Director of Capture and Proposals

Valiant Global Defense Services is seeking a strategic, results-driven Director of Capture and Proposals to lead the development and execution of competitive capture strategies and proposal operations across our federal government portfolio.

Reporting directly to the Chief Growth Officer, this position is responsible for strengthening Valiant's competitive positioning, improving capture and proposal execution, and driving disciplined pursuit strategies that support the company's long-term growth objectives.

The ideal candidate combines deep federal contracting expertise with hands‑on capture leadership, proposal management experience, and the ability to translate complex customer requirements into differentiated, compelling solutions.

Key Responsibilities:

Capture Strategy and Execution

• Lead capture planning and execution for strategic opportunities across the Department of Defense, Intelligence Community, and other federal customers.
• Develop and implement comprehensive capture strategies, including competitive assessments, customer engagement plans, teaming strategies, solution development, and win themes.
• Drive opportunity qualification and bid/no-bid recommendations through established pipeline and gate review processes.
• Collaborate with business development, operations, technical leadership, and pricing teams to develop competitive and executable solutions.
• Establish and maintain capture plans, action trackers, competitive intelligence, and pursuit milestones.
• Support recompete strategies focused on incumbent retention, customer intimacy, competitive differentiation, and operational performance.
• Identify and mitigate capture risks while ensuring opportunities are positioned for successful proposal execution.

Proposal Management and Operations

• Provide leadership and oversight of Valiant's proposal development function, ensuring timely delivery of compliant, compelling, and competitive proposals.
• Establish standardized proposal processes, tools, templates, and quality assurance practices aligned with industry best practices.
• Oversee proposal planning, resource allocation, scheduling, compliance reviews, and color team reviews.
• Ensure effective integration of technical, management, staffing, transition, past performance, and pricing strategies.
• Lead strategic proposal efforts as required, including hands‑on management of high‑priority pursuits.
• Drive continuous improvement in proposal quality, efficiency, and effectiveness through automation, AI-enabled tools, and knowledge management.
• Develop and maintain a scalable proposal infrastructure that supports multiple concurrent pursuits.

Growth Strategy and Organizational Leadership

• Partner with the CGO to execute corporate growth priorities, improve win rates, and expand Valiant's competitive position in targeted markets.
• Lead and mentor capture and proposal professionals, fostering accountability, collaboration, and high performance.
• Coordinate capture and proposal resource planning to align workforce capacity with pipeline priorities and anticipated procurement timelines.
• Establish performance metrics and reporting mechanisms to measure capture effectiveness, proposal quality, resource utilization, and win rates.
• Support strategic growth initiatives, including market expansion, new contract vehicles, teaming partnerships, and emerging technology integration.
• Champion the adoption of AI and digital tools to streamline capture and proposal workflows and enhance organizational productivity.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, Management, or a related discipline; equivalent relevant experience may be considered.
• Minimum of 10 years of progressive experience in federal government contracting, business development, capture management, or proposal management.
• At least 5 years of demonstrated leadership experience managing capture and/or proposal teams.
• Proven success leading competitive federal pursuits, including large, complex, and strategically significant opportunities.
• Strong understanding of federal acquisition processes, FAR/DFARS, contract vehicles, procurement strategies, and competitive source selections.
• Demonstrated experience developing capture strategies, competitive assessments, win themes, and differentiated technical and management solutions.
• Extensive knowledge of proposal development methodologies, including Shipley or equivalent structured processes.
• Excellent written communication, executive presentation, organizational, and…