Business Development & Capture Lead

Nakupuna Companies is seeking an experienced Lead to support growth in the NAVAIR and NAVSEA markets, based in Pax River, Maryland. This individual will lead capture and proposal efforts from opportunity identification through proposal delivery, support business development, build relationships with current and prospective clients and partners, and serve as the local face of Nakupuna in Southern Maryland. The ideal candidate is a self-starter who combines strategic thinking, disciplined execution, and excellent communication skills, and who can represent Nakupuna internally and externally with professionalism and sound judgment.

Responsibilities

The following reflects management's definition of essential functions for this job but does not restrict the tasks that may be assigned. Management may assign additional duties and responsibilities to this job at any time due to reasonable accommodation or other reasons.

• In conjunction with Nakupuna's Managing Director, Line of Business Capture Manager, and Service Delivery Leads:
• Build and manage a disciplined pipeline for NAVAIR and NAVSEA opportunities by identifying, qualifying, prioritizing, and tracking pursuits across multiple sources.
• Conduct market, customer, competitor, and partner research to inform go / no-go decisions, capture strategies, win themes and executive briefings.
• Lead capture efforts from early shaping through proposal delivery, including opportunity analysis, capture planning, solution development, win strategy, teaming, compliance tracking, and proposal closeout.
• Work closely with executives, business development leaders, proposal managers, pricing, contracts, recruiting, operations, and subject matter experts to develop integrated growth strategies.
• Develop and maintain trusted relationships with NAVAIR, NAVSEA, adjacent Navy organizations, industry partners, and other stakeholders.
• Support or lead teaming strategy, including partner identification, teaming discussions, coordination of NDAs and teaming agreements, and development of mutually beneficial pursuit structures.
• Coordinate and lead proposal activities, including kickoff preparation, volume outlines, content development, storyboarding, review cycles, production, and final submission.
• Leverage the repository of Nakupuna past performance, resumes, project data, case studies, and customer references relevant to NAVAIR and NAVSEA pursuits.
• Support account planning, customer engagement plans, white papers, capability briefs, and other market-facing materials for target customers.
• Represent Nakupuna at community events, industry days, symposia, The Patuxent Partnership, SMNA networking activities, and other local engagements in the Pax River region, and help strengthen the firm's presence in the community.
• Oversee day-to-day coordination of the Pax River office, including basic office leadership, space utilization, and coordination with internal stakeholders to ensure the office is an effective and welcoming local hub.
• Track milestones, action items, and deliverables to ensure growth initiatives move forward on schedule and in compliance with internal process requirements.
• Continuously improve capture and proposal processes, tools, and templates, and share lessons learned across the organization.
• Support service delivery as needed by collaborating with operations and program teams to identify resourcing, transition, and execution risks, help resolve performance issues, and ensure capture and growth priorities remain aligned with customer mission needs.

Qualifications

Skills/Qualifications:

The ideal candidate possesses expertise across the business development and capture lifecycle with experience in federal contracting and the Department of the Navy environment. Specifically, the ideal candidate will be familiar with and have experience with the following technical knowledge, skills, and abilities:

• Demonstrated experience in GovCon capture, proposal management, and business development at Pax River.
• Direct experience supporting NAVAIR programs is required.
• NAVSEA experience is desirable.
• Proven ability to lead opportunity pursuits from identification through proposal submission new project kick off, transition and delivery.
• Strong customer-facing and relationship-building skills with government clients and industry partners.
• Excellent written, verbal, and presentation skills; ability to brief executives and produce clear, persuasive content.
• Ability to synthesize complex information and develop concise, actionable recommendations.
• Knowledge of federal acquisition processes, teaming concepts, pricing concepts, and proposal best practices.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams under tight deadlines and in a fast-paced environment.
• Self-motivated, organized, and able to work independently while coordinating across multiple stakeholders.
• Proficiency with CRM and pipeline tools, Microsoft Office, and common capture / proposal tools; Salesforce, GovWin, or similar experience preferred.
• Experience supporting local market development, and community engagement.

Education and Experience: Bachelor's degree preferred. Minimum seven (7) years of progressively responsible experience in federal capture, business development, proposal management, or a related growth role is preferred. Prior leadership of Navy-focused pursuits, multi-partner captures, or complex proposal efforts is highly desirable.

Location: Pax River, MD. This position is expected to be primarily onsite to support customer engagement, office leadership, and community presence. Occasional travel to conferences, customer sites and partner locations will be required.

Clearance Requirements: Must be a US Citizen with the ability to obtain a secret clearance and government-issued CAC.

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 $140,000.00 to $200,000.00 (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.