Companies ask for delivery. They pay for judgment.
I read 50 job postings for RFP and proposal roles at mid-market technology companies and coded every responsibility in them.
From Specialist to Senior Manager, the RFP scope barely moves. The salary band rises by $42,000 to $70,000.
By Rob Steeves, CF APMP. Founder, R. Steeves Consulting Inc.
50
Job postings analyzed across five title groups.
94%
Include proposal management (47 of 50).
54%
Include deal desk work (27 of 50), ahead of proposal writing at 44%.
$42K–$70K
Senior band over Specialist band, mid-cost states.
The Counts Behind Every Finding
Three tables, two figures and six findings on what companies ask for when they hire for RFPs, and what they pay for.
What's in the PDF
- The 50 postings by title group, from Proposal Specialist to RevOps.
- 33 tasks across eight competencies, each with the number of postings that name it.
- Scope and salary range by title group, for mid-cost and high-cost states.
- Six findings, each with the counts behind it.
- The hiring question: which band to hire at, and what to write down before the posting goes live.
The 50-Posting Study
What mid-market companies ask for when they hire for RFPs, and what they pay for.
Download the StudyFree to download. No sign-up.
Three Proposal Titles. Flat RFP Scope. Rising Salary.
Read the three titles from left to right. A Senior Proposal Manager isn't asked to do more proposal work than a Specialist. The posting adds non-RFP work, and the band rises.
RFP Competencies
Average per posting
Non-RFP Competencies
Average per posting
Salary Band
Mid-cost states
Senior = Senior Proposal Manager / Director. The first two panels share one scale. Salary ranges are for mid-cost states.
Eight Competencies, Ranked by Postings
I coded each responsibility to one of eight competencies. Four relate directly to the RFP and four sit outside it. Open a row for a summary and the tasks inside it.
- RFP competency
- Non-RFP competency
Proposal ManagementRFP 4794%
In Brief
Close to universal. The two tasks named most often in the whole study sit here: coordinating contributors and owning the response end to end, each in 44 postings.
Tasks Named Most Often
- Coordinate contributors and SMEs across functions4488%
- Own the response end to end, intake through submission4488%
- Carry multiple concurrent pursuits and deadlines3264%
Five more tasks are in the PDF. Download the study
RFP Library & Tech StackRFP 4692%
In Brief
Nearly every posting asks the hire to look after the library and the platform behind the proposals. Buying the platform didn't finish the work. It became part of the job description.
Tasks Named Most Often
- Keep content current, approved and version-controlled3162%
- Implement or improve an RFP response platform2958%
- Improve or design the process and workflow, including tool integrations1938%
Two more tasks are in the PDF. Download the study
Deal DeskNon-RFP 2754%
In Brief
The third most common competency, and the first that sits outside the RFP. It appears more often than proposal writing, which is in 22 postings.
Tasks Named Most Often
- Contracts, MSAs, non-standard terms, exceptions and approvals1530%
- Pricing, quotes and deal structuring1326%
- Deal qualification and gatekeeping918%
One more task is in the PDF. Download the study
Proposal WritingRFP 2244%
In Brief
Fewer than half of the postings ask the hire to write. Managing the response is asked for more than twice as often.
Tasks Named Most Often
- Draft, tailor and write responses and narrative2244%
- Edit, proofread and QA contributions from SMEs2040%
- Reuse and adapt boilerplate and approved content1224%
One more task is in the PDF. Download the study
Revenue & Sales OperationsNon-RFP 1836%
In Brief
More than a third of the postings add reporting and CRM work to the role. Every one of the 18 names metrics, dashboards or CRM administration.
Tasks Named in the Postings
- Report metrics, dashboards and general CRM administration1836%
- Keep CRM records current918%
- Day-to-day sales support: meetings, documents, ad-hoc tasks510%
RFP Process CreationRFP 1326%
In Brief
About one posting in four asks the hire to create the process. Five ask them to build the function from scratch, and three ask them to define how it is measured.
Tasks Named in the Postings
- Select and implement tooling and an AI workflow1122%
- Build the function or process from scratch510%
- Define the metrics and measure the function36%
InfoSec & DDQ SupportNon-RFP 918%
In Brief
Nine postings put security questionnaires and vendor assessments on the proposal hire. Eight of them add due diligence requests, triaged to the InfoSec lead.
Tasks Named in the Postings
- Respond to security questionnaires and vendor assessments918%
- Handle due diligence requests, triaging to the InfoSec lead816%
- Keep certification and compliance claims accurate510%
People ManagementNon-RFP 36%
In Brief
The rarest of the eight. Three postings come with direct reports, and one asks the hire to hire and scale the team.
Tasks Named in the Postings
- Lead or manage a team with direct reports36%
- Hire and scale the team12%
- Mentor and coach the team12%
The bold figure is the number of postings and the percentage is the share of all 50. A posting counts toward a competency if it names at least one task within it.
Six Findings
The Senior Salary Buys the Non-RFP Half of the Job
The premium pays for commercial judgment, measurement and managing people. It doesn't pay for more proposals.
Deal Desk Work Shows Up More Often Than Writing
Deal desk tasks appear in 27 postings and proposal writing in 22. Deal Desk titles also sit in a higher band than Proposal Managers.
Price and Contract Terms Sit Outside Most Proposal Jobs
Pricing and deal structuring appears in 13 postings, and in fewer than 30% of the postings with a proposal title.
Nine Postings Ask the Hire to Qualify Bids. One Lets Them Decide.
In the other 41, qualification isn't mentioned. Somebody is declining bids, and the postings rarely say who.
On-Time Delivery Is Named in 84% of Postings and Measured in None
That leaves most hires to be judged on a number nobody wrote down.
The Platform Is Bought. The Library Is Still the Job.
Forty-six of the 50 postings include the RFP library and tech stack. Buying the platform didn't finish the work.
Do You Need the Non-RFP Layer?
For a company about to hire, the study comes down to that one question.
Either way, write down who owns pricing, contract terms and the bid decision before the posting goes live. Most of the postings I read leave that out.
-
If you already have them
A bid process, a deal desk and someone who owns the go/no-go decision
You need proposal capacity. Hire at the Manager band.
-
If you have none of those
You are hiring for the non-RFP competencies
Those are what the Senior band pays for, and a Manager-level posting won't supply them.
A Note on the Sample
Fifty postings can show a pattern. They can't describe a market. Every figure here is a count or a share of these 50. A posting is also a wish list: it shows what a hiring manager asks for and what the company is prepared to pay, before anyone is hired or measured.
About the Author
Rob Steeves, CF APMP, is the founder of R. Steeves Consulting Inc., a fractional bid desk practice based in Toronto. He works with SaaS companies that sell into government, healthcare and public safety.
Hiring for One of These Roles?
Book a 30-minute strategy call and bring the posting. I'll show you how it compares with the 50, and where pricing, contract terms and the bid decision sit in it.
30 minutes. No pitch. Just an honest look at your bid operation.