Senior director, strategic capture – training and readiness solutions

Akima, LLC and its operating companies represent an uncommonly broad array of specialized talents, technologies, and domain expertise, powering some of the most visible and demanding programs across all of government and industry. Driven by national priorities, Akima companies successfully support their customers at every critical point across a program’s lifecycle – from strategy, design, and development through operations, management, migration, and sustainment.

We’re seeking a dynamic and innovative Senior Director of Strategic Capture – Training and Readiness Solutions. This role demands a self-starting, highly motivated individual who will drive Akima’s business growth by leading large-scale (>$500M) full-and-open business pursuits and formulating integrated, enterprise-scale training and readiness offerings. This senior leader will leverage Akima’s complete portfolio to identify new market opportunities, strengthen account penetration, build and maintain a qualified pipeline, and enhance the company’s competitive positioning.

The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in the Federal procurement landscape, a strong track record of leading large and complex pursuits within the training and readiness market, deep and established relationships within at least one major DoD training and readiness acquisition ecosystem, and the ability to effectively mobilize cross-functional teams and networks.

Reporting to the Chief Growth Officer, this role will serve as Akima’s enterprise growth and capture lead for this strategically important market, with responsibility for enterprise portfolio shaping, qualified pipeline development, cross-company integration, and priority capture execution within the training and readiness market. The role will focus particularly on enterprise-scale opportunities that integrate multiple Akima capabilities or lack a natural owner within a single business group.

The successful candidate must combine a broad enterprise and market perspective with a hands-on, action-oriented approach to business development and capture and be equally comfortable formulating long-range market strategies, developing new customer and industry relationships, and personally leading the detailed execution of multiple major pursuits through award and transition.

If you’re ready to make a significant impact and drive our company forward, we invite you to join us on this exciting journey.

Responsibilities

Responsibilities include:

• Identify and lead new business pursuits that inject step-function growth by maximally leveraging Akima’s complete portfolio focused on Federal training and readiness solutions, including warfighter readiness; live, virtual, and constructive (LVC) training; synthetic training integration; distributed mission operations; joint and multinational exercises and wargaming; range operations; training systems integration, operations, and sustainment; aviation training; mission rehearsal; digital and managed learning; and training performance, analytics, and evaluation.
• Build, qualify, and maintain a pipeline of strategic training and readiness opportunities generally valued at $500M or more that aligns with Akima’s growth priorities and financial objectives and supports bookings and revenue growth.
• Lead multiple concurrent priority captures from qualification through award and transition, including customer engagement, competitive assessment, acquisition shaping, win and solution strategy, teaming, staffing, pricing, proposal readiness, executive and color team reviews, orals, and post-submission activities.
• Identify enterprise-scale and cross-company opportunities that cut across Akima’s traditional capability and operating company boundaries and ensure they are evaluated and pursued through an integrated enterprise approach rather than as isolated requirements.
• Formulate integrated, enterprise-scale offerings reflective of Akima’s diverse capabilities by bridging company solutions, relationships, subject matter expertise, contract vehicles, geographic presence, and past performance.
• Convene and lead subject matter experts from across Akima to translate operational, technical, and customer insights into differentiated solutions, compelling value propositions, and executable win strategies aligned to anticipated evaluation criteria, elevating all aspects of capture strategy, implementation, and solutioning.
• Identify new offerings, markets, and capabilities that sustain long-term competitive differentiation. Catalog internal gaps and recommend M&A, IR&D, strategic hiring, technology investment, or partnerships to accelerate market penetration.
• Develop and maintain relationships with senior military, civilian, operational, program management, requirements, acquisition, contracting, and budget stakeholders, as well as industry partners, to identify emerging requirements, gain actionable market intelligence, and position Akima well in advance of formal solicitations.
• Shape acquisition strategies and requirements through sustained customer engagement, responses to market research, industry and exercise participation, contract vehicle positioning, and strategic partnerships.
• Identify prospective teammates and support negotiation of teaming agreements, workshare arrangements, joint ventures, mentor-protégé relationships, and other pursuit-specific partnerships.
• Lead capture and proposal strategy sessions and orchestrate Black Hat reviews, competitive assessments, Price-to-Win analyses, solution reviews, executive reviews, color team reviews, orals preparation, and post-submission activities through contract award and transition.
• Develop and brief qualification, pursuit, investment, and bid/no-bid recommendations to executive leadership. Manage capture plans, schedules, resources, consultants, milestones, and approved B&P budgets, collaborating with operations, technical, pricing, contracts, legal, recruiting, finance, competitive intelligence, and proposal teams to develop compelling, compliant, executable, and competitively priced proposals.
• Stay abreast of industry trends, competitive intelligence, acquisition strategies, emerging technologies, and market dynamics to inform strategic decision-making and identify new business opportunities.
• Represent Akima at industry events, conferences, and customer meetings to enhance the company’s visibility and thought leadership within the training and readiness market.

Qualifications

Ten or more years of progressive Federal business development and capture experience, including significant DoD experience and deep knowledge of the Federal acquisition process, the FAR, DoD acquisition practices, contract vehicles, acquisition trends, and customer buying behaviors.

Strong record of identifying, shaping, capturing, and winning large (>$500M), complex Federal pursuits using cross-functional and operationally federated teams. Recent, relevant wins within the training and readiness market are strongly preferred.

Demonstrated experience within the Federal training and readiness market, including one or more of the following areas: warfighter training and readiness, LVC and synthetic training, distributed mission operations, modeling and simulation, joint exercises and wargaming, range operations, aviation training, training systems integration and sustainment, or digital learning.

Deep, established, and active relationships within at least one major DoD training and readiness acquisition or operational ecosystem, such as the Capability Program Executive for Simulation, Training, Test and Threat (CPE ST3; formerly PEO STRI), Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division (NAWCTSD), Marine Corps Program Manager for Training Systems (PM TRASYS), Air Force Life Cycle Management Center Training Directorate, Marine Corps Training and Education Command (TECOM), or another comparable organization. The ideal candidate will demonstrate the ability to leverage these relationships to identify emerging requirements, shape acquisition strategies, establish customer intimacy, and position differentiated solutions well in advance of formal solicitations.

Knowledge of major competitors within the Federal training and readiness market and demonstrated ability to assess competitor strategies, likely behaviors, strengths, and vulnerabilities and develop effective counter-positioning approaches.

Robust experience managing the full opportunity lifecycle, including qualification, pipeline development, customer and partner relationship management, solution development, capture and teaming strategy, pricing, staffing, proposal development, reviews, orals, clarifications, award, and transition.

Exceptional matrixed leadership, team orchestration, communication, negotiation, and presentation skills, with the ability to integrate capabilities and past performance across operating companies, establish a clear pursuit vision, influence stakeholders, and hold teams accountable. Must be a strategic, analytical, and innovative thinker able to manage multiple priorities and customer relationships across a geographically dispersed environment.

Bachelor’s degree in business, Engineering, or a related field; advanced degree preferred.

Active Secret or higher-level security clearance strongly preferred; ability to obtain and maintain a Secret security clearance required.

Ability to travel up to 25 percent of the time, or as business requirements dictate.