Proposal & Events Manager

Job Title: Proposals & Events Manager

Reports To: Associate Director of Partnerships

Status: Full-time; Exempt

Location: Los Angeles, CA (Hybrid) with occasional travel including overnight stays

Hours of Operation: Monday–Friday, 9:00 AM–6:00 PM; occasional evenings or weekends as needed

Salary Range: $80,000 – $85,000 Annually (based on experience and qualifications)

Are you passionate about giving back to your community and making a lasting difference in the lives of young people?

Who We Are:

In 1922, Woodcraft Rangers opened its doors in Los Angeles and began its mission of guiding young people as they explore pathways to purposeful lives. As a progressive organization, Woodcraft has always been responsive to the evolving needs of the communities served, and is notably inclusive, youth-led, and rooted in the Woodcraft Way, a holistic framework that develops body, mind, spirit, and service. Continuously at the forefront of expanded learning opportunities, Woodcraft Rangers has a rich history of making a significant impact in Southern California, believing that all youth are innately good, deserve the opportunity to realize their full potential, and should be an active participant in defining their own path.

What We Do:

Woodcraft Rangers provides TK-12 expanded learning programs, including before and after school, specialty enrichment, and summer learning. In the past few years, Woodcraft has expanded its menu of services beyond traditional afterschool programs and summer camps to include early learning, environmental and social justice, college access, and inclusion services for youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Additionally, we offer LifeCraft, a college and career advancement program to support the development of approximately 2,250 staff. Today, Woodcraft Rangers serves more than 30,000 youth ages 4 to 18 each year across 200 schools in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and Riverside counties, and continues to expand its reach.

Ideal Candidate:

The Proposals & Events Manager is a results-driven professional with a strong background in competitive proposal development, project management, and event coordination. They understand that every winning proposal brings Woodcraft’s mission to more schools, youth, and families.

They bring 4+ years of experience leading competitive RFP responses, ideally for school districts, public agencies, or government funders, and a track record of successful awards. This individual knows how to coordinate contributors across departments, interpret complex solicitations, and deliver complete, compliant packages on deadline.

The Proposals & Events Manager is a systems builder who takes pride in well-organized infrastructure that makes each proposal cycle faster than the last. They write clearly and persuasively, edit many voices into one, and are comfortable working with program data and budgets. They catch the details others miss, knowing that one missing signature can disqualify a strong proposal.

They are organized, collaborative, and calm under pressure, able to balance multiple deadlines alongside conference and event planning. The ideal candidate thrives in a deadline-driven environment, holds colleagues accountable without formal authority, and is committed to growing Woodcraft Rangers’ reach and reputation in the field. Familiarity with youth development or expanded learning is a plus. The candidate works well with others and is able to build a collaborative relationship with multiple stakeholders and colleagues.

Why Work for Woodcraft Rangers:

• Competitive salary

• Paid vacation & sick time

• Lifecraft program – free college & career advancement for all staff

• Upward mobility – promote-from-within culture

• Health, dental & vision

• 403(b) retirement plan

• Pet insurance

• Mission-driven work – impact 30,000 + young people annually

Role Overview:

The Proposals & Events Manager owns two workloads that together drive Woodcraft's external growth through competitive Request for Proposals (RFP) responses to school districts and public agencies, and the conference, sponsorships and event presence that keeps Woodcraft Rangers visible and credible in the field.

On the proposals side, the position will manage each response from release to submission which includes reading the solicitation, organizing internal approvals, building the compliance matrix, assigning sections, collecting program data and budgets, and making sure the final package is complete, on time, and tailored to each district or public agency’s priorities.

In between deadlines, this position will build and maintain the systems that let us respond quickly without starting over each time, including a current library of standard boilerplate language, up-to-date outcome data and enrollment figures, staff bios and résumés, letters of support, insurance certificates, and pre-filled agency forms.

For event management, you will manage Woodcraft’s presence at conferences and sector events each year. That includes coordinating registrations, booth and sponsorship logistics, materials, and scheduling staff, as well as tracking which events actually lead to relationships and contracts.

