Diplomacy/Foreign Affairs Expert/Exercise Designer (Fort Leavenworth, KS)- Eligibility: Open only to U.S. citizens (SECRET clearance required)
- Position Type: Full-Time/Permanent
- Location: Fort Leavenworth, Kansas (in-person/no hybrid or remote)
- Salary: $100-130K/year + bonus eligible
- Apply By: Rolling
About the Opportunity:Motive is part of a team contracted to deliver ongoing support to the U.S. Army's Mission Command Training Program (MCTP), which designs and executes large-scale military exercises including the Warfighter Exercise (WFX) series for Army Corps and Division echelons. Motive's contracted support to MCTP began in August 2026 and will endure for many years.
Motive's role in MCTP is to staff the Unified Action Partner (UAP) cell, a full-time embedded team of interagency subject matter experts (SMEs) responsible for designing civil domain elements of exercise scenarios to ensure a complex, realistic training environment. UAP SMEs work on-site at MCTP HQ at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, where they support full exercise lifecycle design and planning tasks, then travel to CONUS and OCONUS locations where exercises are held throughout the year.
Motive welcomes applications from fully qualified candidates for the UAP SME positions, which are specialized in the following domains:
- Intelligence (ideal for candidates with prior service in/around CIA, NSA, other IC agencies)
- Foreign Affairs (ideal for candidates with prior service in/around the State Department)
- Humanitarian Affairs (ideal for candidates with prior service in/around official development assistance agencies such as USAID or the State Department, INGOs, Red Cross, or UN agencies)
Motive will review applications on a rolling basis, with priority for positions with active openings.
Highly qualified candidates will be contacted to either interview for immediate vacancies or complete steps to join our bench of pre-qualified alternates, if no positions are immediately available. Non-selected candidates may be added to Motive's general applicant pool and may be contacted at a later date for other opportunities.
Minimum Qualifications:- U.S. citizen with minimum SECRET security clearance
- Master's degree
- Min. 8 years of professional experience in relevant SME domain
- Overseas professional experience in complex crisis or contingency environment
- Willingness to reside permanently in the Ft. Leavenworth, KS, area
- Ability to travel up to 20% time, including to OCONUS locations
- Exceptional communication and teamwork skills
Preferred Qualifications:- Solid understanding of the military/civil-military operations
- Familiarity with military exercise lifecycle/exercise design or planning experience
To Apply:- Complete an application for the relevant SME domain
- Application Form: click HERE.
- Full Name
- Full contact info
- Select which SME domain(s) best fit your background
- Highest degree earned and institution
- Number of years of relevant experience and brief description of the most senior role(s) held in the relevant domain of expertise
- Your Background & Approach (long form field instead of separate cover letter)
- In your opinion, what principles and concepts from your domain of expertise are critical for military leaders to understand in order to be effective in real-world combat or complex contingencies, and how would you seek to incorporate these principles into an exercise setting?
- Interest & Fit (long form instead of separate cover letter)
- This position would require you to be based at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, working full-time at a military HQ as part of a large enterprise that designs, plans, and executes multiple Warfighter exercises a year, requiring frequent travel. Briefly explain your interest in and fit with the location, setting, and lifestyle of this position.
- Submit a current CV with current address and contact info
