Manager Strategy & Operations Jobs in Portland, OR

About This Opportunity
We are seeking a Sales Operations (Proposal) Manager to lead and elevate Cascade's Sales Operations team. This is a high-impact leadership role at the center of our revenue engine — responsible for driving the performance, quality, and strategic direction of a function that spans proposal development, CRM management, customer data, and the systems that power Cascade's business development efforts.
The Sales Operations Manager leads a team of seven, owns the end-to-end proposal process, and partners closely with the Sr. VP of Sales and VP of Business Development to align team output with company growth objectives. This leader brings stability and a forward-leaning orientation — championing technology adoption, AI-assisted tools, and process innovation to keep Cascade ahead of the curve.
Future-Focused AI-Ready Culture
At Cascade Energy, we’re actively shaping how AI gets deployed in the real world, in our tools, our client engagements, and our daily work.  Our approach has always been relationship-driven and expertise-led, and AI is how we multiply the impact of both.  
Successful Cascadians are curious and resilient.  They embrace change, seek smarter ways to create impact, and take ownership of their own growth.  We embed AI into our work in ways that are responsible and human-centered, and we actively develop our people to deploy it creatively and confidently. 
We believe the future belongs to organizations that pair emerging technology with genuine human expertise.  That future is being built  here. . . .come be a part of it! 

What You Will Be Doing 

• Lead the Sales Operations team — setting performance expectations, managing proposal workload and capacity, and developing direct reports through regular coaching, feedback, and annual Development Plans.
• Serve as the primary conduit between Sales Operations and Marketing, Product, Finance, Legal, and Operations — ensuring alignment and channeling customer insights back to internal teams.
• Own the end-to-end proposal process: design, documentation, quality standards, stakeholder coordination, and continuous improvement — making it a measurable competitive advantage for Cascade.
• Drive CRM strategy and adoption (Pipedrive), ensuring sales tools are well-utilized, reliable, and actively evolving to support the team.
• Contribute to improving proposal win rates, pipeline velocity, and conversion efficiency through process, tools, and team capability.
• Champion technology adoption, including AI-assisted tools — identifying opportunities to integrate emerging technology into workflows and build team capability in new systems.
• Manage team workload, prioritization, and capacity planning to ensure high-quality, on-time delivery of proposals and internal projects.

This is a full-ime, exempt position preferably located in Portland, Oregon. We will consider qualified candidates in Pacific, Mountain, and Central time zones. Minimal travel is anticipated for this role.

Qualifications
Applicants for this role are required to have:

• Bachelor's degree or higher
• 7+ years of experience in Sales Operations, Revenue Operations, or a closely related field
• 5+ years of people management experience, including direct supervision of a team of three or more
• Demonstrated experience with CRM strategy and technology adoption in a sales or business development environment
• Strong people leadership skills — proven ability to develop direct reports, retain talent, and hold a team accountable to quality and deadline standards.
• Forward-leaning, technology-fluent orientation with genuine enthusiasm for AI and emerging tools; experience evaluating and embedding new technology into team workflows.
• Expertise in proposal and sales operations process design, documentation, and continuous improvement — with the ability to identify inefficiencies and build scalable systems.
• Exceptional communication and stakeholder management skills; able to represent Sales Operations credibly across all levels of the organization.

A successful candidate should also demonstrate these preferred characteristics and/or skills:

• Experience in energy, environmental, or professional services industries preferred but not required.

For candidates whose experience may not align perfectly with all these preferred skills but can see themselves adding value in this role, we encourage you to still apply. Cascade is dedicated to building an inclusive and authentic workplace and places strong importance on learning and development. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions. 
Compensation & Benefits
The full salary range for this full-time, exempt position in Portland, OR is $92,400 (min) - $115,500 (mid) - $138,600 (max). At Cascade, transparency and fairness are core to how we work. We post the full salary range for every role because we value clarity and equity. Our offers are thoughtfully determined based on factors such as location, experience, qualifications, and internal equity, to ensure fairness. We aim to ensure consistency and integrity in every decision.
Our total rewards include competitive pay and a comprehensive benefits package designed to support your wellbeing and financial security. We provide health, dental, and vision coverage, along with flexible spending and health savings account options that include employer contributions. Additional benefits include life insurance, short- and long-term disability coverage, paid parental leave, and a 401(k)-retirement plan with a guaranteed 3% employer contribution. Cascade is proud to offer an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), annual cash performance bonuses, paid vacation and sick time, and an inclusive, flexible holiday policy. To further support wellbeing, we provide a $500 contribution that can be applied to an HSA, FSA, or Lifestyle Spending Account.