Senior Director of Proposal Management

Requisition #: 1581

Job Title: Senior Director of Proposal Management

Location: McLean, VA

Clearance Level: Secret - Must Have Ability to Obtain a Clearance

Job Description

Agile Defense is seeking a Senior Director of Proposal Management to serve as a key leader within our Growth organization, reporting directly to the VP of Proposals and Pricing . This role is responsible for providing strategic leadership, process rigor, and pipeline hygiene across the entire Proposal Team—including Proposal Managers, Technical Writers, Proposal Leads, and Graphic Designers—embedded within our pod-based structure supporting six divisions: Air Force, Army, Navy, CCMD/4th Estate, Federal Civilian, and DHS.

The Senior Director will drive proposal excellence by establishing and enforcing standardized processes, governance frameworks, and quality standards across all pods. This leader will ensure seamless coordination between Proposal Managers and their respective BD, Capture, Solution Architect, and Pricing counterparts within each pod, while maintaining enterprise-wide consistency in proposal development methodologies. The ideal candidate will champion continuous improvement, mentor proposal professionals at all levels, and ensure Agile Defense's proposals are compliant, compelling, and competitively positioned to achieve superior win rates.

Key responsibilities include:

Providing day-to-day leadership and mentorship to the Proposal Management team across all six divisional pods

Establishing, maintaining, and enforcing proposal management processes, templates, standards, and best practices aligned with Shipley or equivalent methodologies

Driving pipeline hygiene by ensuring accurate tracking of proposal status, milestones, resources, and deliverables across the enterprise

Collaborating with Capture Managers, Solution Architects, and Pricing within each pod to ensure integrated, win-themed proposal responses

Managing proposal surge capacity, resource allocation, and workload balancing across pods

Conducting color team reviews (Pink, Red, Gold) and ensuring quality gates are met throughout the proposal lifecycle

Developing and tracking proposal metrics, win/loss analytics, and lessons learned to drive continuous improvement

Supporting the VP of Proposals and Pricing in strategic planning, budgeting, and organizational development for the Proposal function

Ensuring compliance with FAR/DFARS, solicitation requirements, and customer-specific submission guidelines
Building and maintaining a proposal content library, reuse repository, and knowledge management system

Education and Background

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, English, Communications, Marketing, Engineering, or a related field (required)
• Master's degree in Business Administration (MBA), Strategic Management, or related discipline (preferred)
• APMP Certification at the Practitioner or Professional level (required); APMP Executive-level certification (preferred)
• Shipley-trained or equivalent proposal methodology certification strongly desired
• Demonstrated background in Defense/Intelligence Community (IC) government contracting with a strong understanding of DoD and Federal Civilian acquisition environments
• Experience supporting proposals across multiple contract vehicles and acquisition types (IDIQ, GWAC, BPA, FFP, T&M, Cost-Plus)
• Active Secret clearance (minimum); Top Secret/SCI eligibility preferred
• Proven track record of leading proposal efforts on pursuits valued at $100M+ in Total Contract Value (TCV)

Years of Experience

Required Skills

• Expert-level knowledge of AI and AI related tools in the Proposal and Capture lifecycle and Process
• Expert-level knowled