Government & Corporate Contracts Specialist

The Role

This is a hybrid business-development and compliance role — half hunting for and qualifying contract opportunities, half maintaining the certifications, registrations, and documentation that make the shop eligible to win them. You'll work across five distinct channels: federal (SAM.gov, GSA, VA), state of Illinois (BidBuy, CDB, IDOT), City of Chicago and Cook County, corporate supplier diversity (NMSDC), and direct industrial/facility maintenance contracts.

Core Responsibilities

• Certification & registration maintenance — keep SAM.gov, City MBE/WBE/DBE, Illinois BEP, NMSDC, and facility-specific vendor prequalifications current; file recertifications before they lapse.
• Lead generation — monitor SAM.gov, state procurement bulletins, the City's Bid Opportunity List, the NMSDC Hub, and direct facility/GC relationships.
• Opportunity qualification — triage each lead against shop capacity, true capability match, and realistic win probability before committing bid-prep time.
• Bid/proposal preparation — assemble capability statements, past performance references, pricing, and required forms.
• Relationship management — maintain an active target list of GC estimators, plant maintenance managers, and procurement contacts through regular direct outreach.
• Pipeline ownership — track every opportunity from source through outcome, with clear follow-up dates.
• Compliance during execution — ensure required reporting (certified payroll, utilization/payment confirmations) goes out on time.

What We're Looking For

• 2+ years in business development, estimating, or contracts administration — construction/industrial/fabrication industry strongly preferred.
• Working familiarity with public procurement processes (federal, state, or municipal) is a strong plus; willingness to learn quickly is a requirement if not already familiar.
• Comfortable with government/corporate web portals and basic document preparation (capability statements, COIs, bid forms).
• Strong organizational discipline — this role lives and dies by deadlines and recertification dates.
• Relationship-building instincts — a meaningful share of this job is direct outreach and follow-up, not just monitoring portals.