Portfolio Director; Active Secret Clearance or Ability to obtain one

ASE is seeking an experienced Portfolio Director to lead and grow a portfolio of federal government programs within our Systems Engineering, IT, and Mission Support business line. The Portfolio Director serves as the senior programmatic authority for a group of Program Managers (PMs) and Project Managers, owning the overall cost, schedule, technical performance, and financial health of every program within the portfolio.

This role blends hands-on program oversight with strategic business leadership.

The Portfolio Director is directly accountable for portfolio growth, profitability, and customer satisfaction, and serves as the primary escalation point between the PM team, Shared Services, executive leadership, and the customer. The ideal candidate is a senior-level federal contracting leader who combines strong financial acumen, proven people leadership, and an established track record of growing programs through capture and business development.

This position will report to the Sr. Director of Operations.

This Hybrid position requires that you live within commuting distance from Herndon, VA.

• Own the overall cost, schedule, and performance of an assigned portfolio of programs, ensuring each program meets or exceeds contractual and customer expectations.
• Provide strategic oversight and day-to-day operational support to each Program/Project Manager within the portfolio; serve as the first point of contact for programmatic support, escalations, and issue resolution.
• Establish clear performance metrics for each PM within the portfolio; evaluate performance against those metrics and provide ongoing coaching, assistance, and guidance to the project management team.
• Maintain the financial health and growth trajectory of the portfolio as a whole, ensuring alignment with corporate-level revenue, margin, and growth targets.
• Drive the successful delivery of every program in the portfolio, ensuring each contract adds the highest possible strategic and financial value to Akima.
• Build and maintain strong working relationships with Shared Services functions (Contracts, HR, Finance, Recruiting, Security, etc.) to ensure PMs have the resources and support needed to execute successfully.
• Provide mentorship, coaching, and professional development to Program and Project Managers, building bench strength and succession depth across the portfolio.
• Partner closely with Business Development and Capture teams throughout the capture and proposal lifecycle; take ownership for identifying and driving organic and new growth within the portfolio.
• Cultivate strong, trust-based relationships with customers, teaming partners, and subcontractors to protect incumbent positions and identify expansion opportunities.
• Serve as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) across the portfolio’s technical and programmatic domains, and act as a hands‑on backup to any PM within the portfolio as needed
• This role requires extensive, hands‑on P&L experience managing contract financials, including:
  • Revenue and margin analysis – monitoring program‑level and portfolio‑level revenue recognition and profitability against plan.
  • Cost, quality, and schedule variance analysis – identifying root causes and driving corrective action plans.
  • Estimates at Completion (EACs) and forecast development – building and defending monthly/quarterly EACs and long‑range financial forecasts.
  • Accounts payable/receivable, billing, and Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) management – ensuring timely, accurate invoicing with Project Controls team.

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (Engineering, Information Technology, Business Administration, or related discipline); PMP or equivalent PM certification strongly preferred; advanced degree a plus.
• 10 years of progressive program/project management experience supporting federal government customers
• 5 years of leading multiple concurrent programs or a portfolio of contracts simultaneously consisting of $40M or more in annual revenue/funding management
• Direct experience owning full P&L responsibility for a portfolio of contracts, including accountability for revenue, margin, and growth targets reported to corporate/executive…