Proposal Coordinator

Martin Simmons Sweers Architects + Interior Design

Location: Downtown Kitchener, Ontario

Position Type: Full-time

Salary Range: $70,000–$80,000, commensurate with experience

About Us

Martin Simmons Sweers Architects is a long-standing architectural and interior design practice based in downtown Kitchener. For more than 80 years, our firm has contributed to the built environment across Waterloo Region and beyond through work in education, residential development, civic and community projects, adaptive reuse, workplace design, hospitality, and interior environments.

We are a regional practice with deep local roots and a growing focus on thoughtful, design-led work that supports communities, clients, and the people who use the spaces we help create. Our office culture is positive, collaborative, and fast-paced, with a strong emphasis on design quality, professional integrity, and long-term relationships.

We are currently looking for a Proposal Coordinator to join our team and help bring greater focus, consistency, and energy to our communications, proposal coordination, and business development efforts.

The Role

The Proposal Coordinator will support the firm’s proposal materials, project storytelling, and client outreach. This is a hands-on role suited to someone who is organized, creative, visually capable, and interested in architecture, interiors, cities, design, and community-building.

The successful candidate will work closely with firm leadership, architects, interior designers, project managers, and outside collaborators to promote the firm’s work and help identify new opportunities across architectural and interior design markets.

The Proposal Coordinator will play an important role in supporting the firm’s proposal and pursuit process. This includes coordinating RFP responses, assisting with proposal writing, preparing graphic layouts, maintaining resumes and project sheets, and helping assemble clear, polished submission packages that reflect the quality and professionalism of the firm.

Key Responsibilities

Business Development and Proposal Support

• Help identify and research potential clients, projects, and market sectors.
• Support outreach to architectural clients, municipalities, developers, institutions, community organizations, and private-sector clients.
• Assist with lead generation for interior design opportunities, including workplace, retail, hospitality, restaurants, hotels, and commercial interiors.
• Coordinate RFP and proposal submissions, including schedules, submission requirements, compliance checklists, and internal deadlines.
• Assist with proposal writing, editing, formatting, and assembly.
• Prepare graphic layouts for proposals, presentations, interview packages, and qualifications documents.
• Coordinate input from principals, project architects, interior designers, consultants, and administrative staff.
• Maintain and update project sheets, staff resumes, boilerplate text, firm profiles, consultant information, and proposal templates.
• Track upcoming proposal opportunities, submission deadlines, and pursuit decisions.
• Support the preparation of presentation materials, interview packages, award submissions, and client-facing marketing documents.
• Maintain and update client, consultant, and business development contact lists.

Graphic Design and Content Creation

• Prepare branded graphics for digital and print use.
• Work with Adobe Creative Suite, Canva, or similar tools to create polished visual materials.
• Assist with photography coordination, image editing, layout design, and presentation graphics.
• Support the development of project case studies and firm capability documents.
• Help maintain a library of project images, photography credits, logos, templates, resumes, and marketing assets.

Internal Coordination

• Work with leadership and project teams to gather project updates, milestones, and marketing-worthy content.
• Coordinate with staff to collect information for social media posts, website updates, award submissions, and proposal material.
• Help maintain a simple marketing calendar and content schedule.
• Support internal communications related to firm culture, milestones, anniversaries, events, and community engagement.

Qualifications

The ideal candidate will bring a mix of marketing, communications, graphic design, proposal coordination, and organizational skills. Experience in architecture, interior design, real estate, development, construction, or another design-related field would be considered a strong asset.

Required Skills and Experience

• Post-secondary education in marketing, communications, graphic design, public relations, business, or a related field.
• Strong writing, editing, and communication skills.
• Strong visual sensibility and graphic design capability.
• Proficiency with Adobe Creative Suite, particularly InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator.
• Experience with Microsoft Office, including Word and PowerPoint.
• Experience coordinating proposals, RFP submissions, presentations, or other deadline-driven marketing packages.
• Strong layout and document production skills, with proficiency in Adobe InDesign considered particularly important.
• Ability to coordinate contributions from multiple team members and maintain quality control under deadlines.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced professional environment.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to meet deadlines.
• Comfortable working with senior leadership and technical professionals.
• Interest in architecture, interiors, urban design, community development, and the built environment.

Assets

• Experience in an architecture, interior design, engineering, construction, development, planning, or creative professional services firm.
• Experience preparing proposal submissions in an architecture, interior design, engineering, construction, planning, development, or professional services environment.
• Familiarity with public-sector RFPs, municipal procurement processes, consultant teams, and project-based submissions.
• Experience maintaining website content through WordPress, Squarespace, Webflow, or similar platforms.
• Experience preparing award submissions, project sheets, or design-sector marketing materials.
• Experience using and training AI-assisted tools to enhance proposal research, content development, project storytelling, and marketing communications, with the ability to critically review, refine, and validated AI-generated content for accuracy and quality.

Personal Attributes

We are looking for someone who is:

• Creative, organized, and self-motivated.
• Comfortable taking initiative and following through.
• Positive, professional, and collaborative.
• Curious about design, cities, architecture, interiors, and community-building.
• Able to write clearly and visually communicate ideas.
• Comfortable working in a busy office with multiple moving parts.
• Interested in helping a respected regional firm strengthen its public presence and pursue new opportunities.

Why Join MSS?

This is an opportunity to take ownership of the marketing and proposal coordination function within a respected architectural and interior design practice with more than eight decades of history in Waterloo Region.

You will have the opportunity to help shape how the firm communicates its work, tells its story, reaches new clients, and promotes projects that have a meaningful impact on communities across the region.

Our downtown Kitchener studio offers a positive, collaborative office culture and the opportunity to work directly with firm leaders, architects, interior designers, and project teams

Compensation

The salary range for this position is $70,000–$80,000 per year, based on experience and qualifications.

How to Apply

Interested candidates are invited to submit a resume and a brief cover letter outlining their experience and interest in the role.

A portfolio or examples of relevant marketing, graphic design, writing, proposal, layout, or campaign work would be considered an asset.

Please submit applications to:

Ginny Pintur

Executive Administrative Assistant

admin@mssarchitects.ca

Subject line: Marketing Coordinator Application – Martin Simmons Sweers Architects

About the Firm

Martin Simmons Sweers Architects is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from candidates with diverse backgrounds and experiences. We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.