Director, Pursuit Strategy

Peraton

$176K — $282K *
Education, Government & Non-Profit
15+ years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 16+ years of federal government contracting experience with capture strategy and competitive analysis expertise.
  • Senior-level understanding of capture methodologies like Shipley or Lohfeld, proven track record in large federal pursuits.
  • Experience facilitating Black Hat reviews and diverse win strategy sessions.
  • Proven strong written and verbal communication skills, capable of producing executive-quality documents under tight timelines.
  • Must possess and maintain a TS security clearance suitable for portfolio requirements.

Responsibilities

  • Develop win arguments for key federal pursuits using the PerWINS six-element framework.
  • Translate competitive intelligence into actionable strategies and positioning for capture teams.
  • Deliver intelligence packages to teams ahead of each gate review.
  • Assess and document probability of win at vital milestones during the pursuit process.
  • Conduct strategy workshops and capture engagements for high-priority bids.
  • Build and maintain competitive positioning narratives for mission cluster pursuits.
  • Participate in debriefs, synthesizing findings into lessons for future opportunities.

Benefits

  • Opportunity to work directly with senior leadership in growth strategy and intelligence.
  • Access to participate in high-stakes Tier 0/1 pursuits.
  • Engagement in a collaborative environment with multiple cross-functional teams.
  • Opportunity for career advancement within a growing organization focused on federal contracts.
Full Job Description
Responsibilities

The Director, Pursuit Strategy is a senior individual contributor on Peraton's Growth Strategy & Intelligence team. This role sits at the intersection of competitive intelligence and bid execution - consuming finished intelligence products, translating them into win arguments and competitive positioning, and delivering pursuit strategy support to Peraton's highest-priority opportunities.

This is not a capture management role. It is a strategy role. The Director, Pursuit Strategy does not run bids or act as a deputy capture resource - they make bids winnable by providing a clear assessment of capture competitiveness and coaching teams to proactively mitigate ongoing pipeline risk management through capture excellence activities and practices.

The role operates as the primary strategy partner to capture teams on Business Priority 0 and 1 (BP 2 as bandwidth allows) pursuits. It reports directly to the Senior Director, Growth Strategy & Intelligence and works in close coordination with support teams like Corporate Intelligence, Pricing & Estimation, Talent Acquisition, Procurement, and others.

Key Responsibilities

Pursuit Strategy & Win Argument Development

  • Develop win arguments for Tier 0/1 pursuits using the PerWINS six-element framework: customer objective, challenge, solution, benefit, proof point, and follow-through
  • Translate competitive intelligence products into actionable win themes, competitive positioning, and section-level strategy guidance
  • Deliver gate intelligence packages to capture teams no later than 5 business days before each gate review
  • Assess probability of win (pWin) at key pursuit milestones; document rationale and update as conditions change
  • Develop and maintain competitive positioning narratives for priority pursuits across assigned mission cluster

Capture Strategy and Capture Excellence Facilitation

  • Facilitate a variety of growth intelligence and capture engagements (strategy workshops, solutioning sessions, Black Hat and White Hat reviews, etc.) for Tier 0/1 pursuits
  • Support independent quality assessment for recompete programs (e.g. mid-course reviews and growth-driven program reviews) providing a strategic bridge between Sector delivery resources and Growth teams

Growth Intelligence Integration

  • Operate as the primary consumer and translator of growth intelligence and capture engagement outputs into pursuit strategy artifacts
  • Co-own growth intelligence requirements development with the CI/CA team for assigned pursuits
  • Provide structured feedback to the CI/CA team on intelligence gaps and collection priorities based on active pursuit needs, and maintain focus on consistent application and continuous improvement of customer/competitive understanding

Capture Methodology Execution

  • Develop deep understanding of and apply Peraton’s agile capture methodology to pursuit strategy work; ensure strategy artifacts reflect correct quality level expectations at each gate
  • Support capture teams with independent assessment of capture health and readiness to bid relevant to strategy and competitive positioning
  • Participate in agile capture management calibration cycles; flag methodology gaps or field-level friction to the VP, Growth Strategy & Intelligence
  • Serve as a senior advisory resource for capture teams on Peraton capture practices

Win/Loss & Debrief Participation

  • Participate in post-award debriefs for Tier 0/1 pursuits within assigned cluster
  • Synthesize debrief findings into actionable strategy lessons; contribute to win/loss pattern analysis
  • Maintain a running competitive landscape view for assigned mission cluster based on debrief data, market signals, and CI products
Qualifications
  • 16+ years of experience in federal government contracting, with direct experience in capture strategy, competitive analysis, or pursuit strategy roles
  • Senior practitioner level understanding of capture methodologies (Shipley, Lohfeld, or comparable system) and a demonstrated track record supporting and winning large-scale federal pursuits (>$100M TCV)
  • Experience facilitating or participating in Black Hat reviews, competitive assessments, or structured win strategy sessions to diverse technical and non-technical audiences
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills - ability to produce executive-quality strategy artifacts under tight pursuit timelines and present confidently to C-level executives
  • Must hold and maintain a TS security clearance (clearance level dependent on portfolio requirements)
Desired Qualifications
  • Familiarity with pWin and/or PTW modelling, proposal management, staffing, and other associated capture support functions as a practitioner or manager
  • Experience working or supporting large, complex GovCon prime opportunities ($1B+ TCV)
  • Expertise in the use of AI/automation tools in a capture or strategy context
Target Salary Range$176,000 - $282,000. This represents the typical salary range for this position. Salary is determined by various factors, including but not limited to, the scope and responsibilities of the position, the individual’s experience, education, knowledge, skills, and competencies, as well as geographic location and business and contract considerations. Depending on the position, employees may be eligible for overtime, shift differential, and a discretionary bonus in addition to base pay.

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