Growth and Strategy Director

Growth and Strategy Director, Zeta Associates

Reports To: Vice President, Programs Location: Zeta Corporate Headquarters, Fairfax VA

The Zeta Growth and Strategy (GS) Director is a member of the Zeta executive leadership team. The GS Director reports to the VP, Programs and works closely with the President/CEO, CFO, COO, and Zeta technical and program leaders. The GS Director is responsible for strategizing, identifying, evaluating, planning, and coordinating new business opportunities while also developing strategies to retain and expand Zeta's existing business, including preparation for major program recompetes and follow-on opportunities. The GS Director develops an in-depth understanding of Zeta capabilities, customer needs, mission priorities, competitive environments, and Zeta industrial partners to inform decisions regarding whether Zeta should pursue an opportunity. The GS Director serves as the central coordinator for Zeta growth pursuits, ensuring that opportunities are rigorously evaluated, pursuit decisions are deliberate, resources are appropriately aligned, and responses reflect Zeta's technical strengths, customer understanding, competitive position, and commitment to mission success. The GS Director manages business pursuits through identification to submission, negotiation, and award decision.

About Zeta Associates

Since 1984, Zeta Associates has been a leading provider of SIGINT and Specials COMMS products and services to the Intelligence Community. We have 40+ years of leadership in developing SIGINT systems in both Strategic and Tactical arenas, and are experts in cross-mission, cross-platform techniques and applications.

Key Responsibilities

Growth Strategy and Opportunity Identification

• Identify and assess new business opportunities aligned with Zeta's strategic objectives, technical capabilities, customer relationships, and mission areas.
• Maintain a pipeline of current, anticipated, and potential new business opportunities and provide regular visibility to the VP, Programs and Zeta executive leadership.
• Monitor government acquisition activity, customer priorities, mission needs, industrial partner activity, contract vehicles, Requests for Information (RFIs), Sources Sought notices, Requests for Proposals (RFPs), and other indicators of emerging business opportunities.
• Develop and maintain relationships with government customers, industrial partners, and other stakeholders to improve understanding of emerging mission and acquisition requirements.
• Work with technical and program leads to understand customer needs and identify opportunities where Zeta's capabilities and mission expertise provide a compelling basis for pursuit.

Opportunity Assessment and Pursuit Planning

• Conduct opportunity assessments, including customer alignment, mission relevance, technical fit, competitive environment, contract structure, resource requirements, teaming considerations, and potential business value.
• Develop and provide actionable pursuit strategies and recommendations to the VP, Programs and C-suite regarding whether Zeta should pursue an opportunity, to include capabilities, personnel, partners, and resources required to compete effectively.
• Coordinate with technical leads and Program Managers to determine Zeta's technical approach, relevant internal capabilities, resource requirements, and potential gaps.
• Develop the pursuit plan, to include assembling and coordinating the appropriate Zeta technical, programmatic, contractual, pricing, and business resources.
• Identify the need for external resources, including subcontractors, consultants, teaming partners, and other strategic partners, and establish those relationships.
• Identify key risks, assumptions, dependencies, and organizational constraints associated with each pursuit and elevate issues requiring VP, Programs action and/or decision.

RFI, Sources Sought, and Government Engagement

• Lead the development and execution of Zeta's response to RFIs, Sources Sought notices, RFPs, and other government solicitations and business opportunities.
• Collaborate and coordinate with technical and program leads to develop technically credible, mission-focused responses that positively influence business toward Zeta.
• Use information obtained through RFIs, industry engagement, customer interactions, and market research to refine opportunity assessments and inform subsequent pursuit decisions.

Proposal and Capture Leadership

• When Zeta elects to pursue an opportunity, develop and execute an integrated capture and proposal plan.
• Assemble, coordinate, lead, or oversee the Zeta proposal development team for each pursuit, including technical, program management, contracts, finance, pricing, security, staffing/recruiting, and executive leadership resources as required.
• Determine the appropriate internal and external resources required to execute the pursuit, including subcontractors, consultants, teaming partners, and other outside expertise.
• Coordinate with technical leads and Program Managers to ensure that proposed technical approaches are achievable, differentiated, appropriately resourced, and aligned with customer requirements.
• Coordinate with the CFO and contracts/finance organizations on contract structure, pricing, cost considerations, subcontracting, and other business terms as appropriate.
• Coordinate with the COO and appropriate support organizations on staffing, recruiting, organizational capacity, security, facilities, information technology, and other business support requirements associated with potential new business.

