Proposal Coordinator & Writer

Proposal Coordinator & Writer

Full Time, Permanent

Location: Remote, Canada or US

ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY SOLUTIONS GROUP
SSG is a worker co-operative founded in 2001 to do creative, challenging, and values-based work. Our vision is decarbonized, healthy, equitable communities for everyone, and our purpose is to create meaningful work for our members. We work in:

• Energy and emissions modelling and planning for communities and local governments;
• Climate change adaptation and mitigation planning;
  Equitable community engagement;
• Community and health planning;
• Neighbourhood planning and design;
• Energy systems planning;
• Cutting edge climate research, and more.

In collaboration with our partners at whatIf? Technologies, we have evolved a leading practice in creating decarbonization pathways for cities.

OUR COMMITMENT TO EQUITY
SSG celebrates diversity and strives to participate in restorative justice, in part by implementing just recruitment practices. We encourage applications from BIPOC, LGBTQIA2+ applicants, applicants with disabilities, and applicants from other historically marginalized communities.

ABOUT THE POSITION

GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The majority of SSG’s work comes from proposals submitted to competitive bids to local governments. A proposal is a story of our history, our future, and what we currently have to offer in response to some of the greatest challenges of our time. SSG takes pride in ensuring thoughtful, beautiful, and compelling proposals that capture the insights and methods that we will apply to address each specific challenge.

Working with the Business Development Team, the Proposal Coordinator and Writer will be responsible for ensuring that SSG proposals are of the highest quality, in terms of both the writing and the final look and feel. This role requires someone who is, first and foremost, a persuasive writer and critical thinker; someone who is organized, creative, articulate, and efficient; someone who cares deeply about aesthetics and who is collaborative and enthusiastic.

In addition to proposal-focused work, all workers at SSG contribute to SSG’s strategic and organizational development. The Coordinator will be expected to assist and/or lead internal projects related to strategic development, organizational knowledge management, or internal organizational equity work, among other things, on an as-needed basis.

SSG’s ideal candidate is looking for long-term employment, with an interest in becoming a committed member-owner of the co-operative.

RESPONSIBILITIES
The candidate will work alongside the Business Development Team to lead and deliver on proposals. The key focus areas of this position are as follows.

1. Preparing Proposals

• Draft and edit responses to requests for proposals (RFPs) for climate action plans and other projects related to climate mitigation and adaptation.
• Coordinate with the proposal team to prepare proposals and identify project teams.
• Seek out, filter, and summarize complex and technical RFPs.
• Prepare and align the proposal content with the requirements of the RFP.
• Translate SSG’s skills and offerings to fit with the requirements of the RFP.
• Design or coordinate the design of proposals, illustrations, and figures to enhance the text.
• Communicate with potential partners and clients during the proposal preparation process.
• Ensure the design and content is of the highest quality.
• Manage multiple, and often tight, deadlines.
• Review RFP legal and insurance requirements, escalating any ambiguous areas as necessary.

2. Streamlining and Enhancing Proposal Delivery Process

• Update, enhance, and customize standardized content on the firm history, project examples, team bios, and other proposals sections on an ongoing basis.
• Create and maintain a consistent tone, look, and feel in alignment with SSG’s brand.
• Update and maintain a content, photos, and graphics library.
• Work with Business Development Coordinator to identify strategies to improve the efficiency of the proposal preparation workflow while increasing the quality of the proposals.
• Develop a systematic proposal evaluation process to identify areas for improvement.
• Coordinate with the Marketing and Communications Team to ensure alignment between the proposal content and SSG’s webpage and ongoing marketing efforts.

3. Contributing to the Co-operative

SSG’s workers are invested in contributing to the success of the co-operative, which means participating in—and sometimes leading—non-proposal-focused work, such as:

• Working with team members to improve organizational processes, streamline project delivery, and contribute to ongoing organizational innovation;
• Participating in the governance structure of the co-op; and
• Participation in the broader co-op movement.

