Ropes & Gray is a preeminent global law firm. The firm has been ranked in the top three on The American Lawyer’s prestigious A-List for eight consecutive years and #1 on Law.com’s U.K. A-List twice in the past three years—rankings that honor the “best of the best” law firms.

The firm has approximately 2,500 lawyers and professionals serving clients in major centers of business, finance, technology, and government in Boston, Chicago, Dublin, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai, Silicon Valley, Singapore, Tokyo and Washington, D.C.

The firm has consistently been recognized for its leading practices in many areas, including asset management, private equity, M&A, finance, real estate, tax, antitrust, life sciences, health care, intellectual property, litigation & enforcement, privacy & cybersecurity, and business restructuring.

Ropes & Gray is an equal opportunity employer.

We are seeking a dynamic Legal Proposal Manager to join our collaborative Marketing and Business Development team. This individual will play a critical role in managing high-quality, strategic responses to Requests for Proposals (RFPs), pitches and other new business opportunities, and lead and manage the proposals team. The Legal Proposal Manager will project manage and coordinate firmwide proposal initiatives leveraging industry best practices and techniques. They will partner with and support the Business Development, Practice Development and Client Development teams, as well as attorneys, to position the firm competitively and support revenue growth across practices, sectors, and geographies. They will manage the implementation of a new proposal management system, with a key role in building new process and procedure.

The Legal Project Manager and the team they lead will be responsible for the management, execution, delivery and tracking of requests for proposals, RFPs, including preferred provider program submissions, and customized pitch materials. They will ensure that their team is motivated and engaged while maintaining a high level of performance. This position requires someone with excellent project management skills, a strategic mindset, and the ability to work across teams and time zones. The role reports to the Senior Marketing Manager and is a visible, high-impact contributor within the department.

• Lead the end-to-end proposal lifecycle, including RFPs, pitches, and other client-facing materials.
• Manage the implementation of a new proposal management systems and the transition of existing content and logs to the new system.
• Manage the proposal team members, creating a positive and engaging work environment that motivates team members to perform at their best.
• Create a best-in-class process for accessing and responding to proposals, pitches, and RFPs, including the ongoing management and enhancement of tools and templates to ensure consistency and efficiency.
• Collaborate with lawyers, business development colleagues, and functional teams, providing strategic direction to colleagues for pitches and responses ranging from single-practice matter RFPs to global cross-practice panel RFPs.
• In collaboration with business development, practice development and/or client development leads, drive multi-team proposal kickoff meetings and strategy sessions to clarify messaging, team roles, client objectives, and timelines.
• Ensure existing and new pitch and proposal materials reflect firm branding standards, voice, and capabilities, and disseminate to the responsible contributors for review, analysis and updating.
• Provide training and mentoring to their direct reports on the proposals team, including reviewing and editing their work and providing support, guidance and feedback.
• Maintain and enhance a centralized library of proposal content, boilerplate text, matter experience, and practice descriptions.
• Ensure final proposal submissions are compliant, timely, and visually polished.
• Conduct post-submission debriefs and feedback sessions with proposal teams to assess strengths, weaknesses, and future enhancements.
• Proactively monitor and report on proposal metrics, trends, and outcomes to inform continuous improvement and return-on-effort analysis.
• Stay current on proposal best practices, legal marketing trends, and client procurement behaviors to continuously refine processes.
• Continuously refine how we respond to client requests, aiming for a quicker, smoother process.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing or a related field.
• 8+ years of proposal management in a law firm or professional services environment.
• Previous direct supervisory responsibilities.
• Demonstrated success managing complex proposal processes with multiple stakeholders in high-pressure situations under tight deadlines.
• Strong understanding of tracking and measuring key metrics, data analytics and reporting.
• Meticulous attention to accuracy and detail with strong judgement, organizational and project management abilities.
• Creative and flexible, adept at balancing multiple and shifting priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe Acrobat, and experience with CRM and proposal automation tools (e.g., Foundation, Content Pilot, Loopio, Qorus) preferred.
• Experience with outside counsel selection systems such as Persuit preferred.
• Collaborative, self-directed, and proactive team player with a client service mindset.
• Ability to prioritize projects and coordinate own work with demonstrated follow-through on all aspects of responsibilities.

Ropes & Gray is proud to offer a comprehensive Total Rewards package to our business support team members. The firm also offers comprehensive health and well-being benefits, personal and professional development, career growth opportunities and a collegial and supportive culture. The anticipated pay range for this role is listed below and represents our good faith and reasonable estimate of the starting salary range at the time of posting. In addition, this role is eligible for a discretionary bonus based on performance. The actual offered rate for this position will be determined based on job-related, non-discriminatory factors, including qualifications and experience, geographic location, education, external market data and consideration of internal equity.

Boston: $123,200 - $187,950

New York: $129,100 - $196,900

This position requires hybrid on-site presence as an essential function of the role. Consistent and predictable on-site presence is required for ongoing business continuity, professional development and effective collaboration with colleagues and management.