Proposals Manager

Overview

Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP is one of Canada’s leading business law firms. Advising many of Canada’s corporate leaders, as well as U.S. and international parties with extensive interest in Canada, our more than 1,000 firm members are based in offices in Toronto, Montréal, Ottawa, Vancouver, Calgary and New York.

Osler prides itself on attracting and maintaining some of the brightest talent in the legal arena. Our lawyers, students, management and staff have created a unique firm culture which nurtures mentoring and the exchange of ideas. Osler is a dynamic and exciting place to further your career or carve out a new path.

Working with Client and Business Development leadership, legal professionals and other subject matter experts, to participate in strategic opportunity review, develop winning themes and differentiators for proposals, and be responsible for the effectiveness and quality of proposals across all five offices.

This job posting is for an existing vacancy.

This is a contract opportunity with an expected end date of May 2027.

• Manage strategic pursuits from start to finish
• Evaluate opportunities and make recommendations regarding the go/no go process
• Work directly with the partners and business development directors on messaging, structure, content and ensuring that a thorough understanding of the client’s needs and the broader business context is reflected in the response
• Lead strategic proposal meetings/calls with key stakeholders to clarify an approach and gather sufficient internal information to customize proposals and presentations, prepare proposal work-back schedules, and ensure sufficient timelines are in place
• Write compelling, original content
• Work collaboratively with internal stakeholders and the pricing team to develop and communicate compelling fee models
• Present ideas to continuously improve the proposal process from opportunity evaluation, strategy development, post-bid evaluation, best practices and firm wide education
• Contribute to the proposal content library and participate in the launch and maintenance of proposal automation
• Participate in tracking and reporting on team statistics
• Act as a back-up to the Director, i.e. have the ability to manage the pursuits team and resources during any absences of Director
• Provide training to team members on strategic pursuits

Education and Experience

This position requires a university or college diploma (preferably in marketing or communications). A minimum of 5 to 7 years of strategic pursuits experience with professional services organizations. French language skills are considered an asset. An equivalent combination of education, training and experience may be acceptable.

Knowledge and Skills

• General knowledge of how a partnership operates
• Advanced writing (highly structured, concise and persuasive) with extensive experience writing executive summaries and other client-facing content
• Ability to clarify complex information
• Ability to identify and clearly articulate value propositions and differentiators
• Confident and proactive, able to interact with all levels of management and legal professionals
• Exceptional written and verbal communications skills
• Personal integrity, discretion and a strong client service orientation is essential
• Extremely well organized with superb attention to detail and excellent time management skills
• Ability to manage several proposals simultaneously
• Willing to work evenings or on weekends to meet proposal deadlines
• Expert in MS Office including PowerPoint, Word, Outlook and Excel
• Experience with any of the following:
  SharePoint, CRM (Sales Force and Legal 360), proposal automation, generative AI tools considered a plus
• Demonstrated self-starter and highly motivated to handle a fast-paced environment
• A team player who also works well independently

We are currently working in a hybrid work arrangement, which includes a requirement to work primarily in the office and flexibility to work remotely up to 2 days per week.

The range of expected compensation for this position is $90,000 - $110,000 annually. Compensation offered will be based on a variety of factors…