Depending on the interests, skillset, and capacity of the person selected for this role, the job may also involve:

1. Contributing to Marketing and Communications

• Prepare blogs and articles on SSG’s work and activities.
• Contribute to SSG’s newsletter and social media content.

2. Supporting Project Delivery Team Efforts

• Write and copy edit final project reports and other project deliverables.

AUTHORITY

• Making decisions on which RFPs and other opportunities to bring to the Business Development Team for review.
• Participating in decisions about which business opportunities to pursue. (The Business Development Team strives to make decisions by consensus.)
• Confirming proposals are complete and ready for submission.

QUALIFICATIONS AND ATTRIBUTES

The successful candidate will have the following qualities and attributes

1. Superior writing and editing skills
2. Excellent attention to detail
3. Ability to meet deadlines and work under quick timeframes
4. A strong sense of aesthetics and creativity
5. Excellent project management skills
6. A commitment to continual improvement
7. A competitive spirit
8. A high degree of self-motivation.
9. A high degree of competency in individual and team working arrangements.
10. Flexibility to adapt to different levels of workloads and schedules
11. Ability to work in a non-hierarchical environment
12. Comfort with working in a fully virtual workplace

The following technical skills and proficiencies are considered assets but are not requirements for the successful candidate:

1. Passion for climate action
2. Experience in graphic design and relevant software (e.g., InDesign, Photoshop, Spark, etc.)
3. Knowledge of municipal planning and climate action
4. Experience developing responses to RFPs, business plans, project propositions, etc.
5. Undergraduate or graduate degrees in relevant fields (e.g., Environmental or Climate Studies, English, Journalism, Creative Writing, etc.)
6. Ability to read/write in Spanish and/or French
7. Familiarity with and/or enthusiasm for worker co-operatives

SOFTWARE
SSG’s primary software tools include Google Workspace, Adobe, Slack, Zoom, Microsoft Office, Wrike, Airtable, and Zotero. Previous knowledge of these tools is not necessarily required and can be taught on the job.

SALARY, BENEFITS
SSG workers are paid according to a salary scale that factors in years of professional experience relevant to their position, as well as years worked at SSG. The salary scale applies equally to all workers, regardless of their position in the organization. The salary range for 2021 was $45,000 -$57,000 for non-members and $47,000-$61,000 for members. SSG will apply a cost of living increase to these ranges for 2022. SSG targets an additional 15% base salary top-up at the end of the year, for all workers, when finances allow.

SSG offers a benefits package, which includes health, dental, and vision. SSG also offers flexible holiday pay, two weeks of health & family care leave, 3 weeks of paid vacation, and a stipend for professional development.

CO-OPERATIVE MEMBERSHIP AND PROFIT SHARING
This position will be eligible for membership in the co-operative (i.e., co-ownership) within roughly 12-24 months. SSG distributes a minimum 50% of its annual net income back to its members. Income distribution is in the form of shares and cash, as determined by SSG’s Board of Directors.

WORKING AT SSG
SSG has a relatively flat staff structure. Climate change and social justice values are embedded throughout our organization and work. SSG is a distributed organization with staff in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, Texas, and Chile.

The Coordinator will work from home or a co-working space. Applicants from outside of Canada and the US are welcome to apply, but they must be eligible to work in Canada or the US. Typical work hours will fall within the Pacific, Eastern, and Atlantic time zones. Extensive work at a computer is required. SSG offers flexible work hours, although occasional overtime may be required.

We recognize that there are responsibilities and tasks that come with any position that do not necessarily get captured in a job description. SSG is a growing organization, and we aim to be as transparent as possible about the fluid nature of our roles, while also trying to work with employees to ensure that their work is aligned with their strengths, and vice-versa. Depending on the interests and skillset of the chosen individual, the job description may shift in a variety of directions. We encourage applicants to let us know where your strengths lie, so we are able to integrate them into the position as needed.

Depending on the number of applicants, we may be able to contact only those candidates whom we wish to interview.