Catherine Cozart

Lead organization wide proposal function for 32-year old nation-wide consulting firm. Serve as approving authority on all proposals. Manage a team of 8 geographically disbursed proposal professionals, responsible for 900+ proposals with revenue of $75M in 2016. Re-engineered and developed best-in-class proposal process; presented new process to executives and secured support for company-wide implementation, which involved rolling out across 20 offices nationwide. Lead Proposal Go/No-Go, Strategy Sessions, Storyboarding, Scrum (Daily Touch base), Budget, and Executive Review meetings for individual proposals Increased win rate on competitive proposals by 7% and 9% on proactive proposals in the first 5 months of employment. Teach New Hire, 1 month, 2 month, and 4 month orientation.

Led organization wide contracting and proposal function for 75-year old international research firm. Served as officer/signing authority on all proposals and awards, many of which were global. Performed Deputy Export Control Officer duties. Managed a team of 13, lawyers, contract and proposal managers, and financial analysts responsible for 1500+ proposals with potential revenue of approximately $65M in 2015. Re-engineered and developed best-in-class proposal process for the institute; Presented new system to leadership team and secured support for institute wide implementation. Researched and rolled out new contracting lifecycle management system that improved tracking and reporting on progress as well as storage of contract documents. Ensured that the organization was in compliance with prevailing government procurement regulations and applicable laws and that all contractual commitments and Southern Research policies and procedures were followed throughout the Institute. Reduced documentation turnaround time by 50% by creating service level agreements (SLAs). Served as primary liaison for General Counsel and senior leadership to develop, negotiate, and implement effective contractual customer relationships. Negotiated with vendors and subcontractors subsequently saving more than $650K in services and supplies in 2015.