Job Opening: Proposal Development Manager

JOB SUMMARY:

LeapFrog Solutions seeks an experienced, highly organized Proposal Development Manager with excellent leadership, management, interpersonal and problem solving skills. This is a multi-faceted position requiring hands-on new business support, initiative, adaptability and excellent follow through.

The Proposal Development Manager will be responsible for managing the all aspects of the company’s proposal-related activities for the full procurement lifecycle. Working with other staff, this position also contributes to the development and implementation of business development strategies, policies and procedures.

The primary responsibility of this position is to lead all company proposals and to ensure the highest standards in consistent, winning responsive bids. The responses are predominantly technical responses; knowledge of pricing structures is desirable.

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business Administration, or related field
• Eight + years of proposal development and related management experience; at least three years in federal contracting proposal management
• Excellent computer skills; proficient in Outlook, Word, Excel, and automated project management tool (e.g. MS Project)
• Track record of success in developing proposals according to federal, state, and local solicitations
• Track record of success in supporting marketing communications industry proposal and business development
• Demonstrated leadership in assuming full responsibility for all company proposals, through all development stages
• Experience using varied multiple award contract vehicles (e.g. GSA AIMS, GSA ITSS, SeaPort-e)
• Demonstrated commitment to high professional ethical standards and a diverse workplace
• An analytical mind and ability to analyze large amounts of information and data quickly
• Strong planning and decision-making skills to engage diverse individuals under tight time constraints
• Experience and ability to obtain additional resources (e.g. consultants) as needed
• Willingness to do hands-on support for all company bids and related new business opportunity responses

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Experience and/or interest in marketing, media and/or advertising industries and a passion and desire to grow the company and grow with the company
• Knowledge of pricing structures (FFP, T&M, cost plus, and combinations)
• Strong leadership skills to train, mentor, provide work guidance, coordinate, oversee and lead company staff
• Good interpersonal skills working with staff and potential customers
• Solid capacity to look at situations from several points of view; flexibility
• Experience working in a small firm/agency setting
• High comfort level working in a matrixed environment; strength under pressure

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Assume overall leadership and predominantly hands-on support for company document responses to new business opportunities (e.g. responses to sources sought notices, solicitations, and all phases of related marketing responses and proposal development)
• Direct hands-on proposal development from qualification stage through market research, and straw man proposal development, engaging appropriate staff, and fully developing and enforcing consistently high quality standards in production and final product:
• Qualification of bid opportunity
• Market research including using resource tools (i.e. FedMine, GSA E-Buy, FedBizOpps, E-VA, E-MD)
• Engage appropriate staff for input and support
• Outline proposal and develop compliance matrix; enforce compliant response
• Facilitate kick-off with win theme development and other strategies
• Develop production schedule
• Write sections (i.e. boilerplate)
• Organize and leading all review stages (pink, red, green, gold)
• Final editing and production of document – hard and electronic copies
• Take charge of all volume development including business/costing; contribute to costing
• Develop other responses to opportunities (e.g. oral presentation slides)
• Refine and update proposal development procedures, template, tools, and techniques
• Maintain complete files and records of proposal related materials and final products
• Grow the proposal development capabilities as the company grows

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

Market and Opportunity Research

• Investigate all information related to a new business opportunity

Proposal Development Management

• Do document production including development in Word, integration of graphics and other input (e.g. photos), final production including quality control, and delivery
• Take all steps necessary to produce substantial winning response to solicitations
• Establish budgets for proposals (B&P) and for overall proposal development
• Manage proposals and department to budgets; often multiple simultaneous proposals
• Maintain timelines and enforce deadlines and high quality standards
• Ensure full compliance of product with solicitation

Corporate Support

• Contribute to marketing planning and strategy; support corporate strategic initiatives
• Manage and coach staff in consistent high quality responsive proposal development

COMPENSATION:

Competitive and commensurate with experience

To apply for this position, please send a resume and cover letter to the above address, or email LFS_careers@leapfrogit.com with “Proposal Development Manager” in the subject line.

LeapFrog Solutions, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. It is the policy of LeapFrog Solutions, Inc. to provide opportunities to all qualified persons without regard to race, creed, color, religious belief, sex, age, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, or veteran's status.

Position Open: Executive Assistant/Sales Coordinator

JOB SUMMARY:

LeapFrog Solutions, a woman-owned small business, strategic marketing communications firm on a fast growth track with the federal government, seeks an experienced, motivated and energetic Executive Assistant/Sales Coordinator to support the CEO in maximizing her ability to operate efficiently and swiftly, especially in areas of networking, business development and meeting follow-through.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Following is a general description of the desired outcomes of the position.

Achieve 100% follow-up on all meetings CEO attends.

