Associate Vice President, Knowledge Management and AI Enablement for Westat

SRI Executive Search has been contracted by Westat to assist with the search for an exceptional candidate to fill the position of Associate Vice President, Knowledge Management and AI Enablement.

About Westat

Westat is a leader in research, data collection and analysis, technical assistance, evaluation, and communications. Our evidence-based findings help clients in government and the private sector accelerate advancements in health, education, transportation, and social and economic policy. Our dedication to improving lives through research and our approach to projects grounded in investigative curiosity, statistical and data rigor, adaptive methods, and advanced technology are why clients find exceptional value in our work.

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Role Purpose

Westat is seeking a strategic and forward-looking knowledge management leader to strengthen how organizational knowledge is identified, curated, governed, reused, and activated to support growth across the federal marketplace.

This role will advance a modern knowledge management capability that improves access to trusted content, strengthens business development and pursuit effectiveness, and prepares Westat for responsible AI-enabled knowledge use.

The successful candidate will bring expertise in knowledge management, content governance, information architecture, business development, and applied AI to ensure institutional knowledge is organized, maintained, and used to improve decision-making, proposal quality, client engagement, and competitive positioning.

Major Duties and Responsibilities

• Develop and advance an enterprise knowledge management strategy that aligns with business priorities by establishing standards for identifying, organizing, maintaining, and reusing high-value knowledge assets, while enabling employees to easily find, trust, and apply knowledge to support organizational learning, operational effectiveness, and business growth.
• Lead the identification, classification, tagging, curation, and lifecycle management of high-value knowledge assets by establishing metadata, taxonomy, governance, and content management practices that ensure information remains current, accessible, trustworthy, and reusable to support business development, client engagement, and organizational objectives.

AI Readiness & Enablement

• Lead AI readiness and enablement by preparing and governing high-quality knowledge assets for responsible use with AI-enabled tools, partnering with business and technology stakeholders to support AI-assisted search, summarization, content generation, decision-making, and business development while ensuring strong data quality, security, permissions, and human oversight.

Business Development & Pursuit Enablement

• Support business development and pursuit success by enabling teams to quickly access, apply, and reuse high-value knowledge assets, including past performance, qualifications, client insights, proposal content, and lessons learned, while developing reusable knowledge products that enhance consistency, quality, efficiency, and competitiveness.

Governance, Standards & Quality

• Establish and oversee knowledge management governance, standards, and quality practices by defining ownership, accountability, content organization, tagging, version control, and reuse standards, while monitoring knowledge asset quality, eliminating gaps and duplication, and measuring adoption, effectiveness, user satisfaction, and business impact.

Organizational Leadership

• Lead and develop knowledge management capabilities by mentoring staff, fostering a culture of collaboration, accountability, curiosity, and continuous improvement, building organizational capacity through training and change management, and advancing the organization from passive document storage to active knowledge enablement.

Cross-Functional Partnership

• Partner with cross-functional stakeholders across business development, capture, proposals, pricing, contracts, technology, communications, and operations to translate business needs into practical knowledge solutions, serve as a trusted advisor on knowledge strategy and AI readiness, and drive adoption of shared practices that strengthen knowledge governance, reuse, and organizational performance.

Profile

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree preferred (MBA, Information Management, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Organizational Development, or related discipline).
• Strong change-management instincts and a service-oriented leadership style.
• Practical understanding of AI opportunities and risks in a business development environment.

Basic Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in knowledge management, business development enablement, information management, content strategy, enterprise operations, or related fields.
• Bachelor's degree required in Information Systems, Computer Science, Knowledge Management, Library & Information Science, Organizational Development, or a related field.
• Experience supporting federal business development, capture, proposal development, or professional services growth environments strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to design and implement knowledge management strategies, taxonomies, metadata models, content governance practices, and asset lifecycle processes.
• Experience leading teams and building organizational capability in complex, matrixed environments.
• Strong understanding of how knowledge management supports business development, proposal quality, competitive positioning, and organizational learning.
• Experience with AI-enabled tools, knowledge platforms, enterprise search, content management systems, CRM systems, or related technologies.
• Familiarity with responsible AI practices, including data quality, permissions, content governance, security, and human oversight.
• Track record of leading change, influencing stakeholders, and improving adoption of new tools and processes.
• Demonstrated communication, facilitation, and executive-engagement skills.

Terms of Appointment

Westat offers a well-rounded and comprehensive benefits program focused on wellness and work/life balance. Subject to plan requirements, employees may participate in:

• Employee Stock Ownership Plan
• 401(k) Retirement Plan
• Vacation Leave (20 days per year)
• Sick Leave (9 days per year)
• Holiday Leave (7 government holidays and 2 floating holidays)
• Professional Development
• Health Advocate
• Employee Assistance Program
• Medical Insurance
• Vision Insurance
• Short Term Disability Insurance
• Long Term Disability Insurance
• Life and AD&D Insurance
• Critical Illness Insurance
• Supplemental Life Insurance
• Flexible Spending Account
• Health Savings Account

Any offer of employment may be contingent upon receipt of acceptable results from a post-offer background screening, if required for the specific position, which may include, for example, identity verification, employment history, motor vehicle driving record history, and criminal or sexual offender records history. Any background screening results will be evaluated through an individualized assessment based on the individual’s specific record and the duties and requirements of the position.

Employment Eligibility: This is a U.S.-based position. Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. Westat does not offer employment-based visa sponsorship (including H-1B sponsorship) for this role. Depending on project requirements, some positions may require employees to meet specific residency criteria.

Westat is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, citizenship status, genetic information, or any other protected status under applicable law. It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Role Location

This position will be hybrid, working in Westat’s Bethesda, Maryland office 4 days per week.

Rest assured, all information will be handled with the utmost confidentiality.