Pursuit Manager

Merkle is a leading data-driven, technology-enabled, global performance marketing agency that specializes in the delivery of unique, personalized customer experiences across platforms and devices. For more than 30 years, Fortune 1000 companies and leading nonprofit organizations have partnered with Merkle to maximize the value of their customer portfolios. The agency’s heritage in data, technology, and analytics forms the foundation for its unmatched skills in understanding consumer insights that drive people-based marketing strategies. Its combined strengths in performance media, customer experience, customer relationship management, loyalty, and enterprise marketing technology drive improved marketing results and competitive advantage. With 9,600+ employees, Merkle is headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, with 50+ additional offices throughout the US, EMEA, and APAC. In 2016, the agency joined the Dentsu Aegis Network. For more information, contact Merkle at 1-877-9-Merkle or visit www.merkleinc.com.

Diversity is embedded in who we are and all that we do: our mindset, our solutions, and in our teams to empower an inclusive, equitable environment. We put our people at the center, creating space for growth, understanding and learning so they can thrive. Our differences make us richer and enable stronger relationships with each other and foster greater impact for our clients. We engage with our communities to drive positive social impact by fostering equity and working to create a digital society that works for all. Merkle is an agency of dentsu.

A pursuit manager manages an operational sales process for new business opportunities across dentsu Merkle/CXM brands. They are responsible for understanding Merkle’s sales platform and managing and coordinating multi-solution, multi-agency, and multi-channel marketing RFIs, RFPs, and presentation development processes, in alignment with the platform’s stages. These processes include engaging and managing new business pitch teams and resources of all levels, creating robust project plans and timelines, gathering and creating appropriate content for proposal use, providing document formatting and proofreading, serving as a conduit for partner and alliance agencies, and driving the established project plan to execute and produce high-quality, winning documents on time and to the specifications of our prospects and clients. The pursuit manager must be detail-oriented and process-driven.

Key Responsibilities:

• Working directly with sales leaders, solution leads, delivery centers, marketing, finance, legal, creative design, and editorial teams to fulfill requests for identified pursuits.
• Assuming ownership of the pursuit process from the moment of assignment until completion
• Managing the new business response process from kickoff to submission may include tasks such as:
  • Compiling of content from past documents
  • Scheduling team and opportunity meetings/cadence
  • Keeping meeting notes and action items
  • Owning all project housekeeping
  • Coordinating research with the Research Team
  • Editing content for proposal use
  • Record management during the RFP process in Salesforce.com
  • Utilizing Microsoft Teams as a project management tool
  • Contributing to a repository of RFP responses and reusable content
  • Ensuring sales platform best practices are followed
  • Managing the printing and/or production of RFPs and presentation materials as needed
  • Ideation and coordination for pitch theater
  • Performing document formatting and cleanup (PowerPoint, Excel, Word)
  • Coordinating with editorial and design teams and scheduling time with them as needed
  • Serving as the final content reviewer for grammar and design checks
  • Other duties as needed
• Creating, enforcing, and publishing new business project plans, RACIs, and timelines when responding to RFIs, RFPs, and presentations to prospective clients
• Driving and providing directional and strategic oversight to pitch/resource teams, while executing timelines
• Serving as a conduit between pitch/resource teams and our internal departments, strategic partners, alliance partners, content analysts, and research teams

• Minimum 5–7 years of project management experience
• 2 years working in digital marketing, media, or ad-tech industries
• Minimum of 10 years overall work experience
• Ability to work on 4–6 projects at a time in various stages of the sales process
• Must have marketing agency sales ecosystem experience
• Detail-oriented and process-driven
• Must be prepared to bring calm to chaos by aligning team members from different agencies with different processes to reach a common goal
• Must be comfortable working independently and proactively. Must be prepared to dig deep and ask questions to ascertain complete direction
• Must have a customer service mindset
• Ability to manage upward confidently and cleverly
• Must demonstrate credibility and reliability to garner the trust of executive leadership and subject matter experts
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills – ability to speak up confidently and with authority – in other words, a driver!
• Understanding of new business processes and best practices
• Expert in Microsoft Word and PowerPoint
• Excellence in Excel
• Experience in Microsoft Teams is a strong plus
• Proficiency with Salesforce.com
• Proficiency with project management tools and concepts
• Excellence in proofreading, formatting, and editorial skills
• A team player with an outstanding ability to work with people at all levels, including senior executives, with a demonstrated ability to take ownership and influence others through a strong presence, thoughtful challenges, and use of sound judgment
• Strong interpersonal and political skills, including an aptitude for building relationships, understanding team dynamics, taking initiative, and solving problems
• Determination to follow through on all projects no matter the obstacles presented. The ability to troubleshoot and come up with alternative plans to reach a desired outcome in the face of adversity
• A problem-solver and service-oriented individual who is always willing to pitch in and help an associate with any complication, be it by providing a solution or an introduction to an expert

The anticipated salary range for this position is $68,000 - $100,000. Actual salary will be based on a variety of factors including relevant experience, knowledge, skills and other factors permitted by law. A range of medical, dental, vision, 401(k) matching, paid time off, and/or other benefits also are available. For more information regarding dentsu benefits, please visit dentsubenefitsplus.com

About dentsu
Dentsu is the network designed for what’s next, helping clients predict and plan for disruptive future opportunities in the sustainable economy. Taking a people-centered approach to business transformation, dentsu combines Japanese innovation with a diverse, global perspective to drive client growth and to shape society www.dentsu.com.

We are champions for meaningful progress and we strive to be a force for good—for our people, for our clients, for the industry and for our society. We keep our people at the center, creating space for growth, understanding and learning so they can thrive. We embed diversity, in our mindset, in our solutions and in our teams to empower an inclusive, equitable and culturally fluent environment. Building this culture within our teams makes us better collaborators with each other and with our clients, driving better outcomes for all.

Dentsu (the "Company") is committed to a policy of Equal Employment Opportunity and will not discriminate against an applicant or employee of the Company, on the basis of age, sex, sexual orientation, race, color, creed, religion, ethnicity, national origin, alienage or citizenship, disability, marital status, veteran or military status, genetic information, or any other legally-recognized protected basis under federal, state or local laws, regulations or ordinances. Applicants with disabilities may be entitled to reasonable accommodation under the terms of the Americans with Disabilities Act and/or certain state or local laws. A reasonable accommodation is a change in the way things are normally done that will ensure an equal employment opportunity without imposing an undue hardship on the Company. Please contact your recruiter if you need assistance completing any forms or to otherwise participate in the application process or to request or discuss an accommodation in connection with a job at the Company to which you are applying.