State Initiatives and Proposal Associate

Job Overview

The State Initiatives Associate's main role is to support the Cambium-level monitoring, maintenance, communication, and high-level project management of state instructional materials / textbook adoptions (SIMA/STAs), state review, and state listing projects. This role will also be responsible for large-scale FOIA analyses that provide the team with competitive proposal information and the business unit teams with competitive information on other companies and products.

Job Responsibilities

1) Project management of state instructional materials adoptions (SIMAs) / textbook adoptions.

• Learn and know how SIMAs work in each adoption state.
• Project manage ongoing annual state adoptions cycle with business unit liaisons: create guiding documentation for screeners, attend and facilitate meetings to evaluate go/no go decisions, and create strategic plan for adoption submission.
• Create and maintain an SOP for SIMA work so that the team does not miss any steps in the annual process.
• Keep master set of rules and policies for SIMAs in a centralized strategic analysis template.
• Prepare intent to bid, bid/submission documents, and sample strategy with business unit liaison and centralized shipping support.
• Keep project documentation that is intelligible and easy for all team members to use and understand quickly.
• Facilitate regular meetings with business units and the team to check in on SIMA progress.

2) Research trends in legislation and funding that will lead to State Listings and Reviews of our products.

• Track special state initiatives and funding sources and their effect on state-level reviews and product listings.
• Develop collateral (1-sheets or similar) that describes new state legislation and how those opportunities affect business units.
• Produce a cadence communication to business unit stakeholders to keep them informed.
• Check in with proposal teams on state-level reviews and listing submissions as part of the wider state strategy.

3) Complete FOIA analyses for a) competitive product information and b) proposal quality/tactics

• Consult with the team on what FOIAs are the most useful for review.
• Complete a comparison document for FOIA reviews that compares how companies present themselves, their products, and their product capabilities.
• Produce a report for internal Bids and Proposals improvement.
• Produce a report for external business unit product and professional learning market intelligence.

Job Requirements

• Bachelor's degree or higher
• Have experience with bids, SIMAs, RFPs, and proposals for a range of dollar values
• Interest in state-level policy making, legislation, and public procurement
• Experience with the K-12 education industry, preferred
• Experience with the education technology industry, preferred
• Knowledge of state-level initiatives and opportunities, preferred
• Familiarity with how state standards are created and adopted, preferred

Skills (if not present, ability to achieve on the job)

• Organization: no skill is more important than this one
• Problem solving: ability to approach new issues regularly without a set solution in place
• Prioritization: ability to conclude which projects take precedence over others
• Project Management: proven ability to effectively and efficiently create and manage plans of action over varied periods of time (day-to-day, annual, quarterly, etc.)
• Research to action: ability to research a large amount of disparate information from a variety of sources, organize, examine, and turn into audience-facing, relevant content.
• Self-motivation: ability to seek, start, manage, and complete work, ensuring appropriate guidance, approvals, and communication about what has been accomplished.
• Precision: must produce high quality work under immovable deadlines with speed and accuracy
• Initiative to learn: must come up to speed and stay up to speed to be proficient in the tasks required to perform the job
• Communication: must communicate clearly, concisely, and effectively with all levels of personnel (executive management, middle management, associate, coordinator, etc.) in many different forms (chat, email, meeting, presentations, etc.)

Systems Knowledge Preferred (and if not present, ability to achieve on the job)

• Advanced proficiency with Microsoft programs, especially Excel, and their Google suite equivalents
• Advanced proficiency with project workflow tools
• Intermediate ability with Web searching, researching, and data wrangling
• Familiarity with SharePoint

To learn more about our organization and the exciting work we do, visit www.cambiumlearning.com

Remote First Work Environment

Our Remote First approach gives employees the flexibility and trust they need to effectively balance work with life. It creates a culture in which all employees are valued and where success is measured in results. It allows us to work collaboratively, inclusively and for greater positive impact, regardless of our individual locations.

If you will be working remotely, either occasionally or on a permanent basis, you must have a reliable internet connection through a cable or fiber-optic broadband service with minimum speeds of 10 Mbps download and 5 Mbps upload.

The successful candidate will be expected to actively participate in video-based interviews during the recruiting process and ongoing virtual meetings with their camera on, as part of their role.

As part of our Remote-First benefits, Cambium offers reimbursement to help cover the cost of setting up your home or remote office.

An Equal Opportunity Employer

We are dedicated to fostering a culture that celebrates unique backgrounds, ideas, and experiences. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without discrimination on the basis of race, color, age, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender, gender identity/expression, or sexual orientation), national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or genetic information (including family medical history).

We will provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities. You may request an accommodation during the recruiting process with your Talent Acquisition team member.