The role reports to the Associate Director of Partnerships and supports the broader sales team with conference logistics, scheduling, and event coordination.

Responsibilities:

• Competitive RFP Responses

• End-to-end ownership of WR's RFP responses to school district and public agency solicitations for expanded learning services — including RFP discovery and ownership from release through submission

• Solicitation analysis: reading RFPs for what they are actually scoring, building compliance matrices, and identifying the narrative strategy before writing begins

• Translating WR's program model, staffing approach, site-level delivery, and outcomes data into responses tailored to each district's evaluation priorities

• Coordinating across Partnerships, Programs, Student Services, Finance, Data, External Affairs and other divisions to gather inputs, context, deliverables and supporting documentation — on deadline, without losing momentum

• Managing a pipeline of simultaneous responses with disciplined timeline management and no missed submissions and minimal errors

• Making the next proposal better than the last, innovating and improving the process and increasing RFP awards

• Proposal Infrastructure

• Building and owning WR's proposal library: organized, current, and retrievable — program descriptions, outcome statements, staffing narratives, pricing frameworks, common forms, and supporting documentation

• Establishing and enforcing naming conventions, folder structures, and version control so the team can find what they need efficiently

• Conducting post-award and post-loss debrief analysis — reviewing scoring feedback when available and systematically incorporating lessons into future submissions

• Building response templates and replication frameworks that reduce setup time and increase consistency across every solicitation cycle

• Coordinating with marketing to improve RFP presentation and graphics

• Conference & Event Logistics

• Planning and executing WR's presence at education conferences, events and sector convenings — registrations, travel coordination, materials preparation, booth logistics, meal and networking events, and post-event follow-up

• Maintaining the conference and event calendar across the full year; ensuring the team is prepared, on-brand, and organized at every appearance, and that the Partnerships team is most effectively prepared and engaged at conferences and events building client relationships rather than focused on administrative duties

• Supporting sales team scheduling, meeting preparation, and account file management during conference season and as needed year-round

Qualifications/Skills:

• 4+ years of experience managing competitive RFP or government procurement responses, with demonstrated wins; school district, public agency, or education sector experience strongly preferred

• Demonstrated experience building and maintaining proposal or project management infrastructure

• Strong written communication: clear, structured, and capable of meeting a scoring rubric without sounding like a form is being filled out

• Disciplined project management

• Comfort shifting between high-focus writing work and high-volume logistics coordination as the seasons demand

• Experience coordinating conferences, events, or sector convenings preferred

• Familiarity with California expanded learning programs (ELO-P, ASES, 21st CCLC, ASSETs)

• Proficiency in Microsoft and Google Workspace; comfort using a CRM as a daily tool (HubSpot or similar); Monday project software

Physical Demands:

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the following physical demands may be essential for the effective performance of this position. Reasonable accommodation will be considered to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions:

• Frequent standing is required during working hours

• The ability to travel across Southern California, using either a car or public transportation, may be necessary several times a month.

• Regular use of hands for various tasks, such as operating a computer and handling objects, is essential.

• Must be able to occasionally lift/move up to 40 pounds.

• Reasonable accommodation is available for individuals with disabilities.

Work Environment:

We are committed to fostering an inclusive work environment and will actively consider reasonable accommodations to enable individuals to effectively perform their roles. This position operates in environments typical of the following key aspects:

• Regular exposure to computer monitors during work.

• The typical noise level of a standard work environment.

• Stable internet access is required for effective work-from-home performance.

Woodcraft Rangers provides equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without discrimination with regard to race, religious belief, color, sex, sex stereotype, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions (including breastfeeding), age, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, gender identification and expression, transgender status, transitioning status, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic characteristics, genetic information, family care, marital status, enrollment in any public assistance program, status as military, a veteran or qualified disabled veteran, status as an unpaid intern or volunteer, or any other classification protected by law. We also prohibit discrimination based on the perception that anyone has any of those characteristics or is associated with a person who has or is perceived as having any of those characteristics.