• Follow-up includes documenting notes from the meeting, documenting action items from the meeting, sending thank-you notes/emails; entering any new contact information, etc.
• Fully prepare CEO for every meeting she attends.
• This includes creating folders for all meetings, Google research on any meeting participants, etc.
• Meet with CEO every Monday morning to go over a weekly checklist that you have prepared.
• Attend weekly internal sales meeting with CEO. Take notes of all action items. Follow-up to make sure action items are completed.
• Coordinate all of CEO’s networking events including planning the meetings.
• ACT-IAC (Industry Advisory Council)
• ELI Mentor Program (Emerging Leaders Institute, part of Leadership Fairfax)
• Executive Women’s Roundtable
• ACG Capital
• AFCEA
• Manage all of CEO’s Board Participation
• NVTC – review all events and make recommendations as to which she should attend.
• Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce
• Communites in Schools
• Quarterly NVCC Marketing Advisory Committee
• Quarterly Industry Government Council
• Manage all Sales Leads
• Add leads to the contact management system (currently ACT!)
• Add leads to LinkedIn
• Add leads to Outlook
• Track leads and remind CEO of time sensitive items and follow up
• Clean out CEO’s email box within two months of starting the job. After that, manage her to fewer than 20 emails in her in-box at the end of each day.
• Manage a monthly update of the corporate goal sheet for 2011 and 2012. Update the person responsible, dates and make notes regarding any gap between goal and performance.
• Assist CEO with using Tasks feature in Outlook, and have her 95% off hand-written, paper to-do lists by December 31, 2011.
• Assist CEO in identifying speaking engagements. By December 31, 2011 have identified six speaking engagements for her to consider. Once engaged as a speaker, help her prepare for the speaking engagements.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Technologically Savvy: Is an expert or close to an expert in Outlook. Is not afraid of technology and finding solutions to technical problems.
• Efficiency: Able to produce significant output with minimal wasted effort.
• Organization and Planning Skills: Plans, organizes and schedules in an efficient, productive manner. Focuses on key priorities. Is able to put systems in place.
• Communication: Speaks and writes clearly and articulately without being overly verbose or talkative. Comfortable speaking directly to company management, press or customers.
• Writing and Editing Skills. Strong grammatical skills and ability to write and edit copy and correspondence.
• Flexibility/Adaptability. Adjusts quickly to changing priorities and conditions. Copes effectively with complexity and change, and maintains a positive attitude.
• Intelligence: Learns quickly and has business acumen. Demonstrates ability to quickly and proficiently understand and absorb new information.
• Persistence: Demonstrates tenacity and willingness to go the distance to get something done. Takes direction and runs with it.
• Calm Under Pressure: Maintains stable performance when under heavy pressure or stress.
• Work Ethic: Possesses a strong willingness to work hard and sometimes long hours to get the job done.
• Openness to Feedback and Ideas: Often solicits feedback and reacts calmly to criticism or negative feedback.
• Integrity: Recognizes that in this position, there is visibility to highly confidential information and realizes, even without being told, that it is not to be shared with anyone.
• Customer Service: Has had experience in some type of customer service and innately knows how to listen to customers and make them feel heard and cared for.
• Marketing/Sales: Though not a salesperson, has a love of marketing/PR and understands the importance of networking.

PREFERRED EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Business Administration or related field
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team

COMPENSATION:

Competitive and commensurate with experience

Please send cover letter and resume to lfs_careers@leapfrogit.com and place “Executive Assistant /Sales Coordinator” in subject header. This is a full time position.

LeapFrog Solutions, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. It is the policy of LeapFrog Solutions, Inc. to provide opportunities to all qualified persons without regard to race, creed, color, religious belief, sex, age, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, or veteran's status.

Hop To It: Taking Shortcuts Is a Good Thing

By Michael Choi

Consider this: We each live an average of 75 years, or about 657,000 hours. After the age of 10, we spend an average of 8 hours a day (or night) sleeping. That comes to 189,000 hours — or more than 21 years — in the sack. We spend another 2 hours a day eating, which works out to 47,450 hours — or 5 years, 5 months — at the table. We dedicate another hour a day to showering, drying, shaving, brushing, combing, and dressing before stepping out the door for a total of 27,375 hours — or more than 3 years — primping, plucking and preening. To top it off, between the ages of 22 and 65, we work an average of 40 hours a week, which comes out to about 82,560 hours — if we exclude vacations, holidays and sick days — or roughly 9 years, 5 months behind a desk, at the computer and in meetings.

Add it all up, and it comes to roughly 41 years — or more than half our lives — sleeping, eating, getting ready for work and working, which doesn't leave much time to mow the lawn, walk the dog, take the kids to soccer or play video games.

No wonder we're so frazzled!

The good news is that by taking a few shortcuts here and there, we can cut the time of mandatory tasks and increase our time available for beneficial pursuits (see "playing video games"). Best of all, you can apply these shortcuts now, just by spending less time with our little buddy known as the mouse and getting more acquainted with the computer keyboard.

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We Have Been Practicing Our Singing Around Here!

Not one, but two birthdays recently!

In July we celebrated the birthday of our Founder and CEO Lisa Martin!

And yesterday we sang our lungs out for Richard, our President's birthday!

A GIANT Happy Birthday to ALL!!!!!!!!!

Washington Business Journal Article features CEO Lisa Martin

Small subcontractors find they may have to fight to get paid

Not until the prime contractor began questioning her company’s performance as its subcontractor did Lisa Martin, CEO of Oakton-based Leapfrog Solutions Inc. , become suspicious. The company had previously given her only glowing reviews, and the reversal came after Martin inquired about some overdue invoices.

“They changed their tune right after I asked about payments they owed for work we had already completed,” she said. “That was a big red flag.”

While federal acquisition regulations require agencies to pay their prime contractors within 30 days of receiving an invoice, there are no regulations that set a deadline for primes to pay ...

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Patriotic Cupcakes Take the Office by Storm!

Big THANK YOU to our Account Director Rich Gilroy, who brought these Red, White and Blueberry cupcakes to the office yesterday! They proved to be a delicious breakfast that left the office feeling festive!!

Have a Happy 4th of July to All!!!!!!