Senior Bid Specialist

Our Mission
At Palo Alto Networks® everything starts and ends with our mission:
Being the cybersecurity partner of choice, protecting our digital way of life.
Our vision is a world where each day is safer and more secure than the one before. We are a company built on the foundation of challenging and disrupting the way things are done, and we’re looking for innovators who are as committed to shaping the future of cybersecurity as we are.
Who We Are
We take our mission of protecting the digital way of life seriously. We are relentless in protecting our customers and we believe that the unique ideas of every member of our team contributes to our collective success. Our values were crowdsourced by employees and are brought to life through each of us everyday - from disruptive innovation and collaboration, to execution. From showing up for each other with integrity to creating an environment where we all feel included.
As a member of our team, you will be shaping the future of cybersecurity. We work fast, value ongoing learning, and we respect each employee as a unique individual. Knowing we all have different needs, our development and personal wellbeing programs are designed to give you choice in how you are supported. This includes our FLEXBenefits wellbeing spending account with over 1,000 eligible items selected by employees, our mental and financial health resources, and our personalized learning opportunities - just to name a few
At Palo Alto Networks, we believe in the power of collaboration and value in-person interactions. This is why our employees generally work full time from our office with flexibility offered where needed. This setup fosters casual conversations, problem-solving, and trusted relationships. Our goal is to create an environment where we all win with precision.
Job Description
Your Career
We are looking for a highly motivated, results oriented Sr. Bid Specialist to join the Global Sales Operations Organization. The Sr. Bid Specialist is responsible for leading the development of proposal responses to the RFx, tenders, pre-sales vendor compliance questionnaires, and security assessments. Responsible for leading and collaborating with matrixed, cross-functional teams to develop content/proposals. Ensure that proposals are compliant with requirements, complete, and compelling.
This is an opportunity for those interested in being a part of something bigger than themselves. We are out to fulfill our company mission with the strongest products in the industry. To fit in this role, you should be willing to ask questions, always learning, have a strong work ethic, be persistent and coachable. You will be responsible for building relationships with internal key stakeholders (e.g. Sales, Legal, Product Management, Product Marketing, and Product Management). We are looking for a high-caliber proposal writer and content manager to increase our win rates on new opportunities, and to help create, update and streamline proposal content.This role will be based in our Bangalore office in India.
Your Impact

• Collaborate and partner with Sales Engineering, Sales Operations, Legal, InfoSec, Product Management, and other resources to develop compelling proposal responses for complex opportunities
• Lead the end-to-end proposal development process, from initial RFP/RFQ/RFI review to final submission
• You will develop all proposal response materials including proposal outline, compliance matrix, proposal management plan, proposal kick-off meeting materials, writing templates and plans, and desktop publishing (DTP) of the final response
• Write, edit, proof, organize, format and produce proposals to enhance business development
• Foster strong working relationships with internal stakeholders, and coordinate with subject matter experts (SMEs) to gather and incorporate technical, financial, and operational information
• Identify and mitigate risks related to proposal development and submission
• Ensure win themes, differentiators are included in the proposal and deliver a compelling response to the customer or partner
• Develop reusable and boilerplate content and support maintaining a content repository of proposal material
• Leverage content management platforms, project management applications, and AI to develop content and manage tasks
• Develop timelines and ensure that key deal milestones and deadlines are met
• Be an integral part of a growing team at Palo Alto Networks
  

Qualifications
Your Experience

• 5+ years’ experience managing in delivering compliant, compelling proposal responses to customers in various types of commercial industries and channel partners
• Proven track record of successfully managing and winning competitive proposals.
• Ability to deconstruct requirements and develop a compliance matrix
• Strong business and IT modernization acumen including Cyber Security, Networking, and Artificial Intelligence
• Experience working for a technology company is highly preferred
• Strong verbal and written English communication skills
• Ability to work independently in fast paced environment
• Well-organized with a very high attention to detail and accuracy with data
• Bachelor Degree required or equivalent experience
  

Preferred Technical And Professional Expertise

• Proven ability to articulate and write compelling, business-outcome focused, value propositions
• Operate independently to develop proposal outlines, compliance matrices, proposal schedules, and provide leadership and direction to cross-functional teams
• Proficient in Microsoft Office, Google Workplace, and Adobe
• Experience in working with cross-functional teams
• Simplicity - must be able to make complex issues easy to understand
  

Additional Information
The Team
Palo Alto Networks has brought technology to market that is reshaping the cybersecurity threat and protection landscape. Our ability to protect digital transactions is limited only by our ability to establish relationships with our potential customers to help them understand how our products can secure their environment. This is where our sales operation teams come in.
Our Sales Operation Team members support our sales account managers and systems engineers to assist in large organization’s migrations to more cybersecurity. Sales operations work behind the scenes to make sure that our sales relationships run smoothly, enabling and empowering the teams across the world. As part of our sales operations, you support the sales team by providing research, reports, and craft and support systems and processes that enable the process of sales. You are committed to your team’s success – and enjoy pitching in to assist when it comes to solutions selling, learning, and development. It’s a true partnership, one built on building the best cybersecurity solutions for each individual client.
Our Commitment
We’re problem solvers that take risks and challenge cybersecurity’s status quo. It’s simple: we can’t accomplish our mission without diverse teams innovating, together.
We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for all qualified individuals with a disability. If you require assistance or accommodation due to a disability or special need, please contact us at accommodations@paloaltonetworks.com.
Palo Alto Networks is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity in our workplace, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or other legally protected characteristics.
All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

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