Junior Pursuit Strategist

THE ORGANIZATION
At WittKieffer, we recognize that the well-being of people and communities is inextricably tied to health, education, and scientific advancement. That is why WittKieffer exclusively serves organizations aligned to these areas of impact, as we have for 55 years. We help our clients navigate this ever-evolving and complex world by using our unique insight to identify and enable exceptional leadership. We precisely tune our services to the needs of each client—whether non-profit or for-profit—delivering high-impact executive search, interim leadership, and leadership advisory solutions. Our insight-driven approach to building and enabling leadership teams is fundamental to our purpose: Improving Quality of Life through Impactful Leadership.

The recently established global Commercial Strategy & Insights (CSI) team is a strategic imperative serving our clients, candidates, and colleagues at WittKieffer. The team plays a pivotal role in fully establishing and embedding knowledge and data-grounded insight as a foundational element of the firm’s brand, client leadership solutions, business development, and operations. To differentiate WittKieffer through an insight-driven advisory approach, there are four interconnected levers building the CSI team: thought leadership, impact assessment, client strategy, and pursuit management.

THE ROLE
WittKieffer recognizes the role of the Junior Pursuit Strategist is pivotal in enabling and driving commercial effectiveness. To build lasting and high-value client relationships, the firm must respond to clients’ needs in a tailored fashion, efficiently and effectively. This starts with producing timely and compelling content for Requests for Information (RFIs), Requests for Proposals (RFPs), new business pursuits, and pitches (collectively, “proposals”).

The primary responsibility of the Junior Pursuit Strategist will be to contribute to and support the team in developing high-quality, opportunity-specific proposals with competitive and compelling messages to optimize new business opportunities in the higher education, healthcare, and life sciences markets for WittKieffer. The Junior Pursuit Strategist will be responsible for working with templates, drafting the proposals, formatting them according to brand and style guidelines, and partnering with the PRC Manager, Pursuit Strategists, and other members of the CSI team to create compelling proposals. The ideal candidate for this position is competitive, passionate about persuasive writing, able to work under tight deadlines, and possesses strong attention to data and details.

With responsibility across multiple, concurrent projects, this position is characterized by shifting priorities, stringent deadlines, and occasional extra hours to accomplish tasks within non-negotiable client deadlines.

The preferred location for this role is Oak Brook, Illinois; however, we are flexible and will give due consideration to alternative locations and remote work arrangements for the ideal candidate.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Write, edit, and proofread proposals, incorporating feedback and revisions; ensure timely submission.
• Compile initial drafts of proposals, including standard sections and content.
• Proofread and edit proposals for readability, accuracy, and clarity.
• Collaborate with team members and subject matter experts to develop, refine, and update client-specific content.
• Assist in maintaining a response asset library (e.g., proposal templates, boilerplate content, case studies, etc.) to enhance efficiency and consistency in proposal responses; leverage technology as required.
• Apply best practices and standards endorsed by the broader CSI and Marketing teams, promoting consistency among Pursuit Strategists.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with key internal clients/consultants and other stakeholders.

CANDIDATE PROFILE
Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree is required, ideally, in journalism, English, marketing communications, or a related field.
• Highly skilled in crafting compelling, clear, and persuasive content with strong editorial and proofreading capabilities.
• Good project and time management skills.
• Highly competent in MS Word, MS PowerPoint, and Adobe Acrobat.
• Strong interpersonal skills to collaborate effectively with other team members and consultants.
• Previous experience in healthcare, education, or life sciences is a plus.

Critical Competencies:

• Pragmatic and hands-on, displaying a high degree of gravitas and resilience.
• Intellectual curiosity and ability to quickly learn a wide variety of topics.
• Attention to detail and ability to prioritize and multitask within a fast-paced, challenging, and time-sensitive environment.
• Ability to thrive independently and collaborate effectively in a virtual or hybrid environment.
• Strong commercial acumen and sensibility with a sense of urgency.
• Embraces and contributes to a culture of purpose, collaboration, and trust.

Witt/Kieffer Inc. ("Witt/Kieffer") provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants. WittKieffer will recruit, employ, train, promote and compensate our employees without regard to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, citizenship, gender, pregnancy, military status, age, marital status, sexual orientation, sexual identify, disability or any other personal characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local law. WittKieffer will endeavor to make reasonable accommodation, as required by law, for qualified individuals with known disabilities or religious practices unless doing so would result in an undue hardship on the operation of our business.