Capture Manager – Federal Health

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Location: Columbia, MD (Hybrid)

Residency Requirement: Candidates must have lived in the U.S. for at least 3 of the past 5 years and be authorized to work in the U.S. (Citizen, Permanent Resident, or EAD).

Sponsorship (H1B): This position does not offer sponsorship.

Cogent People Inc. is seeking an experienced, results-oriented Capture Manager to lead and execute capture activities supporting the company’s federal health IT growth strategy. This role shapes and drives pursuit strategies for complex federal opportunities from early market engagement through proposal submission. It requires strategic thinking, deep federal acquisition knowledge, strong leadership and communication skills, and the ability to operate autonomously while influencing cross‑functional teams to maximize win probability.

• Capture Planning & Governance – develop, execute, and continuously refine capture plans for priority federal health IT pursuits.
• Own, develop, and present capture gate reviews, recommending bid/no‑bid decisions and pursuit strategies to executive leadership.
• Plan and facilitate Black Hat sessions, price‑to‑win analyses, competitive positioning, and solution trade‑off discussions.
• Establish and enforce disciplined capture processes, artifacts, and metrics; contribute to continuous improvement of growth SOPs and pipeline governance.
• Market & Opportunity Research – proactively identify and qualify new opportunities through SAM.gov, eBuy, agency forecasts, and customer engagement.
• Direct and synthesize research using USA spending, FPDS, CPARS, Interact/GSA, and market intelligence tools (Gov Win, Gov Tribe, Higher Gov) to assess customer buying patterns, incumbents, competitors, and contract vehicles.
• Analyze RFIs, SSNs, RFPs, PWS/SOWs, Q&As, amendments, and acquisition strategies to derive requirements, evaluation criteria, risks, and differentiators.
• Translate market and customer insights into clear win strategies, capture recommendations, and solution approaches.
• Account & Stakeholder Mapping – build and maintain detailed customer, influencer, and decision‑maker maps, documenting priorities, pain points, and acquisition timelines.
• Lead or support customer engagement planning in coordination with BD leadership.
• Identify, assess, and recommend teaming partners and subcontractors aligned to technical, past performance, and contractual needs.
• Operational Support – develop call plans, meeting readouts, capture briefs, and executive summaries; oversee NDA/TA coordination.
• Lead or oversee FOIA requests and past performance research to inform capture and proposal strategies.
• Partner closely with BD leadership, solution architects, proposal managers, recruiting, and delivery leadership to shape discriminators, staffing strategies, resumes, and past performance narratives early in the lifecycle.
• Support proposal development as needed, including writing or reviewing executive summaries, management approaches, and win themes.

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in a relevant field (e.g., Business, Information Systems, Public Policy, Analytics) or equivalent experience.
• 7+ years of experience in federal health IT capture management, business development, or proposal leadership.
• Demonstrated success leading captures for federal healthcare agencies (e.g., CMS, HHS, VA, NIH).
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to influence senior stakeholders and executive leadership.
• Advanced proficiency with Excel and data analysis tools; ability to synthesize large volumes of procurement, financial, and market data into executive‑ready insights.
• Strong working knowledge of federal acquisition processes, documentation, and compliance requirements.
• Experience developing and institutionalizing capture processes, workflows, and SOPs; proficiency with MS Suite and SharePoint‑based collaboration environments.
• Proven judgment, discretion, and ability to operate independently while collaborating across teams.
• Strong attention to detail with a commitment to delivering high‑quality and accurate work.
• Proven ability to manage…