Director - SLED Proposals & Pursuit Excellence

What are we looking for:

We are not looking for someone whose idea of proposal leadership is reviewing documents after everyone else has finished writing them. We are looking for a builder, problem solver and owner. The right person will see an ambiguous RFP, a fragmented team and an aggressive deadline and instinctively create structure around it. They will ask the difficult questions early, push teams to make decisions, challenge weak assumptions, refuse to submit mediocre work and take personal ownership of the quality of every major pursuit. This person should be comfortable recommending a No-Bid when the facts do not support pursuit, and equally comfortable mobilizing a cross-functional team when Dash decides to compete.

Pursuit Leadership & Win Strategy

• Own the proposal lifecycle from qualified opportunity through final submission, clarification, oral presentation and post-award handoff.
• Lead structured Bid/No-Bid decisions based on strategic fit, contract access, customer knowledge, incumbent position, competition, past performance, technical capability, delivery feasibility, economics and probability of win.
• Establish win themes, differentiators, competitive positioning and evaluator-focused response strategies.
• Challenge teams when the solution, evidence or value proposition is not strong enough to win.
• Participate in strategic capture planning for high-value pursuits before RFP release.

Proposal Governance

• Establish and enforce a repeatable Dash proposal methodology covering kickoff, compliance matrix, proposal outline, writing assignments, solution reviews, executive reviews, production and submission.
• Run a daily or near-daily pursuit war room covering pipeline, active capture, proposal status, risks, dependencies and next actions.
• Ensure every submission is compliant, responsive, persuasive and delivered on time.
• Establish clear ownership and escalation paths so issues are identified early rather than discovered near the deadline.

Team Leadership

• Lead the Capture, Proposal Development and Technical Bid/Solution functions in India.
• Coach proposal writers and capture professionals to become stronger strategic contributors rather than task executors.
• Set quality standards and provide direct editorial and strategic feedback.
• Build a culture where people take ownership, communicate risks early and solve problems rather than simply escalating them.

Content & Knowledge Management

• Develop and govern Dash's reusable public-sector proposal content library.
• Maintain high-quality reusable content for corporate qualifications, technical capabilities, management approaches, transition, staffing, past performance, resumes, security, quality, cloud, data, AI and application modernization.
• Create templates, checklists, review criteria and pursuit playbooks; retire outdated or weak content.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Work closely with U.S. business development, account leaders, solution architects, delivery leaders, finance, legal/compliance, recruiting and executive leadership.
• Convert SME input into a cohesive customer-facing story and hold owners accountable for timely inputs.
• Support oral presentations, demonstrations, clarification responses and negotiations when required.

Continuous Improvement & Metrics

• Track opportunities reviewed, go decisions, submissions, compliance defects, shortlist/interview rate, awards, win rate, cycle time and reasons for loss.
• Conduct structured win/loss reviews and convert lessons learned into process improvements.
• Identify responsible uses of AI and proposal technology to improve research, content reuse, compliance checking and productivity without compromising confidentiality or accuracy.

Required Experience & Skills

• 12+ years of experience in proposals, bids, capture, presales or government contracting.
• Significant direct experience supporting U.S. government opportunities; strong SLED experience is highly preferred.
• Demonstrated ownership of complex IT services or professional-services proposals.
• Strong understanding of RFP/RFQ/RFI requirements, compliance matrices, evaluation criteria and public-sector procurement processes.
• Exceptional written and spoken business English and strong executive-level editing skills.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams under aggressive deadlines and challenging senior stakeholders constructively.
• Experience developing proposal processes, templates, content libraries and quality standards.

Preferred Qualifications / Experience

• APMP certification or meaningful Shipley-style proposal/capture experience.
• Experience with IT services, application development, cloud, data, AI, cybersecurity, staffing or digital transformation.
• Experience with U.S. state contract vehicles, cooperative contracts, MSP/VMS programs or large government IDIQ-style vehicles.
• Experience managing an India-based proposal/capture team supporting U.S. operations.

The Personality We Are Looking For

• Takes ownership even when the problem technically belongs to someone else.
• Hates surprises and surfaces issues before they become emergencies.
• Is comfortable making decisions with incomplete information.
• Can be demanding without becoming difficult to work with.
• Cares deeply about winning but is disciplined enough to recommend a No-Bid.
• Asks how the team can make the process better after both wins and losses.
• Does not need constant supervision or detailed instructions.

What Success Looks Like