Donnis C. Thomas
Bid And Proposal Response Manager/Strategist
Dallas,TX
Summary
Forward-thinking, self-motivated Bid and Proposal Manager. Experience in coordinating all phases of the proposal process to enable submission of winning responses to Request for Proposals (RFPs) and Request for Information (RFIs). Managed cross functional teams including Sales, Finance, Legal and Product Development in the development of winning proposals and RFX Responses. Collaborative leader with dedication to partnering with coworkers to promote engaged, empowering work culture. Documented strengths in building and maintaining relationships with diverse range of stakeholders in dynamic, fast-paced settings. Areas of focus includes, Telecommunications, Technology. A foundational understanding of State and :Local Government, currently undergoing training.
Overview
25
25
years of professional experience
4
4
years of post-secondary education
Work History
Bids and Proposal Pursuit Manager/Strategist
IBM Corporation
2021.07 - Current
- As part of GBS Americas Strategic Sales Team’s Big Deal Squad, position works with senior Deal Leaders, potentially Deal Coaches, and Pursuit
- Develops proposal project plan, engages appropriate people, utilizes right resources, provides continuous leadership to pursuit team to include Oral Engagements
- Plans and leads kick-off, status meetings, and all color reviews.
- Establishes and maintains on-line workspace.
- Drives development of proposal, and deliverables to satisfy client’s business and technical requirements.
- Drives schedule management and 100% compliance and is able to address schedule slippage at all levels.
- Provides hands-on management of entire deal life cycle.
- Must be able to analyze and evaluate bid requirements for complex proposals, maintain proposal management documentation (action lists, schedule, compliance matrix, language guidance, color team reviews, production)
- Provide guidance to team and proposal center staff for compliant and compelling response.
- Ensures compliant completion of required forms.
- Ensures management reviews for response release are scheduled and prerequisites are being completed.
- May assist in scheduling them.
- Facilitate all organizations involved in proposal development (legal, procurement, pricing, quality/risk, insurance, internal and external contributors)
- Serves as trusted advisor with Deal Leader.
- Skilled at working independently and collaboratively in team environment.
- Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written
- Developed and maintained courteous and effective working relationships.
- Used critical thinking to break down problems, evaluate solutions and make decisions.
- Demonstrated leadership skills in managing projects from concept to completion.
- Participated in team projects, demonstrating ability to work collaboratively and effectively.
- Skilled at working independently and collaboratively in team environment.
- Demonstrated high level of initiative and creativity while tackling difficult tasks.
- Demonstrated leadership skills in managing projects from concept to completion.
- Participated in team projects, demonstrating ability to work collaboratively and effectively
Bids and Proposal Manager
Nokia Corporation
2014.09 - 2021.07
- Serves as main source of information on all matters related to development, preparation, and submission of proposal responses to Requests for Proposals (RFPs), Request for Information (RFIs) and Requests for Quotes (RFQs)
- Submits well thought out, compliant proposal documents that are clear, compelling, technically accurate and deliver customer value.
- End to End Program Management that includes bid assessment, proposing methods for developing solution, defining procedures for bid operations, allocation of human resources for bid team, communicating with global stakeholders and record keeping of data.
- Communicates customer pain points, sales strategy, and pricing strategy to team.
- Drives Program activities from opportunity identification to opportunity delivery while analyzing and advising team on process and execution.
- Ensures compliance with regulatory requirements, assigning Statements of Compliance to respective stakeholders like – technical, services, delivery legal, finance, sales, taxation, logistics and ordering teams.
- Planning reorganization of operations team for every bid response
- Leads Kick-off Meeting, Solution Strategy and Pricing Strategy along with Management Deal Approval Meetings
- Prepares Bid Matrix covering all deliverables, timelines, quality review and management review for Program life cycle.
- Supervise at every stage, local and global staff working in bid team
- Identifying commercial risks and developing plans to mitigate them.
- Conducts quality audits before solution delivery as per quality assurance standards for ISO 9001:2015 standards
- Advise and develop quality management standards with Quality Team of organization
- Initiating Management Review and update on overall Program progress
- Optimizes costs for organization while maintaining competitive pricing
- Supports customer change requests.
- Provides technical, services, commercial and contract negotiation support to sales team.
- Develops Dynamic Business Relationship Management from Country / Department Heads to Global Account Managers and Solution Matter Experts spread worldwide.
