical execution for success.
• Complex Opportunity Coordination: Coordinate the project management of large or cross-functional pursuits, managing timelines and workstreams to keep opportunities moving forward and teams aligned.
• Operational Efficiency & Scalability: Implement standardized pursuit and proposal processes to create a scalable support model, utilizing the tools, templates, and playbooks that improve efficiency.
• Process Consistency & Best Practices: Reinforce a consistent approach to how the firm manages pursuits, ensuring that standard best practices are applied across all teams and regions.
• People Leader:
  • Serve as direct supervisor and mentor to direct reports
  • Provide day-to-day supervision of direct reports, ensure compliance with assigned work hours and monitor for compliance with all firm and department policies. Manage staffing coverage, review and process time logs/time off requests
  • Support business professional development and continued educational opportunities
  • In collaboration with immediate supervisor and central HR, participate in hiring, performance appraisals, counseling, termination and other employee lifecycle events
• All other duties as assigned or required.

Skills and experience:

Required:

• After orientation at Cooley LLP, exhibit proficiency in the Microsoft Office suite, iManage and other firm applications
• Ability to work extended and/or weekend hours, as required
• Ability to travel, as required
• 7+ years applicable experience in the field with 2+ years of exempt/management experience in relevant roles.
• Ability to work more independently, demonstrate escalating ownership and mastery of assigned area, exhibit strength in the areas below, become a resource and mentor to others and more as they progress in different roles within the department)
• Demonstrated experience writing and editing proposals
• Strong working knowledge of pursuit technologies (e.g., Templify and Foundation)

Preferred:

• Bachelor’s degree
• Supervisory experience
• Prior legal industry or professional services experience

Competencies:

• Entrepreneurial by nature
• Excellent attention to detail
• Approaches tasks through a lens of quality and consistency
• Approaches tasks through a digital first lens
• Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills with ability to facilitate and solve problems
• Ability to organize, prioritize and coordinate multiple activities often under tight timelines
• Takes a consultative approach to set goals, drive projects, and achieve outcomes
• Strong judgment
• Team-player with collaborative spirit
• Unwavering ability to handle and maintain confidentiality regarding firm information, projects, client data
• High level of professionalism at all times
• Demonstrated ability to lead through influence and develop talent
• Proactive, analytical mindset
• Effective presentation skills

Cooley offers a competitive compensation and excellent benefits package and is committed to fair and equitable employment practices. EOE.

The expected annual pay range for this position with a full-time schedule is $170,000-$240,000. Please note that final offer amount will be dependent on geographic location, applicable experience and skillset of the candidate.

We offer a full range of elective benefits including medical, health savings account (with applicable medical plan), dental, vision, health and/or dependent care flexible spending accounts, pre-tax commuter benefits, life insurance, AD&D, long-term care coverage, backup care for children and/or adults and other parental support benefits. In addition to elective benefit options, benefited employees receive firm-paid life insurance, AD&D, LTD, short term medical benefits as well as 21 days of Paid Time Off (“PTO”) and 10 paid holidays each year. We provide generous parental leave and fertility benefits. New employees will attend a detailed benefit orientation to learn more about our many benefits and resources.