Mid Level Proposal Specialist Jobs

Location: Somerset, NJ
Job Type: Full-time
Schedule: Monday through Friday; hybrid, with three days per week on-site in Somerset
Experience Level: 3+ years for Specialist level; 6+ years for Senior Specialist level

About us

CARIAN is a purpose-driven, woman-owned consulting and advisory firm dedicated exclusively to the power sector. We partner with leading electric and gas utilities to provide strategic advisory and disciplined execution across program management, business intelligence, and field execution oversight. Guided by integrity, trust, excellence, and accountability, our team helps deliver complex capital programs and build the resilient energy infrastructure that communities depend on.

Position Overview

CARIAN is seeking a hands-on AEC Marketing & Proposal Specialist / AEC Senior Marketing & Proposal Specialist to support proposals, branding, digital marketing, social media, CRM administration, marketing collateral, website updates, and business development support. This role is ideal for a practical marketing generalist who can write, organize, design, coordinate, and execute. The right candidate will be comfortable supporting proposal development, creating professional graphics and presentations, posting on LinkedIn, managing marketing materials, coordinating event support, maintaining CRM data, and helping strengthen CARIAN’s brand presence in the power and utilities market. This is not a strategy-only marketing role. This is a hands-on execution role requiring strong writing, design sense, attention to detail, responsiveness, and ownership. Final title will be based on experience, qualifications, proposal ownership capability, CRM experience, design/content skills, writing ability, and ability to operate independently.

Key Responsibilities

• Support and help own proposal development, including formatting, graphics, resumes, project descriptions, compliance checks, and final production.
• Create and update marketing collateral, capability statements, brochures, presentations, one-pagers, and client-facing materials.
• Develop graphics and visual content for proposals, presentations, social media, website updates, and internal communications.
• Support CARIAN’s LinkedIn presence, including drafting posts, coordinating approvals, and publishing content.
• Assist with website content updates and coordination with internal or external website support.
• Maintain and support CRM activity in NetSuite, including contact updates, opportunity tracking, campaign support, and data quality.
• Support business development activities, client events, conferences, sponsorships, trade shows, and marketing logistics from planning through follow-up.
• Coordinate with leadership, business development, operations, HR, and delivery teams to gather content and maintain current materials.
• Help organize project profiles, resumes, case studies, qualifications, and marketing assets.
• Ensure brand consistency across proposals, presentations, social media, website content, and marketing materials.
• Support executive and leadership presentation needs as required.
• Track marketing and proposal deadlines and help keep deliverables moving on time.
• Support planning and execution for conferences, client events, sponsorships, and trade shows, including booth materials, signage, collateral, giveaways, attendee coordination, and post-event follow-up.
• Attend and support CARIAN events as needed, including conferences, client gatherings, recruiting events, and industry networking events.
• Coordinate event-related marketing materials, presentation assets, name badges, booth graphics, printed collateral, shipping logistics, and CRM follow-up tracking.

Qualifications

Candidates may be considered at the Specialist or Senior Specialist level based on experience and demonstrated capability.

Marketing & Proposal Specialist

- 3+ years of experience in marketing, proposal coordination, communications, graphic design, digital marketing, or a related role.
- Experience in AEC, engineering, utilities, energy, infrastructure, construction, consulting, or another B2B professional-services environment strongly preferred.
- Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Communications, Graphic Design, Business, English, Journalism, or a related field preferred; equivalent experience and relevant work samples will be considered.
- Experience supporting proposals, RFP responses, qualifications packages, business development materials, marketing collateral, social media, or CRM activity.
- Ability to execute high-quality marketing and proposal work with guidance and direction.

Senior Marketing & Proposal Specialist

- 6+ years of experience in marketing, proposal coordination, communications, digital marketing, professional services marketing, AEC marketing, or a related role.
- Experience in AEC, engineering, utilities, energy, infrastructure, construction, consulting, or another B2B professional-services environment required. AEC, engineering, or power/utility experience strongly preferred.
- Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Communications, Graphic Design, Business, English, Journalism, or a related field preferred; equivalent experience and relevant work samples will be considered.
- Strong experience owning proposals, coordinating RFP responses, managing deadlines, supporting business development, maintaining CRM discipline, and creating executive-ready materials.
- Ability to operate independently with limited handholding and manage competing priorities across proposals, marketing, CRM, events, and digital content.

Required / Preferred Skills

- Strong writing, editing, formatting, and proofreading skills.
- Strong PowerPoint, Word, and visual layout skills.
- Experience with Canva, Adobe Creative Suite, or similar design tools preferred.
- Experience with LinkedIn content, social media scheduling, website updates, and digital marketing support.
- CRM experience required; NetSuite experience preferred.
- Experience with SharePoint, Microsoft 365, and organized document management preferred.
- Strong attention to detail, follow-through, and ability to manage multiple deadlines.
- Professional services, consulting, utilities, engineering, construction, infrastructure, or AEC industry experience.
- Ability to work on-site in Somerset three days per week and collaborate directly with leadership and internal teams.

Travel Requirement

This position may require occasional travel to client events, industry conferences, sponsorships, trade shows, recruiting events, and other business development or marketing activities. Most travel will be planned in advance and will typically involve short domestic trips.

Leveling Guidance

AEC Marketing & Proposal Specialist: Executes proposals, graphics, LinkedIn content, CRM updates, website edits, and collateral with guidance.
AEC Senior Marketing & Proposal Specialist: Owns proposal coordination, manages deadlines, supports business development independently, maintains CRM discipline, creates executive-ready materials, and operates with limited handholding.

Why CARIAN

- Purpose-driven work – Help deliver infrastructure that powers communities
- Industry reputation – Trusted by leading utilities for our reliability and results
- Career growth – Opportunity to take on increasing ownership across proposals, marketing, communications, and business development support as CARIAN grows
- Collaborative culture – Join a team that values delivery excellence and long-term relationships
- Competitive total rewards – Strong compensation, full benefits, 401(k) match, and meaningful work

Equal Employment Opportunity

CARIAN is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We hire and develop talent based on qualifications, performance, and business needs. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic. As a woman-owned firm dedicated to the power sector, we are committed to building a team that reflects professionalism, expertise, and integrity at every level.

Compensation

The salary range for this role depends on final title and experience level:
AEC Marketing & Proposal Specialist: $52,000 – $70,000 annually
AEC Senior Marketing & Proposal Specialist: $65,000 – $95,000 annually

These ranges represent a good-faith estimate at the time of posting; actual compensation and final title will depend on experience, qualifications, proposal ownership capability, CRM experience, design/content skills, writing ability, and ability to operate independently. In addition to base salary, the role includes eligibility for bonus incentives, a comprehensive benefits package, and a company 401(k) match.