Proposals Strategist
Designer Fund is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage tech companies using design to improve health, sustainability, or prosperity for people. It backs founding teams, particularly those with design backgrounds, across sectors like fintech, healthcare, climate tech, and developer tools.
About Designer Fund
Designer Fund is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in tech companies leveraging design to drive positive outcomes in health, sustainability, and financial prosperity. Its portfolio spans a wide range of sectors including financial infrastructure (Stripe), preventative health (Omada), collaborative tools (Notion), developer tools (Netlify), product management (Linear), payroll and benefits (Gusto), design tools (Framer), and healthcare infrastructure (Commure), among dozens of other companies across fintech, climate tech, healthcare, EdTech, and AI. The firm also runs 'Designer Founders,' a community and platform highlighting designers who have gone on to found and lead companies, reflecting its focus on backing design-driven founders and design-centric startups from early stages through growth and acquisition.
Skills
About the Role
You will work at the heart of Via's mission, forging new partnerships with public transit providers across the DACH region through thoughtful, exceptionally-written proposals. Working alongside senior members of the Strategy Team, you will develop a deep understanding of potential partners' transportation challenges and goals, learn Via's unique technical and operational strengths, and lead high-quality written proposals that open doors to real, lasting change in how cities move. This role is for people with a keen interest in technology and a genuine passion for writing. It is hybrid and Berlin based.
Requirements
- At least 4 years of relevant experience
- An exceptionally strong writer and communicator with an instinctive feel for tone, structure, and argument
- Meticulous and strategic: able to hold every detail in a complex project while never losing sight of the big picture
- Naturally curious and always learning; wants to understand the why behind decisions and enjoys contributing ideas
- Steady, thoughtful, organized, and solution-oriented
- Fully fluent in German and English — native or bilingual level in German is a must
Responsibilities
- Own competitive procurements from start to finish: evaluation, strategy, creation of exceptional proposal content, review, and submission
- Partner closely with Via's Partnerships, Expansion, and Finance teams to build winning strategies for high-stakes procurements, and challenge assumptions along the way
- Collaborate with senior leadership to enhance the proposal response process through optimization and AI-driven automation
- Absorb complex product specifications and distill them into clear, compelling prose that moves decision-makers
- Generate original, persuasive content by reading what a potential partner really needs and deploying command of Via's technology, transit norms, and the latest innovations from across the industry
- Manage communications with potential partners with skill and professionalism, and support senior team members in interviews with cities and transit agencies
Benefits
- Weekly team lunch and breakfast
- Urban Sports Club membership
- Company pension scheme (bAV) with a 20% employer contribution
- 30 vacation days a year
- Equity