Strategic Partnerships and Teaming

• Identify and evaluate potential strategic partners and teaming opportunities that enhance Zeta's ability to pursue and execute new business.
• Work with the VP, Programs, COO, and other Zeta leadership to establish relationships with organizations that provide complementary technical capabilities, contract vehicles, customer access, staffing capacity, or other strategic value.
• Coordinate and negotiate teaming and partnership activities associated with specific pursuits, consistent with Zeta's strategic objectives and customer requirements.
• Maintain an understanding of Zeta's partner ecosystem and identify opportunities to strengthen relationships that supports current contract execution and future growth.
• Act as Zeta’s primary liaison with Lockheed Martin (LM) business development (BD) personnel and teams. Work with LM BD to coordinate common pursuits, field technical advisory support requests, and identify/assess opportunities to team with LM.

Internal Coordination and Communication

• Establish a disciplined but 'light-touch' growth and pursuit rhythm that provides appropriate visibility without creating unnecessary bureaucracy.
• Provide regular updates to the VP, Programs and C-suite regarding opportunity status and assessments, pursuit decisions, resource requirements, risks, and anticipated next steps.
• Facilitate effective communication among technical, program, business, finance, contracts, staffing, and executive stakeholders.
• Ensure that pursuit activities are coordinated with existing Zeta programs and do not unnecessarily disrupt current customer commitments.
• Capture lessons learned from pursuits and incorporate those lessons into future opportunity identification, capture, and proposal activities.

Existing Business Retention and Recompete Strategy

• Maintain active awareness of Zeta's existing program portfolio and identify opportunities, risks, and customer dynamics that could affect the continued retention and growth of existing business.
• Identify opportunities to expand the scope, mission impact, or value of existing Zeta programs through customer engagement, technical innovation, contract opportunities, and follow-on work.
• Work closely with Program Managers, technical leads, and executive leadership to ensure Zeta is positioned to successfully retain existing programs and remain competitive for follow-on and recompete opportunities.
• Develop and maintain a forward-looking recompete strategy for significant Zeta programs, including customer priorities, incumbent position, competitive environment, technical differentiators, performance considerations, resource requirements, teaming strategy, and anticipated acquisition approach.
• Conduct a Strategic Recompete Review every six months for each of Zeta's three largest programs (which are expected to be recompeted in 3-5 years). These reviews will assess the current health and strategic position of each program and identify actions required to maximize Zeta's ability to retain the business through recompete or follow-on acquisition. Translate the results of Strategic Recompete Reviews into actionable capture, customer engagement, technical, staffing, teaming, and investment strategies.
• Maintain visibility into the anticipated recompete and follow-on pipeline and provide regular updates to the VP, Programs and C-suite regarding retention risks, opportunities, and required actions.

Leadership and Organizational Responsibilities

• Reinforce a culture of trust, integrity, accountability, transparency, collaboration, responsiveness, and mission focus.
• Build strong working relationships across Zeta's technical, program, business, and executive teams.
• Represent Zeta professionally with high-level government customers, industry partners, teaming partners, and other external stakeholders.
• Protect and strengthen Zeta's technical reputation, customer relationships, and mission-focused culture throughout all growth and pursuit activities.

Qualifications

The successful candidate will be a collaborative, highly organized, low-ego business leader who combines strategic thinking, business development discipline, technical and mission understanding, and strong relationship-building skills. The individual must be capable of translating emerging customer needs into actionable growth opportunities.

REQUIRED

• Bachelors degree in a relevant field.
• Minimum of 25 years of progressive leadership experience (contractor, government, or military) supporting mission-critical functions of the Intelligence Community (IC) and/or Department of War (DoW). At least 12 of the most recent years must be within the IC.
• Active TS/SCI with CI Poly clearance prior to consideration.
• Demonstrated experience leading multidisciplinary teams.
• Experience in mission areas or technical disciplines relevant to Zeta's business.
• Strong understanding of technical and programmatic requirements associated with complex government contracts.
• Experience with federal government acquisition processes, solicitations, RFIs, Sources Sought notices, RFPs, and/or proposal development (in a government or industry role).
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with technical subject matter experts and translate technical capabilities into customer-focused business solutions.
• Strong executive communication, leadership, negotiation, and relationship-management skills. Role-model leader of people.
• Proven and reference-able ability to lead people and teams and build trust across technical, operational, and business teams.

DESIRED

• Masters degree in a relevant field.
• Experience as a federal government Contracting Officer Technical Representative (COTR).
• Experience as a Program Manager (PM) in aerospace, defense, or intelligence industry and/or government roles.
• Experience performing strategic growth development, business development, capture management, and/or proposal development functions (in an industry role).
• Federal government or military service in the IC.
• Federal government or military service in the DoD.
• Industry experience supporting/serving the IC.
• Industry experience supporting/serving the DoD.