Marketing Pursuit Director

Benesch is seeking a Marketing Pursuit Director to lead our strategic approach to priority pursuits across markets and service lines. This is a high-impact leadership role focused on helping Benesch position for, pursue, and win our most important opportunities. The Director will partner closely with firm leaders, seller/doers, project leaders, and technical teams to develop differentiated pursuit strategies, strengthen client positioning, and turn market, client, and competitive intelligence into winning strategies.

The ideal candidate is a strategic pursuit leader who understands how to bring people together, ask the right questions, uncover what matters to the client, and translate that insight into compelling win strategies. This individual will serve as a trusted advisor and facilitator throughout the pursuit lifecycle, from pre-positioning and capture planning through proposal development, shortlist interviews, and lessons learned. This role offers the opportunity to influence major pursuits across the firm while helping elevate the strategic capabilities of Benesch’s marketing and business development teams.

Location

This position offers a hybrid work schedule with the flexibility to work from any Benesch office location. Fully remote arrangements may be considered for candidates who are not located near a Benesch office.

The Impact You Will Have

Lead strategic pursuit planning for priority opportunities across Benesch’s markets and service lines.
Facilitate pursuit strategy workshops, kickoff meetings, and strategic reviews to align teams around client priorities and pursuit objectives.
Develop and direct messaging strategies for major proposals, qualifications, interviews, and other client-facing opportunities.
Guide capture planning and pre-positioning activities in collaboration with project leaders, seller/doers, and technical teams.
Help pursuit teams identify client priorities, win themes, differentiators, competitive positioning, and value propositions.
Gather, analyze, and synthesize client, competitor, market, and procurement intelligence to inform pursuit strategies and decisions.
Translate client and competitive intelligence into actionable strategies throughout the pursuit lifecycle.
Partner with leadership and business development teams to align pursuit strategies with client needs, market trends, and Benesch’s growth objectives.
Coach technical staff, project leaders, and marketing teams on persuasive communication, storytelling, presentation strategy, and client-focused messaging.
Partner with proposal managers and coordinators across the company to elevate strategic content, proposal quality, and overall pursuit effectiveness.
Lead interview strategy development and presentation coaching for shortlisted pursuits.
Establish and advance best practices for pursuit planning, messaging development, strategic reviews, and pursuit execution.
Lead Benesch’s Good, Better, Best proposal quality program and conduct proposal quality audits to ensure high-quality, differentiated deliverables.
Ensure proposal narratives clearly communicate client understanding, value, qualifications, differentiators, and why Benesch is the right partner.
Analyze pursuit outcomes, including wins and losses, to identify trends, lessons learned, and opportunities to improve future pursuits.
Lead and develop market research and grant writing capabilities, identifying opportunities to strengthen these functions across the firm.
Conduct marketing and pursuit strategy workshops and training for technical staff, project leaders, and marketing professionals.
Share institutional knowledge, market intelligence, and pursuit insights across the firm to strengthen overall pursuit readiness.
Collaborate with leadership to improve strategic targeting, opportunity evaluation, and pursuit selection.
Mentor and develop marketing professionals, helping build strategic thinking, pursuit leadership, and client-focused communication skills.
Contribute to broader marketing and business development planning initiatives that support Benesch’s growth and market position.

What We Are Looking For

Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Communications, Business, or a related field required.
12+ years of progressive experience in professional services marketing, pursuit management, business development, proposal strategy, or a related field, preferably within the AEC industry.
Demonstrated experience leading complex, high-value pursuits from strategy and pre-positioning through proposal development and interview.
Strong understanding of capture planning, pursuit strategy, proposal development, client positioning, and competitive intelligence.
Proven ability to develop differentiated win strategies, messaging, and interview strategies that respond directly to client priorities.
Exceptional facilitation and strategic communication skills, with the ability to influence multidisciplinary teams in fast-paced, deadline-driven environments.
Strong understanding of AEC markets, service lines, client needs, and business development practices.
Demonstrated ability to gather and apply market, client, competitor, and procurement intelligence to pursuit strategy.
Strong knowledge of client procurement processes and the ability to understand how procurement decisions impact pursuit strategy.
Demonstrated ability to coach technical professionals and project leaders on persuasive communication, storytelling, proposal strategy, and interview performance.
Experience developing and implementing proposal quality standards, review processes, and best practices.
Strong business acumen with the ability to connect pursuit strategies to client needs, market opportunities, and broader business objectives.
Demonstrated ability to analyze wins, losses, and pursuit performance to identify trends and improve future strategies.
Proven leadership experience with the ability to mentor and develop marketing professionals and influence teams without direct authority.
Excellent verbal, written, presentation, and facilitation skills, with a strong professional presence.
Ability to build trusted relationships and effectively collaborate with executives, technical professionals, project leaders, marketing teams, and business development professionals.
Ability to adapt strategy and approach based on changing client needs, market conditions, and business priorities.
Certified Professional Services Marketer (CPSM) certification is preferred.

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