Senior Strategic Pursuits Coordinator
MacKay · Chicago, IL
At MacKay, we believe great people are the foundation of our growth and success.
We are in an exciting phase of expansion, creating new opportunities for our employees to take on meaningful work, collaborate across disciplines, and build long-term careers. Whether your role is technical or part of our support services team, you play an important role in delivering high-quality work and helping our projects succeed.
MacKay is seeking a full-time Senior Strategic Pursuits Coordinator to join our dynamic team in Chicago, IL.
The Senior Strategic Pursuits Coordinator independently leads complex and strategic pursuits and serves as an experienced resource to pursuit teams and other Strategic Pursuits staff. Working closely with Strategic Pursuits leadership, Market Sector Leads, technical teams, Marketing, and Operations, this position helps translate client and market strategy into compelling pursuit strategies and effectively executed proposals. In addition to independently managing pursuits, the Senior Strategic Pursuits Coordinator provides strategic guidance, supports process improvement, shares expertise, provides coaching, mentoring, and feedback to junior team members, and helps strengthen pursuit practices across the organization.
Key Responsibilities:
Strategic Pursuit Leadership
- Independently lead complex, high-priority, and strategic pursuits from early positioning through submission and interview, including facilitating or co-facilitating capture planning and prepositioning discussions with Market Sector Leads and technical teams.
- Lead differentiator and pursuit strategy discussions, ensuring clear articulation of client needs, value propositions, relevant experience, and the project team.
- Set pursuit schedules, roles, milestones, reviews, and accountability.
- Coordinate Go/No-Go preparation, ensuring decision makers have meaningful client, competitive, resource, and opportunity intelligence.
- Identify pursuit risks early and collaborate with leadership and teams to mitigate them.
- Lead interview preparation and strategy, providing coaching, messaging, practice sessions, and feedback.
- Facilitate debriefs to integrate lessons learned into future pursuits.
Proposal Leadership and Execution
- Lead proposal development for complex and strategically important opportunities.
- Guide technical teams in developing client-focused content
- Lead proposal reviews and provide clear, constructive feedback to technical and Strategic Pursuits contributors.
- Partner with Marketing to identify and develop graphics, presentation materials, targeted SOQs, resumes, project descriptions, and other pursuit assets.
- Maintain quality, consistency, compliance, and strategic alignment throughout the pursuit.
- Oversee final quality control and submission for assigned pursuits.
Business Development and Growth Support
- Develop strong working relationships with assigned Market Sector Leads and maintain awareness of sector priorities, clients, pipeline, and upcoming pursuits.
- Contribute to the pursuit and competitive intelligence to sector and regional growth planning.
- Support prepositioning and client development activities tied to priority pursuits.
- Identify and surface opportunities for Go/No-Go consideration.
- Support CRM discipline and pipeline visibility for assigned sectors and pursuits.
- Attend targeted conferences and client activities where pursuit expertise adds value.
Process Improvement
- Identify opportunities to improve pursuit workflows, tools, templates, training, and resources.
- Help develop and maintain consistent Strategic Pursuits best practices.
- Contribute to Go/No-Go, capture planning, proposal, interview, and debrief processes.
- Help evaluate pursuit performance and translate lessons learned into process improvements.
Minimum Qualifications:
- Minimum 5 years of experience in BD/marketing in the A/E/C industry is required.
- Proven experience leading complex proposals and contributing to marketing strategy.
- Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite and Google Office. Proficient in InDesign is required.
Preferred qualifications:
- Certification as a Certified Professional Services Marketer (CPSM) or APMP is a plus.
- Experience with CRM systems (Deltek VantagePoint preferred) is a plus.
- Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Communications, Business, or related field
Key Competencies:
- Strategic thinker with a strong understanding of client and market positioning.
- Effective communicator and confident collaborator with technical and leadership teams.
- Skilled at juggling multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
- Self-directed, resourceful, and proactive in identifying opportunities.
Why Join MacKay?
A people-first culture
At MacKay, we put people first. We are committed to creating an environment where employees can grow, contribute, and do their best work. We support well-being, encourage balance, and create space for people to succeed both professionally and personally.
Meaningful work and real impact
Our teams take on complex infrastructure and environmental challenges that support critical systems and shape the places where people live and work. Every role contributes to delivering that work and making it successful.
Growth and opportunity
We are in an exciting phase of growth, expanding across geographies, services, and markets. That growth creates opportunities for our employees to take on new challenges, build their careers, and contribute in new ways as the company evolves.
A strong and trusted foundation
Built on more than 50 years of experience, MacKay has developed a reputation for quality work, strong relationships, and dependable results. You’ll be part of a team with a solid foundation and a clear direction for the future.
Opportunities to share in success
We provide opportunities for employees to participate in ownership and build long-term financial value as the company grows.
Our Values
At MacKay, our values guide how we work, collaborate, and support one another.
- Honesty. We build trust through transparency, integrity, and accountability.
- Dedication. We are committed to the success of our team members, clients, and communities.
- Relationships. We foster lasting connections that strengthen our work and the teams around us.
Who We Are
MacKay is an infrastructure and environmental services firm built on more than 50 years of experience and a growing collective of expertise.
We are in an exciting phase of growth, expanding our reach, strengthening our capabilities, and bringing together talented teams across the country. That growth is creating new opportunities for our employees to take on meaningful work, collaborate across disciplines, and build long-term careers.
Every role at MacKay contributes to the success of our projects and the clients we serve. Whether your work is technical or operational, you are part of a team that delivers quality, builds relationships, and moves projects forward.
We’re looking for dedicated, talented individuals who deliver excellence, thrive in collaborative environments, and value both meaningful work and work-life balance. If this sounds like you, we’d like to hear from you.
Please note that the salary information shown below is a general guideline only. Salaries are based upon candidate experience and qualifications, as well as various market and business considerations.
US Pay Range$35—$42 USDFull-time employees receive a well-rounded benefit package including access to our company-sponsored Medical (including an HSA High Deductible option), Dental, Vision, FSA, and Supplemental Life Insurance plans. We also offer 100% company-paid Life Insurance, Short-Term Disability, and Long-Term Disability coverage. Employees are eligible to participate in our company's 401(k) plan with up to a 4% match. Additionally, employees receive paid vacation and sick time, 11 paid holidays, and are able to participate in e