About this role
We are seeking an experienced Business Development and Capture Manager to drive growth and lead the full opportunity lifecycle for Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and Missile and Space Intelligence Center (MSIC) accounts in Huntsville, Alabama. This role is responsible for developing account and market strategies, building a qualified pipeline, cultivating customer and industry relationships, shaping opportunities, and leading disciplined capture efforts from identification through award and transition. The ideal candidate combines a strong network within the defense intelligence community with knowledge of federal acquisition, scientific and technical intelligence missions, and missile and space intelligence programs.
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KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
- Own account growth strategy for DIA and MSIC, translating customer missions, budgets, acquisition priorities, and competitive trends into actionable business development and investment plans.
- Build and manage a qualified pipeline across new business, recompetes, task orders, contract vehicles, and strategic adjacent markets; establish targets and regularly assess pipeline quality, value, timing, and probability of win.
- Identify, qualify, and prioritize opportunities using disciplined bid/no-bid criteria, including strategic fit, customer access, competitive position, solution readiness, financial attractiveness, and execution risk.
- Develop and execute customer engagement plans that build trusted relationships with mission leaders, program offices, acquisition stakeholders, contracting personnel, and industry partners.
- Lead ethical pre-solicitation engagement, requests for information, industry days, white papers, capability briefings, and solution demonstrations to understand needs, inform acquisition approaches, and position differentiated capabilities.
- Direct end-to-end capture for priority pursuits, including capture schedules, stakeholder maps, competitive intelligence, win strategies, win themes, discriminators, price-to-win inputs, staffing concepts, and risk-mitigation plans.
- Form and lead cross-functional capture teams spanning operations, solution architecture, engineering, contracts, pricing, finance, recruiting, security, and proposal management; establish clear owners, milestones, and decision points.
- Develop teaming and partner strategies; identify complementary capabilities, negotiate teaming arrangements with authorized stakeholders, and manage partner performance and communications throughout the pursuit.
- Lead capture gate reviews and executive briefings, presenting evidence-based recommendations, investment requirements, resource needs, risks, and corrective actions to senior leadership.
- Partner with proposal leadership to translate the capture strategy into compliant, compelling, and customer-focused proposals; support color-team reviews and ensure win themes, solution benefits, proof points, and competitive positioning remain consistent.
- Maintain accurate opportunity, customer, activity, and forecast data in CRM systems; provide clear reporting on pipeline health, capture progress, business development activity, and key growth indicators.
- Support post-award transition and lessons learned, ensuring commitments, customer insights, partner expectations, and solution assumptions are transferred effectively to the delivery team.
- Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering, Intelligence Studies, or a related field; an advanced degree is preferred.
- 13+ years of progressive experience in federal business development, capture management, account management, or growth leadership supporting defense or intelligence community customers.
- Demonstrated record of building qualified pipelines and leading competitive pursuits through award, including significant contracts, task orders, recompetes, and multi-partner opportunities.
- Direct knowledge of DIA, MSIC, or closely related intelligence community missions, stakeholders, acquisition organizations, contract vehicles, and competitive environments.
- Strong understanding of the federal acquisition lifecycle, including acquisition planning, market research, FAR/DFARS requirements, source selection, contract types, and intelligence community contracting practices.
- Experience developing account plans, customer call plans, capture plans, competitive assessments, win strategies, teaming approaches, pricing inputs, and executive gate-review materials.
- Proven ability to influence and lead cross-functional teams in a matrixed environment while managing multiple pursuits, priorities, schedules, and investment decisions.