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POSITION SUMMARY
Purpose
Provide leadership under the direction of the Proposal Development Manager, or an appointed designee, in the production of proposals, cost estimates and associated documentation with the ultimate goal of achieving required profitability and project completion on time, within budgets, to the satisfaction of the customer, and at acceptable levels of quality without compromising safety or reliability.
Nature and Scope
This generic description applies to all four levels of Proposal Development Engineer: Proposal Development Engineer I, II and III, Senior Proposal Development Engineer, Principal Proposal Development Engineer and Senior Principal Proposal Development Engineer. The general title of “Proposal Development Engineer” will apply to all four levels unless otherwise specified.
The Proposal Development Engineer is a member of a Proposal Management group and is responsible for producing proposals in support of the business areas. The Proposal Development Engineer reports to a Proposal Development Manager who heads the Proposal Management group, or to an appointed designee such as Lead Proposal Development Engineer for a specific proposal.
Proposal Development Engineer is responsible for those proposals, or portions of proposals, assigned to them by the Proposal Development Manager. Individual proposals are based on Customer, JV, or Air Products’ merchant product or service requirements. Proposal scopes of supply may vary widely across the various Product Supply Teams but will generally include equipment supply, engineering design, construction, and start-up services. The primary challenge is to complete the define the project scope of supply and the potential risks associated with the execution of the subsequent project whilst meeting the critical success factors, typically schedule, at minimum cost, to the required levels of quality, in a safe and efficient manner.
The Proposal Development Engineer is typically the individual who is assigned responsibility from the technical aspects for leading a proposal team in defining and completing the proposal, cost estimate and associated documentation. The Proposal Development Engineer assumes ownership of the proposal to develop the scope, technical requirements, schedule and cost to meet the customer’s requirements in line with the Commercial Strategy. A typical proposal team consists of a matrix based organisation within Air Products.
Typical proposal activities include: technical liaison with the business areas; direct participation in selling projects; being the Customer’s single point of contact for communication and resolution of technical concerns; review and interpretation of customer RFQ’s; participation in the definition of scope of supply and preparation of customer proposals; defining and leading a proposal team; defining the requirements for other groups inside Air Products i.e. other PSTs, Customer Engineering; working with Procurement to obtain quotations for specific items of equipment and construction contracts etc.
As the leader of a matrix based proposal team the Proposal Development Engineer, there are key characteristics and traits required of the Proposal Development Engineer. The Proposal Development Engineer must exercise sound judgement and interpersonal skills in the co-ordination and direction of the individuals which comprise the proposal team.
The Proposal Development Engineer must:
- provide leadership to the team through acceptance of responsibility and by example
- provide adequate and timely co-ordination of members of the proposal team to meet the Commercial Strategy goals
- be an effective communicator
- establish a good rapport with the customer
- be flexible and capable of adjusting to the unexpected and adapting prior knowledge to unique situations
- provide a mature and steady presence
- distinguish between the needs and desires of the customer and deal forthright but firmly with the customer as required to resolve scope issues which may arise
- work within a team framework with the proposal team, other internal disciplines (e.g. accounting, purchasing, law department, commercial groups, other engineering groups / PST’s etc.), and with external contacts (e.g. customers, contractors, equipment vendors, etc.)
- be tenacious
- negotiate, resolve differences, and develop consensus to secure win/win agreements
- be efficient, organised and capable of providing structure as necessary
- attain and maintain appropriate knowledge and skills.
- draw on other parts of the organisation for specialist support, as appropriate.
PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES
- Assist the Project Engineering with definition of project scope of supply and with estimating costs for project scope of supply.
- Provide technical point of contact to the business area for assigned proposals.
- Provide specialist technical input to the Proposal Management and engineering design phases.
- Develop proposals as assigned to meet or exceed project schedule, budget, and quality requirements. This includes, as required by the specific proposal, kicking off proposals, collecting costs/quotes, producing technical proposal sections, reviewing commercial proposal sections, assisting in the production of the project scope report, leading the firm-bid review, understanding transferred/ shared costs, coordinating design and scope development, identifying required equipment, assisting in the establishment of scope splits, coordinating the production P&ID’s/PFD’s/layouts
- Report to management on proposal status and concerns.
JOB REQUIREMENTS
- Education – B. Eng/ B. Sc.
- Experience – 5+ years experience
- Scope - Prime responsibility for leading proposals, Involved in several proposals of varying risk and scope, Limited project work, Basic understanding of applicable Engineering Design Codes
- Interpersonal Contacts - Increased involvement with Corporate technical areas, Contact with non-APCI personnel
- Direction Given/Received - May supervise EDP positions, Receives general instruction and supervision, Participates in program planning
- Primary Responsibilities - Contribute expertise on new Proposal Management concerns, Develop improvements to existing Proposal Management procedures, Resolves engineering issues
- Work Approach - Develops new procedures and approaches, Coordinates the involvement of others in project, and Coordinates utilization of technical resources outside of company, Limited review of work
- Development - Good basic knowledge of Proposal Management methodology
We are the world’s largest hydrogen producer with over 80 years of industrial gas experience. We are hydrogen and industrial gas experts delivering safe, end-to-end solutions, investing in real, clean energy projects at scale, and driving the industry forward to generate a cleaner future.
At Air Products, we work in an environment where we put safety first, diversity is essential, inclusion is our culture, and each person knows they belong and matter. To learn more, visit About Air Products.
