Position Overview:The VA Business Development Director position will lead Cognitive's continuing success in expanding its business base within the U.S Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The successful candidate will manage the sales and business development process for multiple strategic new business opportunities within the agency and its subagencies.
This is a remote position; however, Cognitive hires only in the following designated U.S. states based on contract and business requirements: VA, DC, MD, TN, FL, AZ, CO, OR, and TX.Key Responsibilities:- Identifies qualifying agency funded programs of significant strategic or financial value, with special focus on healthcare IT and leads them through the sales process to meet personal yearly sales quota.
- Independently builds a qualified VA pipeline and leads hands-on capture efforts, with a focus on prime contract awards in 2027. Positions Cognitive's capabilities, qualifies winnable opportunities, develops teaming relationships, and coordinates technical and proposal resources to advance opportunities through award.
- Interfaces with the Sales team, internal and external stakeholders (prime or subcontractors, business group units), and potential and current government (VA) clients.
- Works closely with Sales team, line of business directors, and others to identify Sales opportunities and ensure effective, efficient, and integrated implementation of Sales strategies.
- Prepares Bid/No-Bid forms for each sales opportunity and creates/updates strategic account plans for the entire VA account.
- Support proposal efforts to include solutioning and writing the proposal in conjunction with proposal managers, subject matter experts, technical experts, etc.
- Attends conferences and other external meetings to explore Sales opportunities.
- Supports continual Sales process improvement.
- Maintains appropriate records and documentation; tracks, monitors, and reports data in sales automation/tracking systems.
- Conducts competitive assessments on specific opportunities and makes recommendations on teaming partners and teaming agreements as appropriate for specific opportunities.
- Stays abreast of Cognitive technical offerings, successes, and breakthroughs.
- Works closely with Cognitive executives, providing them with the necessary data and insight to properly integrate and manage the Sales function into their respective strategies, operating plans and budgets.
- Establishes practices and procedures to ensure the highest level of professional standards in conducting "value added" business activities and for building long lasting relationships with company employees, clients and business partners.
Qualifications:- 8-10 years sales and proposal solution development for VA (VHA, VBA and OI&T)
- Demonstrated recent VA contract wins with clear personal ownership. Must be able to discuss specific awards, contract values, and direct responsibility for advancing opportunities from identification through award.
- Established relationships across VA programs, acquisition offices, and industry partners, with actionable insight into customer priorities, acquisition pathways, and upcoming opportunities to position Cognitive for prime contract awards in 2027.
- Prior accountability for individual bookings targets, with a demonstrated track record of meeting or exceeding assigned goals.
- Domain experience with healthcare IT, IT services, systems integration and related services.
- Ability to identify leads and directly market Cognitive to both mid and senior level government personnel
- Prior exposure to the Shipley Associates "Shipley Method" sales/capture/proposal processes
- Experience with customer focused marketing
- Demonstrably strong oral and written communication skills
- Strong negotiating, influencing, and communication skills in a fast-paced environment.
- Experience in a team environment working with senior management.
- Knowledge of VA acquisition/procurement processes.
- Strong knowledge of VA organizational structure, leadership, challenges and roadmap, to include future funding.
- Familiarity with industry competitors.
- Familiarity with information technology/market trends in Health IT/DevSecOps/Cloud/ Data & AI/Cyber Security/Human Centered Design.
- Expertise in Microsoft Office applications including PowerPoint, Word and Excel.
