Position Description & QualificationsSerco is seeking a
Director, Acquisition Strategist to bring intentional, strategic, and innovative thinking to our most important growth pursuits.
This role sits at the intersection of
customer mission, acquisition strategy, competitive positioning, and growth. The Acquisition Strategist will help our teams understand not only what customers are asking for today, but where their missions and acquisition needs are headed next. This leader will translate those insights into actionable strategies that position Serco to differentiate, compete, and win.
Working closely with the Growth, Operations, Contracts, Pricing, Finance, and technical leaders, the Acquisition Strategist will bring an informed and creative perspective to how we shape and pursue opportunities. The successful candidate will combine deep understanding of the federal acquisition environment with strategic curiosity, strong business judgment, and the ability to challenge conventional thinking.
This is not a traditional contracting role. It is a
growth strategy role grounded in acquisition expertise, designed to help Serco think several moves ahead and identify differentiated paths to addressing our customers' evolving mission challenges.
In This Role, You WillShape Acquisition and Growth Strategy- Develop acquisition strategies for priority pursuits that align customer mission requirements, acquisition pathways, competitive dynamics, Serco capabilities, and business objectives.
- Translate complex customer, technical, operational, financial, and contractual requirements into clear, actionable pursuit strategies.
- Evaluate customer acquisition approaches to identify opportunities, constraints, risks, and alternatives that can strengthen Serco's competitive position.
- Bring creative, nontraditional thinking to acquisition strategy and challenge teams to consider new approaches rather than simply responding to established procurement paths.
- Partner with Growth and Capture teams early in the pursuit lifecycle to help influence strategy before requirements and acquisition approaches become fixed.
- Anticipate how customer needs and acquisition strategies may evolve based on mission priorities, funding considerations, performance requirements, and market dynamics.
Turn Customer Insight into Action- Develop a deep understanding of customer missions, priorities, challenges, acquisition environments, and desired outcomes.
- Listen beyond the stated requirement to identify the underlying mission problem the customer is trying to solve.
- Translate customer insights into specific actions, differentiators, solution strategies, and pursuit decisions.
- Connect customer mission needs with acquisition realities to identify the best path from customer challenge to executable solution.
- Help teams anticipate where customers are going, not simply respond to where they are today.
Strengthen Pursuit and Capture Strategy- Serve as a trusted acquisition strategy advisor to Business Development, Capture, and Operations leaders on strategic pursuits.
- Contribute acquisition insight to pursuit strategy sessions, customer assessments, solution development, competitive positioning, and reviews.
- Provide strategic perspective on acquisition timing, procurement approaches, contract vehicles, source-selection considerations, cost and pricing factors, and acquisition risks.
- Develop recommendations that appropriately balance customer mission, cost, schedule, performance, compliance, and risk.
- Identify potential acquisition barriers early and recommend strategies to mitigate or overcome them.
- Translate acquisition intelligence into concrete actions designed to strengthen Serco's competitive position and probability of win.
Provide Strategic Analysis and Executive Decision Support- Analyze acquisition approaches, contracting alternatives, customer requirements, funding considerations, schedules, and risks to inform growth decisions.
- Develop clear, executive-level recommendations to support investment and pursuit decisions.
- Apply strong analytical judgment to complex or ambiguous situations where the appropriate acquisition or pursuit strategy may not be immediately apparent.
- Identify patterns and lessons across customers and pursuits that can inform broader account, market, and growth strategies.
- Clearly articulate acquisition assumptions, risks, alternatives, and decision points to senior leaders.
Lead Across Organizational Boundaries- Build alignment across Growth, Operations, Contracts, Pricing, Finance, Legal, and technical organizations.
- Facilitate productive strategic discussions and respectfully challenge established assumptions when a different path could provide competitive advantage.
- Translate complex acquisition concepts into clear business language that enables timely decision-making.
- Build trusted relationships with business and functional leaders and serve as a strategic thought partner on complex pursuits and acquisition matters.
- Capture and share acquisition insights, best practices, and lessons learned to continuously strengthen Serco's growth capabilities.
QualificationsRequired Qualifications- Bachelor's degree in business, acquisition, program management, finance, engineering, or a related discipline, or equivalent relevant experience.
- Significant experience in federal government acquisition, contracting, program management, capture, business development, or a related field.
- Strong understanding of the federal acquisition lifecycle and the relationship among customer requirements, acquisition strategy, funding, contracting, cost, schedule, performance, and risk.
- Demonstrated ability to translate complex customer or mission requirements into actionable strategies.
- Experience working across multiple business and functional disciplines and influencing outcomes without direct authority.
- Strong strategic thinking, analytical, problem-solving, negotiation, and executive communication skills.
- Ability to operate effectively in ambiguity, challenge conventional thinking, and develop options when requirements or acquisition approaches are still evolving.
- Demonstrated ability to identify risks, evaluate alternatives, and make clear, actionable recommendations to senior leaders.
Preferred Qualifications- Experience supporting Department of War or other federal government customers.
- Experience developing acquisition plans, procurement objectives, solicitation strategies, or contract vehicle approaches.
- Experience with cost and price analysis, negotiations, source-selection activities, contractor performance, or acquisition risk management.
- Program or portfolio management experience.
- PMP, Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA)/Defense Acquisition University credentials, Contracting Officer experience, or comparable acquisition credentials.
- Experience leading or mentoring teams.
- Experience supporting complex, mission-critical federal programs and competitive acquisitions.
What Will Make You SuccessfulThe strongest candidates will bring more than deep acquisition expertise. They will bring the
curiosity and strategic mindset to see possibilities others may miss.
You will be successful in this role if you are:
- Strategic: You connect customer mission, acquisition dynamics, competitive positioning, and business objectives.
- Customer-centered: You begin with the mission challenge rather than an existing solution.
- Curious: You ask the next question and look beyond what the customer has explicitly stated.
- Creative: You challenge conventional thinking and explore alternative paths.
- Analytical: You can turn complex and sometimes conflicting information into clear recommendations.
- Influential: You create alignment across functions and senior stakeholders without relying on positional authority.
- Forward-looking: You anticipate where the customer and acquisition environment are heading.
- Action-oriented: You turn insight into meaningful pursuit decisions and executable strategies.
