Director, International Business Operations

Parsons Corporation•USA VA (Virtual Office), VA

2d•$148,300 - $266,900•Hybrid

About The Position

Parsons is looking for an amazingly talented Director, International Business Operations to join our team! This high-impact role will develop, implement, and manage processes, procedures, and tools to execute international projects efficiently while supporting the expansion of our portfolio of U.S. government contracts and maximizing direct commercial sales. The Director will identify the organizational capabilities and tools required to sustain and scale international operations, develop and maintain a global expansion strategy, and lead cross-functional project teams to establish legal entities and operational infrastructure in new countries. The successful candidate will be entrepreneurial, mission-driven, and energized by operating in a complex, multi-stakeholder environment. They must be comfortable operating in ambiguity and possess the ability to build structure, process, and capability where none exists. They will be trusted advisors to senior leadership and a catalyst for cross-functional alignment across corporate and business teams including legal, HR, global mobility, finance, tax, operations, supply chain, business development, trade compliance, and others. The ability to influence teams and outcomes that do not report into this role is a must.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred.
12+ years of progressive experience in international business operations, global expansion, or a closely related field.
Demonstrated experience leading cross-functional teams and projects in a matrixed environment without direct line authority over all participants.
Working knowledge of U.S. Government contracting including FAR/DFARS, FMS process and lifecycle, and other regulatory frameworks.
Familiarity with export control regulations including ITAR, EAR, and OFAC.
Demonstrated experience establishing international entities, including registration, banking, payroll, tax structuring, and immigration/labor law considerations.
Strong project management skills and proficiency with project scheduling tools.
Demonstrated experience successfully establishing, controlling, and reporting on budgets and variance analysis.
Experience identifying risks and implementing a risk management framework.
Experience building frameworks, playbooks, dashboards, and scalable processes from the ground up.
Strong executive communication, follow-up, planning, and project/program management skills.

Nice To Haves

Experience working in and/or establishing business operations in INDOPAC, Middle Eastern, South American, and Eastern European nations.
Familiarity with procurement frameworks, SOFA (Status of Forces Agreements), or related defense cooperation mechanisms.

Responsibilities

Identify gaps in the company’s international operational capabilities across all aspects of international execution and develop business cases for filling them — including tools, processes, personnel, and vendor resources
Oversee a program of recurring international compliance management activities including: new entity registrations, annual entity registration renewals, business license renewals, expansion of business charters, changes related to personnel movement, corporate tax filings, and related vendor management.
Develop and maintain a repository of country-specific operational playbooks, standard operating procedures, and lessons learned to support scalable future expansion.
Partner with Learning and Development to design and deliver training programs for internal staff on international operations topics including compliance, export controls, global mobility, and in-country business practices.
Partner with Procurement to identify, onboard, and manage a preferred vendor panel for international legal, tax, HR, and other advisory services to ensure quality and cost control across the portfolio.
Build and apply a country prioritization framework driven by key customer opportunities and using factors such as existing legal/operational presence, pipeline revenue potential, contract duration, staffing needs, regulatory complexity, ITAR/EAR/OFAC considerations, and strategic alignment with objectives.
Develop a living database/dashboard and other tools to visualize country-level operating status, country reports, and readiness assessments for use by senior leadership and business teams.
For countries that rise to the threshold requiring a dedicated project team, serve as the primary project lead and integrator across internal Parsons’ functions.
Lead the development of country entry plans covering items such as legal entity establishment and registration, in-country banking and treasury setup, payroll and benefits infrastructure, immigration and visa/work permit processes, import/export compliance, local procurement and supply chain, and corporate tax structuring.
Establish integrated project plans, milestones, task owners, critical paths, budgets, risk logs, governance forums, and escalation paths.
Provide regular variance reporting and forecasting to leadership.
Develop risk registers for each country entry initiative; proactively identify mitigation strategies for regulatory, operational, and political risks.
Coordinate with Business Development and Program Management to ensure international operational infrastructure is in place prior to contract award and performance start dates.
Drive issue resolution, clarify role ownership, and ensure timely delivery across matrixed teams that do not directly report to this role.
Partner with business leaders to balance speed, compliance, cost, and long-term scalability in each country approach.
Partner closely with legal, compliance, export control, tax, HR, and finance leaders to ensure international growth plans align with U.S. government requirements and local country obligations.
Incorporate Foreign Miliary Sales (FMS), Direct Commercial Sales (DCS), export control, and related regulatory considerations into proposal efforts, country planning and execution.
Coordinate with internal and external counsel and advisors as needed for country-specific matters.
Build trusted relationships with business development, operations, capture, program leadership, and corporate functions to ensure international expansion support is practical and business-enabling.
Partner with Business Development and Operations to develop, maintain, and update a comprehensive strategy that maps the company’s ability to deliver its international business development pipeline
Stay abreast of the new business pipeline to identify contracts with international scope across FMS, DCS, and hybrid mechanisms.
Monitor geopolitical developments, DSCA program updates, and U.S. security policy changes that affect international business prospects and operations.
Partner with Business Development to identify international teaming partners, local agents, and in-country relationships that strengthen competitive positioning.