Proposal Specialist

**ABOUT GOWLING WLG**

At Gowling WLG, our dedication to excellence and quality service begins with our people. As a global law firm with offices across Canada, the U.K., Europe, the Middle East and Asia, we pride ourselves on sourcing and retaining top talent who bring energy, passion and commitment to the delivery of outstanding client service.

Employee satisfaction is important to us. We work hard to ensure that our people are motivated, engaged and empowered. We are guided by our firm’s Core Values - The Power of Teamwork, Always Striving to be Better, We all Bring Something Different - in all that we do.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are an integral part of our firm’s core values. We are always striving to build a more equitable, engaging and rewarding workplace by attracting and retaining talented people from a diverse range of backgrounds, cultures and experiences. Our aim is to help everyone reach their full potential and achieve their personal and professional goals.

Our diverse group of legal professionals, law students, law clerks, paralegals, legal administrative assistants and business services team members work together, and are respected and valued for their individual contributions.

**PROFILE**

Reporting to the National Proposal Manager, the Proposal Specialist will work within a national shared services team environment, developing strategic proposals in response to formal legal service procurements, including, Requests for Proposals (RFPs), as well as informal requests for credentials documents, in alignment with the firm’s business strategies and revenue growth goals.

Working within the Proposals and Pursuits Team, as well as collaborating with other functional teams, including the Experience, Business Development and Pricing Teams, the Proposal Specialist will provide lawyers with strategic guidance, highlighting what sets Gowling WLG apart and leveraging the firm’s strengths to win new work, and meet and exceed the needs of clients and prospective clients.

This position can be based in our Toronto, Ottawa or Calgary office.

**RESPONSIBILITIES**
- Conduct a thorough review and analysis of incoming requests for proposals to understand the business requirements and strategically plan how to execute the creation of the response, with a focus on differentiation, precision, and effectiveness to continuously increase our win-rates.
- Lead and support pursuits, and respond to deadline-driven RFPs across many services and jurisdictions, often acting as a team liaison and project manager for the end-to-end proposal development process, including any international requests and multi-party opportunities.
- Develop proposals into cohesive and compelling formats, or an online response, ensuring that the proposal incorporates pre-approved and convincing content, is client
- and business-needs focused, remains in alignment with firm brand standards and brand voice, and is in compliance with all requirements of the RFP or client request.
- Lead all proposal production activities, including any hard-copy printing, distribution and physical delivery of the document, or online submissions.
- Update the proposal content library with completed responses to improve access to a data bank of content, improving the efficiency and the performance of subsequent requests for proposal and credentials responses.
- Collaborate closely with firm partners and stakeholders to build top-quality proposals and pursuits, while working with the Experience Team to preserve any relevant work examples collected during the proposal development process to support future proposals, awards submissions or other requirements.
- Continually seek to develop improved proposal writing processes, including but not limited to proactively leveraging AI to drive efficiency and scale, while ensuring high quality control of final submissions.
- Actively monitor and track the success rates of each proposal completed, seeking feedback and final versions from stakeholders to continually enhance the overall quality of proposals.
- Participate in research initiatives related to proposals.
- Create originally drafted content if needed for unique requests.
- Other duties as required that contribute to the firm, its clients and our team.

**QUALIFICATIONS**
- A post secondary education with a focus on Business, Communications, Project Management, or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
- A minimum of 5-7 years experience in a similar role with a preference for experience in a law firm or parallel professional services environment, or another relevant industry sector.
- Proven success working in a global hybrid work environment demanding strong interpersonal and organizational abilities with excellent leadership and relationship-building skills.
- Ability to communicate effectively with other firm members, including partners, with the aptitude to be highly responsive to internal clients’ needs in a professional and ser