OverviewThe Operational Planning & Posture Subject Matter Expert (SME) serves as the branch's technical and functional authority for deliberate planning support and posture planning integration. This position establishes and maintains planning support standards, quality assurance measures, and expert advisory services to ensure high-visibility planning products are coherent, defensible, and aligned with guidance across the Joint Planning and Execution Community (JPEC). Unlike positions responsible for daily planning execution, this role provides senior-level expertise in resolving complex planning challenges, mitigating risk, and improving the quality and consistency of planning products and processes.
ResponsibilitiesThe Operational Planning & Posture Subject Matter Expert will:
- Define branch-wide planning support standards, including templates, quality gates, staffing checklists, traceability expectations, and version control conventions.
- Advise government leadership on complex planning support approaches, including staffing strategies, integration methods, decision points, and adjudication processes.
- Conduct senior-level technical reviews of high-visibility briefing materials, information papers, and final planning documents to ensure clarity, consistency, and decision-ready quality.
- Resolve complex planning integration challenges involving conflicting guidance, misaligned assumptions, incomplete inputs, and competing priorities while recommending defensible tradeoffs and mitigation strategies.
- Translate policy and higher headquarters guidance into actionable planning inputs and posture initiative implications, as directed by government leadership.
- Enhance Operational Planning Team (OPT) and working group outcomes by strengthening analytical framing, planning narratives, and decision-quality criteria.
- Mentor Senior Planning Support Specialists and junior personnel through targeted reviews, coaching, and examples focused on advanced staff writing, editorial judgment, and staffing discipline.
- Assess recurring planning process bottlenecks and recommend sustainable improvements that reduce rework and improve first-pass acceptance of planning products without assuming responsibility for daily execution.
QualificationsRequired Qualifications- Master's degree (or equivalent practical experience) in a relevant field.
- Completion of career-level and intermediate-level military professional education, including Expeditionary Warfare School, Marine Corps Command and Staff College, or equivalent service schools.
- Minimum of ten (10) years of experience supporting joint or Service planning and senior leader decision support, including production and critical review of staff products.
- Demonstrated mastery of Joint Planning and Execution Community (JPEC) planning forums and staffing dynamics, including Operational Planning Teams (OPTs) and Joint Planning Groups (JPGs).
- Demonstrated knowledge and application of the Marine Corps Planning Process (MCPP) and the Joint Planning Process (JPP).
- Expert-level capability in drafting and editing planning products while ensuring consistency, traceability, and formatting discipline.
- Ability to comply with government workplace requirements and obtain and maintain any required access or eligibility.
Strongly Preferred Qualifications- Intermediate or advanced operational planning education, including JAWS, SAMS, MAWS, SAASS, Service War Colleges, Joint War Colleges, or equivalent fellowships.
- Senior Professional Military Education (PME), including Command and General Staff College (CGSC/ILE), Marine Corps Command and Staff College, Naval War College, or equivalent institutions.
- Prior experience supporting or working alongside USINDOPACOM, MARFORPAC, Headquarters Marine Corps, a Combatant Command, a Service Component Headquarters, or a Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters.
- Doctoral degree in a relevant field.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities- Deep functional expertise in deliberate planning support and posture planning integration.
- Advanced analytical framing and problem-solving skills in complex and ambiguous planning environments.
- Expert-level writing, editing, and planning product quality management.
- Ability to influence stakeholders through technical expertise and credible advisory support.
- Strong focus on standards development, quality assurance, mentoring, and continuous process improvement.
Autonomy and AccountabilityThe Operational Planning & Posture Subject Matter Expert serves as the technical authority for planning support standards and quality review thresholds while government leadership retains final approval authority. The incumbent determines when planning products require additional review based on complexity, visibility, or quality risk and provides recommendations to ensure alignment with established guidance. This position is accountable for improving planning product quality, reducing defects and rework, preventing misalignment with policy and guidance, and increasing first-pass acceptance of critical planning deliverables.
Clearance Requirement: This position requires a Top Secret/SCI security clearance. Must be a U.S. citizen.
Physical Requirements: The ideal candidate must at a minimum be able to meet the following physical requirements of the job with or without a reasonable accommodation:
- Ability to perform repetitive motions with the hands, wrists, and fingers.
- Ability to engage in and follow audible communications in emergency situations.
- Ability to sit for prolonged periods at a desk and working on a computer.
- Ability to walk for extended periods throughout the work day including moving between buildings and covering long distances by foot.
The Nakupuna Companies use a market-based compensation strategy to ensure that our employees are compensated within applicable market ranges commensurate with multiple factors, including but not limited to the individual's particular combination of education, knowledge, skills, competencies, and experience, as well as contract-specific affordability, organizational requirements, and position location. The projected compensation range for this position is $160,000 to $200,000 (annualized USD). The salary range displayed represents the typical salary range for this position and is just one component of Nakupuna Companies' total compensation package for employees.
