Job Title: Manager, Strategic RFPs & Proposals
Company Overview
Founded in 1987, CenterSquare Investment Management is an independent, employee-owned real asset manager focused on listed real estate, private equity real estate and private real estate debt. As a trusted fiduciary, our success is firmly rooted in aligning our interests with those of our clients, partners and employees. CenterSquare is headquartered in suburban Philadelphia, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, London and Singapore. With $14 billion in assets under management (December 2024), CenterSquare and its affiliates are proud to manage investments on behalf of some of the world’s most well-known institutional and private investors.
Position Summary
CenterSquare Investment Management is seeking a dynamic and experienced Manager, Strategic RFPs & Proposals to lead our firm’s most critical and competitive new and existing business pursuits. This high-visibility role demands a unique blend of strategic leadership, persuasive storytelling, operational mastery, and technological fluency. The Manager will own the end-to-end lifecycle for high-stake, complex, and cross-functional opportunities, ensuring every submission is a compelling, client-centric narrative that drives significant business growth.
This role offers a significant opportunity to drive innovation, impact the firm’s competitive success, and lead a high-performing function in a dynamic, global environment. The ideal candidate will possess the executive presence to influence senior leadership, the strategic acumen to define winning approaches, and the operational discipline to ensure flawless execution and continuous improvement across the entire proposal function.
Responsibilities
Strategy & Leadership
- Lead High-Stakes Opportunities: Take executional ownership of the firm’s most complex and competitive Request for Proposals (RFPs), Requests for Information (RFIs), Due Diligence Questionnaires (DDQs), and data requests defining objectives, timelines, and key themes.
- Serve as a Senior Advisor: Partner with Capital Markets (Sales) and firm leadership to define competitive strategies, including "Go/No-Go" decisions, and guide cross-functional teams with authority and clarity under tight deadlines.
- Influence and Collaborate: Build strong working relationships with partners, finance, operations, investment teams, and other stakeholders, ensuring substantive expertise and client insights are integrated into winning materials.
- Mentor and Train: Provide guidance and mentorship to junior staff and train technical personnel on effective proposal writing and firmwide pursuit processes.
Content & Storytelling
- Craft Compelling Narratives: Develop and oversee the creation of executive summaries, case studies, team bios, and pursuit narratives that position the firm distinctively and speak directly to client priorities and investment concepts. Maintain best and current versions of standardized RFP answers.
- Elevate Aesthetic Appeal: Enhance the visual and brand aesthetic of all competitive bids, applying expertise in document layout, utilizing new templates, infographics, imagery, and ensuring graphic consistency that aligns to CenterSquare’s brand identity.
- Ensure Quality: Lead the final writing, editing, and proofreading of all submission components to ensure clarity, persuasiveness, technical accuracy, and adherence to firmwide brand and style standards.
Operational Excellence & Technology
- Drive Process Improvement: Design, refine, and implement best-practice proposal processes, focusing on addressing gaps, driving efficiencies, ensuring version control, and streamlining functionality for continuous improvement.
- Leverage Technology: Champion the use of platforms such as CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce), RFP automation software (e.g., RocketDocs), and Generative AI tools to streamline drafting, automate and maintain content, and accelerate the delivery of consistent, high-quality proposals.
- Performance Measurement: Track pursuit activity, win/loss data, and client feedback, turning insights into actionable strategies and recommendations that inform firmwide business development strategy.
- Compliance and Deadlines: Direct the final production and submission of competitive bids, guaranteeing timely delivery and ensuring compliance with all regulatory and client requirements adhering to internal review deadlines.
Required Qualifications & Experience
- Experience: 5+ years of progressive experience in an RFP/Proposal management role within real estate and/or professional services (e.g., legal, consulting, financial/asset management, etc.) environment, with significant experience in high-value, complex solicitations.
- Education: Bachelor’s degree in Marketing/Communications, Finance, Real Estate, or a related field, preferred.
- Strategic Acumen: Proven track record of success creating content for complex solicitations and collaborating with leadership to define and execute winning pursuit strategies.
- Communication Mastery: Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, including advanced writing, editing, and quality assurance skills, with the ability to distill technical and complex issues into client-centered, compelling narratives.
- Technical Fluency: Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and expert-level proficiency preferred, or at a minimum, entry level experience with RFP/Content Management platforms (RocketDocs, Loopio, Qvidian, etc.)
- Leadership: Professional presence, confidence, and experience leading strategic brainstorming sessions and driving alignment across multiple senior stakeholders.
- Work Style: Highly analytical, detail-oriented, collaborative, resilient, and able to multitask and prioritize effectively to meet tight deadlines when necessary.
NOTE: This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive. Employee may perform other related duties as negotiated to meet the ongoing needs of the organization.
We are an equal-opportunity employer and value diversity at our firm. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.
No Visa Sponsorship
