Executive Director, Capture & Business Develo

Position Title

Executive Director, Capture & Business Development

Position Classification

Exempt

Position Type

Full-time. This position is scheduled to work standard business hours from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with additional hours as required to support proposal deadlines, customer engagements, and industry events.

Work Location

Pembroke, NC; or Remote

Position Description

The Director, Business Development is a front-line leadership role responsible for growing company revenue across the U.S. Government, primarily the Department of Defense and Department of State as well as adjacent prime integrators. The incumbent identifies, shapes, and captures new business opportunities, expands brand presence, and converts customer relationships into funded work. This role owns the full pre-award lifecycle: market research and opportunity qualification, customer and stakeholder engagement, competitive analysis, teaming strategy and negotiation, win strategy development, and proposal leadership. The incumbent will leverage competitive information to develop a clear path to win on proposal efforts and will work to identify strong teaming partners and negotiate value-driven teaming agreements.

This is not a passive business development role. It begins as an individual contributor position and requires a skilled operator who can walk in the door and independently qualify. The incumbent will work closely with executive leadership, program management, and technical leaders to align capture pursuits with delivery capability and the company growth strategy, will shape new government requirements ahead of formal release, and will stay engaged after award to ensure execution remains aligned with evolving mission priorities. Long-term success is defined as driving significant, repeatable top-line revenue from government programs that align with the company capability roadmap.

Lumbee values trusted partnerships with our fellow industry colleagues and seeks candidates that have a positive reputation within the government contracting market and a track record of building business with integrity. The selected candidate will be detail-oriented and have the ability to assess business risk by analyzing financial, statistical, and economic data. They will be persuasive, have strong business acumen, be skilled at negotiating sound business deals, and demonstrate excellent communication, leadership, and problem-solving skills.

Responsibilities

• Partner with the executive and management team to strategically identify and cultivate new revenue streams aligned with core capabilities and the company growth strategy.
• Build and maintain a qualified pipeline; research and develop customer forecasts, multi-year capture plans, and pursuit budgets.
• Shape new funding opportunities with federal stakeholders, including program offices, contracting activities, and research and development organizations, before requirements are formally released.
• Build and deepen relationships with key government stakeholders, acquisition officials, requirements owners, and technical leads across target agencies.
• Partner with defense primes and industry partners to align capabilities, position the company as a preferred teammate or subcontractor, and support transition planning for emerging government needs.
• Identify partnering efforts and negotiate trusted, value-driven teaming agreements and non-disclosure agreements.
• Assess opportunities against bid and no-bid criteria and either eliminate them or move them forward through the pre-award process.
• Schedule introductory meetings with prospects and initiate and make follow-up calls on open opportunities.
• Maintain a thorough understanding of the current portfolio and leverage existing work to expand offerings with existing customers and develop new accounts.
• Leverage competitive intelligence to develop and refine value propositions and win themes based on customer interactions and core competencies.
• Provide leadership throughout the qualification and capture process and stay deeply involved in developing the company win strategy.
• Lead and support proposal efforts as both a prime contractor and a teaming partner, including guiding the direction of information flow and overseeing production of all parts of the proposal.
• Implement proposal and contract processes and schedules, assign tasks, and ensure the proposal is compliant, relevant, and accurate.
• Execute proposal development writing and editing assignments, and deliver professionally produced proposals within strict timelines.
• Identify gaps in capabilities or resources and develop a plan for filling those gaps.
• Assist in finalizing and implementing contracts and negotiating final agreements.
• Act as a technical advisor and market translator, collaborating with internal teams to guide prioritization and respond to evolving federal needs.
• Engage with delivery teams post-award to ensure consistent execution, effective management of resources, and continued alignment with mission priorities.
• Build solid relationships with customers, vendors, and distributors to ensure customer satisfaction and repeat business.
• Direct marketing efforts by presenting market research and suggesting strategies to expand market reach.
• Research emerging trends and recommend new company offerings to satisfy customer needs.
• Develop and manage strategic partnerships to grow the business, and present business and market opportunities to company executives and management.
• Attend industry days, conferences, expos, and small business events to expand company growth and develop potential partnerships.
• Promote and advocate for company capabilities, past performance, and services to position the team as a trusted government partner.
• Maintain a high-fidelity customer and pipeline knowledge management system, including contact records, call reports, and opportunity data.

