At McCarthy Tétrault, we offer challenging and rewarding career opportunities and are delighted to have been selected for the eleventh consecutive year in 2023 as one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers and one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers. Our culture is built on professional excellence, collaboration, innovation, thought leadership and entrepreneurialism. We embrace inclusion in all its forms and we provide the tools and opportunities to help our people develop to their full potential.

Bilingualism is required for this position, being part of a collaborative, national team. The candidate will handle and follow up on various local and national requests from clients and lawyers, some of whom only understand and communicate in English. This position also requires the candidate to be able to interact seamlessly with colleagues and lawyers in our offices across Canada, where English is the predominant language. As we estimate majority of the work required for this position must be performed in English, and to ensure that the employee in this position can perform their duties autonomously and effectively, candidates for this position must be able to understand and communicate appropriately in French and English both orally and in writing.

This position can be based out of Montreal, Calgary, Vancouver or Toronto. McCarthy Tétrault employees benefit from a hybrid work environment.

As a Bilingual Proposal Specialist , you will be:

Proposal and Pitch Support

• Leading the development of responses to Requests for Proposal (RFPs), Requests for Information (RFIs), Expressions of Interest (EOIs), pitch materials and collateral (in both French and English). This includes leading opportunities originating from clients nationally, and involves understanding the unique aspects of the legal market and collaborating with lawyers in each region to develop client-centric proposals that articulate the Firm’s value and market differentiation. Responsibilities include:
  • Working directly with lawyers and members of the Clients and Markets team to draft responses to RFPs, RFIs, EOIs, pitch materials and collateral;
  • Providing strategic direction and insight, applying proposal best practices, and influencing and negotiating with stakeholders to ensure proposals and pitch materials are responsive, client-focused, and articulate the firm’s value and differentiation;
  • Organizing and leading kick-off meetings to determine win themes and proposal strategy, 
  • Creating first drafts using internal content and tools;
  • Overseeing and finalizing client-ready pitches and proposals (including production using our internal print shop and/or submission via procurement sites);
  • Ensuring RFPs, proposals and pitches are tracked in the Firm’s business development databases.
• Reviewing procurement sites to identify potential new business opportunities. Working with lawyers on go/no go decisions. 
• Leading, organizing and coordinating support for in-person pitches to clients and prospects, including drafting agendas, speaking notes, presentations, hand-outs, and associated credential materials, and facilitating dry-run practices. 
• Leading and coordinating the response development for client reporting requests, including liaising with diverse firm stakeholders such as Finance, Inclusion Office, HR, IT, and more. 
• Supporting lawyers with time-sensitive client requests for Firm credentials. 
• Diarizing follow-ups with lawyers on proposal opportunities and tracking results in Firm databases.
• Providing support with respect to reporting of proposal statistics such as volume, win rate, proposals by industry, etc. 
• Working with the Research and Information team to gather and distill client/prospect and industry intelligence to assist lawyers in the proposal process. 
• Developing industry- and practice-focused proposal templates to improve efficiency.

Content Improvement and Management

• Undertaking the writing and editing of “stock” proposal content (in both French and English), including differentiators, value propositions, and content related to practice areas, industries and international markets, legal project management, client solutions, value-added services, pricing, and more.
• Updating Firm proposal tool with approved content.
• Providing support and guidance throughout the French translations process, working with our internal Translations team, and reviewing, revising and providing quality control for French proposal content. 

Operational & Project Leadership

• Ensuring that processes and projects are effectively carried out within our Proposal team.
• Leading and supporting efficiency projects related to the continual upgrading and enhancement of our tools, content and processes.
• Developing and/or updating training tools and resources for the Proposal Team.
• Providing training to team members.

Other responsibilities

• Providing proposal process and development training to new employees and onboarding new Proposal Team members. 
• Providing input and guidance on French-language client-facing communications.
• Providing support and input as needed on other important writing assignments critical to marketing and business development.

As our ideal candidate, you will distinguish yourself by the following profile:

• Bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, communications or related field.
• Minimum of 3 years of relevant business experience, ideally with 2 years in a large professional services organization. 
• Professional maturity, including strong interpersonal skills, tact and discretion.
• Fully bilingual (French and English) in both oral and written communication skills. 
• Excellent organizational skills.  Ability to handle multiple tasks simultaneously and set priorities with challenging deadlines.
• Ability to complete designated tasks in a systematic and logical way, with great attention to detail.
• Ability to work in a demanding, fast-paced environment.
• Exceptional attention to detail in writing and editing. 
• Ability to be flexible and adaptable.

As a member of the McCarthy team, you will have access to:

• Outstanding benefits from day one, including insurance premiums paid by the Firm and wellness and technology reimbursements.
• Competitive compensation, paid overtime and generous time off, including a day off to volunteer and a day off for your birthday.
• A commitment to professional development and growth opportunities for our people at all levels, supported by a culture that fully embraces and encourages two-way feedback.
• Strong community involvement and a commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion.
• A collaborative, cohesive culture that connects lawyers and business teams through collective purpose.

We thank all applicants for their interest in McCarthy Tétrault; however, only chosen applicants will be contacted. We regret that we are unable to respond to individual inquiries about application status. McCarthy Tétrault is an equal opportunity employer that fosters an inclusive, equitable, and accessible environment. Please notify us if you require accommodation at any time during the recruitment process.