Director, Business Development - VA & NIH

DRT Strategies delivers expert management consulting and information technology (IT) solutions to large federal agencies, the U.S. Navy, state and local government, and commercial clients in health care, technology, and financial services industries. Our acronym, DRT, stands for Driving Resolution Together, reflecting our core philosophy of collaborating with clients to solve their most pressing challenges. We combine Fortune 500 experience with small business responsiveness, establishing a reputation as a forward-thinking consulting firm that implements solutions leading to meaningful results. Our world-class consultants unite people to work collaboratively to achieve project goals and make vision a reality.

About the Role

DRT Strategies is a rapidly growing firm targeting unrestricted, competitive procurements in the federal consulting market. We are seeking an experienced Director of Business Development to identify and lead the capture of strategic opportunities, enabling us to win new contracts and expand our customer base. You will play a critical role in achieving our ambitious growth objectives by leading end-to-end capture activities for high-priority opportunities across DRT’s emerging account space. This role involves developing and executing winning capture strategies, leveraging customer relationships and market intelligence to inform highly competitive proposals, primarily with the VA and NIH. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams and report to the Chief Strategy Officer.

Responsibilities

• Lead the identification, qualification, and strategic capture of new business opportunities, primarily with the National Institute of Health (NIH) and Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA), while remaining flexible to accommodate opportunities in secondary markets such as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Drive the end-to-end capture lifecycle, including market research, competitive analysis, solution development, teaming strategy, win theme development, oral presentation development, and execution.
• Manage and/or mentor other team members in capture efforts.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams (technical, proposal, contracts, and pricing) to develop compelling, compliant, and customer-focused proposals, RFIs, and SSNs. Contribute to proposal content, assist with pricing strategy, and participate in proposal reviews.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with government clients, industry partners, and internal stakeholders to position DRT for long-term success. Proactively identify and track emerging market trends, services, solutions, tools, and technologies, and conduct thorough research on prospective customers, programs, partners, and competitors to inform capture strategies.
• Guide specific opportunities through DRT's Step Review process to ensure the development of winning proposals. Collaborate with the proposal team and delivery leadership to prioritize opportunities and partner with the delivery team and solution architects to understand and define competitive DRT solution offerings.
• Understand and adapt to the evolving role of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Natural Language Processing (NLP), and Automation tools in competitive procurements, both in procurement execution and solution delivery. Help DRT maintain a leadership position in the use of these technologies as part of the Business Development cycle.
• Collaborate with DRT leadership on marketing initiatives for new customers and partners. Lead proposal strategy development, including theming and solution definition, based on pre-proposal intelligence. Manage proposal preparation activities, including defining roles and assessing past performance.
• Direct reports and/or mentees in alignment with corporate strategies and tools. Contribute, as requested, to corporate goal setting related to company growth.

Requirements

• Eight or more years of experience in Business Development.
• Demonstrable, hands-on success with business development for the NIH and/or VA, including direct knowledge of relevant vehicles, stakeholders, and projects in these spaces.
• A minimum of five (5) years of successful, hands-on capture management experience with a proven track record of securing new contracts with new customers.
• Demonstrated success capturing complex, competitive, high-value ($25M-100M+) bid opportunities within the last three years.
• Proven ability to establish and maintain strong relationships with a diverse range of customers and partners.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and deliver effective written and verbal marketing collateral, text, and presentations.
• Baseline understanding of how to use modern tools to assist in the creative process.
• Proven ability to organize and lead highly effective and collaborative capture and proposal teams.
• Fundamental knowledge of the workings and practical uses of AI/ML/NLP in the Business Development process.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree.
• Preferred: Completion of government business development and capture training.
• Preferred: Understanding of federal procurement practices/policies.
• Preferred: Recognized thought leader in the Federal marketplace through notable wins and participation in industry engagement activities and associations.

Pay

$150,000–$170,000 per year, commensurate with experience.