Education/Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Finance, Engineering, or a related field.

*An additional five years of directly related experience may be used in lieu of a degree

• Ten years of proven business development, capture, or government engagement experience within the government contracting industry.
• Acquisition expertise: clear understanding of how the government budgets, prioritizes, and contracts with industry, including the planning, programming, budgeting, and execution process, FAR-based acquisition vehicles, and small business contracting programs.
• Demonstrated knowledge of federal sector contractors and the competitive landscape.
• Experience writing and winning proposals as both a prime contractor and a strategic supplier through teaming agreements, particularly for services and subsystem-level or technical scope.
• Experience delivering compliant, professionally produced proposals within strict timelines.
• Previous success across the entire customer lifecycle in a business-to-business sales or business development function for technical services or hardware products.
• Distinguished performance leading negotiations with customers and partners and closing deals.
• Technically conversant: able to explain capability fit, system integration risk, and execution or manufacturing limitations, and comfortable in rooms with both senior technical staff and program managers.
• Well-established network of customers and influencers within target industry and agency segments.
• Technical work plan development and project management experience.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
• Exceptional leadership and management skills, with effective communication and negotiation skills and extreme attention to detail across email, phone, in-person briefings, and graphics development.
• Team player who can take the lead and work independently to achieve growth opportunities.
• Entrepreneurial attitude with the energy for hard problems and long-cycle revenue generation, balanced by urgency to close gaps and move programs forward.
• Ability to travel to meet clients, attend conferences, and research new markets as needed.
• Must have a current U.S. Passport.
• Must be fluent with the Microsoft Office suite, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, and Outlook.
• Ability to obtain and hold a U.S. security clearance, including meeting background check and other requirements as defined by the U.S. Government.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree in business, engineering, or a technical field of study.
• Prior service in or direct experience with DoD program offices, requirements organizations, or contracting activities.
• Experience with an 8(a), tribally owned, or other small disadvantaged business.
• Established relationships with defense primes and emerging non-traditional primes.
• Experience shaping and winning government research and development efforts, including SBIR and STTR, broad agency announcements, and other transaction authority agreements.
• Familiarity with transitioning capabilities and dual-use technologies from research and development into programs of record, including scale-up considerations.
• Experience leading technical project teams.
• Active U.S. security clearance.

Competencies

The Executive Director, Capture and Business Development demonstrates advanced expertise in opportunity capture, customer relationship development, and competitive proposal strategy. This role requires sound business judgment, disciplined pipeline and opportunity management, and the ability to translate customer mission needs into executable technical and contractual solutions. The incumbent must communicate persuasively with executives, government stakeholders, and technical staff, exercise integrity and discretion in all partner and customer dealings, and operate proactively with minimal direction.

Physical Requirements

This position is primarily sedentary and requires the ability to work at a computer for extended periods, including viewing monitors, using keyboards, and operating standard office equipment. The role requires the ability to communicate by telephone and in person, to travel by air and ground, and to occasionally stand, walk, and lift up to 10 pounds.

Lumbee Holdings is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate in employment based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

Lumbee Holdings reserves the right to share applications and related candidate information with its subsidiaries, affiliates, teaming partners, subcontractors, and prime contractors for purposes of evaluating candidates for this and other current or future openings.

Note: This summary is not intended to be a complete description of all benefits. Employees will receive detailed information about benefit plan terms, conditions, and eligibility during onboarding. These statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work involved for this job. It is not an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of this job.

Benefits: Comprehensive employee benefits are available to eligible employees, with coverage effective on the first day of the month following eligibility