Principal, Opportunity Development

Spirit of America•Arlington, VA

23h•$145,000 - $170,000•Onsite

About The Position

Spirit of America (SOA) is seeking a Principal, Opportunity Development to join its Opportunity Development Team. This small, entrepreneurial team focuses on exploring and developing high-potential opportunities to advance the organization's mission, impact, and growth. The role is ideal for a builder, problem-solver, and opportunity hunter who will investigate emerging challenges, identify opportunities, test assumptions, engage experts, conduct research, develop business cases, and determine the viability of new concepts for piloting or investment. Unlike traditional program roles, this position emphasizes exploration, validation, incubation, and opportunity development, serving as a force multiplier for SOA's regional and functional teams. Success requires deep collaboration, an appreciation for field expertise, and the ability to connect ideas and insights. The ideal candidate blends entrepreneurial curiosity, structured thinking, and a mission-oriented approach to national security.

Requirements

7+ years of experience in management consulting, venture development, entrepreneurship, national security, international affairs, business development, venture capital, private equity, corporate strategy, or a related field.
Exceptional analytical, strategic thinking, and problem-solving abilities.
Ability to structure ambiguity and develop actionable recommendations.
Strong written, verbal, and presentation skills.
Demonstrated ability to influence without formal authority.
Intellectual curiosity and a bias toward action.
Exceptional interpersonal skills and the ability to build trust across diverse stakeholder groups.
Willingness to travel internationally, often on short notice.

Nice To Haves

Experience at a top-tier consulting firm (McKinsey, Bain, BCG, Deloitte, EY-Parthenon, Kearney, or similar).
Experience building, scaling, or launching new ventures, initiatives, programs, or businesses.
National security, foreign policy, defense, philanthropy, international development, or humanitarian experience.
Experience working in complex, ambiguous, or rapidly changing environments.

Responsibilities

Scan globally for emerging opportunities relevant to SOA's mission.
Monitor geopolitical, security, humanitarian, technology, and philanthropic trends.
Identify unmet needs, white-space opportunities, and potential areas for impact.
Connect ideas, trends, and observations across regions, functions, and external networks to identify opportunities.
Build strong relationships across SOA's regional, programmatic, development, communications, and operational teams.
Actively engage internal stakeholders to understand emerging challenges, opportunities, lessons learned, and successful approaches.
Convene opportunity development working sessions, tiger teams, and cross-functional discussions to explore ideas and assess potential opportunities.
Listen carefully to regional and program leaders to identify what is working, where momentum exists, and where opportunities may exist to expand, replicate, scale, or adapt successful approaches.
Connect insights, trends, and opportunities across regions and functions.
Serve as a catalyst for collaboration by bringing together the right people, expertise, and perspectives to evaluate and develop promising opportunities.
Ensure opportunity development efforts are informed by operational realities, regional expertise, donor considerations, and mission priorities.
Evaluate potential opportunities through research, stakeholder engagement, and analysis.
Test assumptions and identify key risks, dependencies, and success factors.
Assess mission alignment, feasibility, scalability, and potential impact.
Develop recommendations regarding whether opportunities warrant further investment, piloting, partnership, or development.
Translate concepts into actionable proposals and recommendations.
Develop pilot concepts, implementation approaches, resource requirements, and success metrics.
Prepare briefing materials, investment cases, and recommendations for senior leadership.
Present findings and recommendations in a concise, compelling, and decision-oriented manner.
Engage internal subject matter experts, regional leaders, advisors, partners, donors, and external specialists.
Lead temporary cross-functional tiger teams to explore specific opportunities.
Build networks of expertise that can be activated quickly as new opportunities emerge.
Contribute to a culture of innovation, experimentation, learning, and continuous improvement.
Help identify opportunities that expand SOA's impact, influence, and effectiveness.
Support the development of a repeatable organizational capability for opportunity identification, validation, and incubation.