- Demonstrated leadership skills in managing projects from concept to completion
- Developed and maintained courteous and effective working relationships
Executive Briefing Center Manager
Alcatel-Lucent
2006.05 - 2015.09
- Strategize with ALU global sales and senior executive teams to create to meet organizational goals and objectives through meetings and events; effective meetings/events aid in positioning ALU as primary source for all network solutions.
- Prepare and manage meeting and event budgets with attendees from 20 to 500.
- Develop, implement, manage, and evaluate events.
- Coordinates communications via face-to-face meetings or conferencing with internal and customer stakeholders
- Overseeing procurement of catering, audiovisual, security & rental needs
- Responsible for marketing/messaging for each meeting/event; prepares packaging and promotional material.
- Supervising and coordinating activities of personnel, subcontractors, and vendors.
- Managing all group rooms and banqueting processes and procedures
- Maintains calendar of events for effective long-term planning and management
- Sets standards for all technical discussions based on knowledge of customer.
- Interacted well with customers to build connections and nurture relationships.
- Managed purchasing, sales, marketing and customer account operations efficiently.
- Trained and guided team members to maintain high productivity and performance metrics.
EF&I Project Manager
Alcatel-Lucent
2000.02 - 2006.05
- Liaison between Tier 2/3 customer executive management, ALU management, ALU functional teams and 3rd party vendors responsible for providing product deliverables to meet time to market
- Managed and conducted with/for customers: Program reviews, Decision reviews, Scheduling and reporting, Defect management, and Quality analysis
- Determined financial and resource requirements/ constraints per project: 200K-1M projects
- Tracked 3rd party vendor resource planning, capital equipment approvals and shipments
- Reviewed vendor’s development anomalies, discrepancies from site testing: proposed solutions, generated reports, initiated change requests, implemented timetables
- Analyzed and informed concerned Tier 2 /3 customers and ALU functional teams of production quality assurance and sales departments of status and disposition of customer complaints and claims
- Reported revenue forecasts and revenue actuals per project 1
- Identified plans and resources required to meet project goals and objectives
- Achieved project deadlines by coordinating with contractors to manage performance
- Met project deadlines without sacrificing build quality or workplace safety
- Planned, designed, and scheduled phases for large projects
- Developed and initiated projects, managed costs, and monitored performance
- Maintained open communication by presenting regular updates on project status to customers
- Monitored project progress, identified risks and took corrective action as needed
- Scheduled and facilitated meetings between project stakeholders to discuss deliverables, schedules and conflicts
Education
Bachelor of Science - Marketing
University of Southern Mississippi
Hattiesburg, MS 1988.09 - 1992.12
Skills
Over 20+ years of Project Management and Bid/Proposal Management Experience.
Global understanding of the Telecom industry and Software Technology industry (with regards to terminology, practices, concepts, requirements, competition, and regulatory environment)
Strategic thinker with strong Project Management skills with the ability to solve and make decisions.
Proven record of forming and maintaining teams across multiple stakeholders, including company divisions and team partners
Excellent written and verbal communications
Extensive knowledge of CRM apps including Sales Force, TEAMs, WebEx, Microsoft Office, Nokia’s BBT, CSP, NPT, SharePoint, etc. and various Procurement Software Applications including SAP Ariba, Loopio and GEP. MS Office applications
Clear understanding of flexibility required in global companies as it relates to time zones, culture, and virtual teams.
Ability to work under pressure to meet deadlines.
Agile Explorer Certified
Winning High-Value Contracts: I successfully led the team that secured numerous high-value contracts, resulting in substantial revenue growth for the company.
Process Improvement: I implemented streamlined proposal development processes that improved efficiency and reduced turnaround times by [percentage].
Cross-Functional Collaboration: I fostered strong working relationships with cross-functional teams, including sales, marketing, and technical experts, to ensure the delivery of comprehensive and winning proposals.
Proposal Quality: I consistently received praise from clients and stakeholders for the quality and professionalism of our proposals, which led to an increased win rate.
Compliance and Risk Management: I ensured that all proposals met regulatory requirements and addressed potential risks, contributing to the company's reputation for ethical and compliant business practices.
Timeline
Bids and Proposal Pursuit Manager/Strategist
IBM Corporation
2021.07 - Current
Bids and Proposal Manager
Nokia Corporation
2014.09 - 2021.07
Executive Briefing Center Manager
Alcatel-Lucent
2006.05 - 2015.09
EF&I Project Manager
Alcatel-Lucent
2000.02 - 2006.05
Bachelor of Science - Marketing
University of Southern Mississippi
1988.09 - 1992.12
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